KEY AREAS:
Chest, Lats, some Shoulders
START POSITION:
Sit on one end of a horizontal bench with your feet planted firmly on the floor and slightly apart. Pick up a single dumbell and hold it in your lap vertically, gripping it at it’s upper end. Push the dumbell forward towards your knees and slowly bend your knees up and then slowly pull the dumbell backwards over your head. You will automatically roll backwards to a lying position . Then you can put your feet back down on the floor.
I recommend that you master this starting technique which gives full lower back support throughout the exercise. See the below video for a good example.
NOTES:
There are several forms of this old-school exercise. With heavier weights it will engage and build upper body muscle, notably the chest and pecs (upper back).
The form I teach in the Mojoh Method is performed at the start of a chest workout, uses a light weight dumbell, and is primarily a means of chest warmup and stretch. The bent arm pullover is used in conjunction with the flat bench dumbell fly. This exercise duo is brilliant for preparing the chest for more intense exercises like bench press, pushups or dips.
The bent arm pullover gives the chest a good longitudinal stretch and the flies give a good latitudinal chest stretch.
When you prepare the chest in this way, the result is that more of the chest muscles are engaged and worked harder during subsequent tougher exercises.
If your goal is serious body building you need to explore other forms of this exercise like this alternative advanced dumbell pullover.
The best way to finish this exercise is to use the weight to help you to sit up without stressing your back – a reverse of the starting procedure. Or you can just drop the dumbell onto the floor on one side, or behind your head, before sitting up or rolling sideways off the bench.
There should be a slight bend of your elbows at the top position, and the elbow bend should increase slightly as the dumbell is lowered behind you.
Be careful not to move the dumbell too far forwards from the vertical at the top – perfect technique is a vertical at the top or just a tad further than the vertical if this feels ok for you.