This dumbbell move hits your arms, back, and chest at the same time

Sure, a bench press can hit your chest and a lat pulldown will fire your back, but to hit both spots at once, the dumbbell pullover might be just the ticket.

A heavy exercise that challenges both areas (plus your shoulders, arms, and rib cage muscles), the pullover is an upper-body smoker that you might want to work into your routine time and time again.

Despite its high financial return, the pullover is a movement that tends to fall into oblivion. It doesn’t get as much attention as other chest or back exercises, so you might not see it very often in workout plans. As a result, you may not be as familiar with it as you are with other basic upper-body exercises like rows or chest presses.

So here’s a quick summary: The exercise involves lying on your back on the floor (or a flat bench) and holding a dumbbell above your chest with both hands. With your arms straight, you slowly pull the dumbbell behind your head as far as your shoulder mobility allows. Then you reverse the movement to return to the starting position. If the pullover seems simple, it is, but trust me, it really has a lot to offer, regardless of your fitness level.

We turned to certified personal trainer and performance coach Keith Hodges, CPT, founder of Mind in Muscle Coaching in Los Angeles to learn all the must-know information about the dumbbell pullover, including which muscles it works, whether it’s more of a chest movement or a backward movement, the powerful benefits, how to incorporate it into your routine, and most importantly, how to do it correctly.

What muscles does the dumbbell pullover work?

As we mentioned, the pullover has a dual function: it targets the chest (pectoral) muscles (especially the pectoralis major, which stretches from the upper arm to the collarbone and sternum) and the wider back muscles, called the latissimus dorsi (lats). Additionally, dumbbell pullovers work your triceps (the muscles on the back of your arms), deltoids (shoulders), and serratus anterior (a muscle along your ribcage that stabilizes your shoulders).

Are pullovers for the chest or back?

This is a long-standing debate in the fitness word and we’re here to set the record straight: the answer is both! Pullovers work your chest It is the back muscles; So yes, they can be considered a chest exercise as well as a back exercise. As for which area you will feel this movement working more, well, it all depends on your anatomy, Hodges tells SELF. If your back tends to tense up, you’ll probably feel the pullover actually shooting up more in that area than in your chest. On the other hand, if your chest and shoulders are tight, you’ll likely feel the exercise targeting those muscle groups more intensely than your back, explains Hodges.

What are the benefits of dumbbell pullovers?

Because the pullover hits your chest, back, arm, and shoulder muscles at the same time, you can get impressive upper-body muscle activation and strengthening with this exercise. This can make the pullover a great addition to more lower-body-focused exercises like squats, lunges, and deadlifts.