DB Pullover — stretch hold
Lat length and thoracic extension held at end range — overhead room for reaching, marking and throwing
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Lie along a flat bench, head supported, holding one dumbbell in both hands by the inside of the top plate. Arms extended over the chest with a slight bend in the elbows. Feet flat, ribs down.
The rep
Lower the dumbbell back over your head in an arc over five seconds, keeping the slight elbow bend and the ribs down. Stop where the lats and the sides of the chest pull, and hold there for twenty-five seconds, breathing slowly. Then bring the dumbbell back over the chest.
On the exercise card
- Ribs down — do not arch to get further
- Hold where the lats pull, not the low back
- Tempo
- 5s to lower
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| Arching the lower back to go further | Ribs down. The range has to come from the shoulders and upper back, not the lower back. |
| Bending the elbows more as you lower | Lock the slight bend before you start. |
| Holding the breath | Breathe out slowly as you settle into the stretch. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- A lighter dumbbell, or a shorter range.
- Harder
- A heavier dumbbell, or a longer hold, as long as the ribs stay down.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
Reaching, marking and throwing all need the arms overhead without the back arching to get them there. Five programs use it in the prehab block: AFL, soccer, dance, general fitness and bodybuilding.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFL | Upper Power | 2 × 25s hold | Moderate DB |
| Soccer | Upper + Core | 2 × 25s hold | Moderate DB |
| Dance | Core, Full Body + Mobility | 2 × 25s hold | Moderate DB |
| General Fitness | Full Body A | 2 × 25s hold | Moderate DB |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Muscles worked
- Back
- Region
- Full body
- Classified as
- Mobility
- Prescribed in
- AFL · soccer · dance · general fitness · bodybuilding
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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