Flat bench lat pullover free#

This is basic physics: Torque = Force x Distance. A muscle's effectiveness for producing a given action is the muscle 'moment,' which is determined by the product of muscle moment arm (distance between the muscle's line of action and the center of joint) and muscle force (end-to-end pull).It crosses behind the joint– when this muscle shortens, it pulls the shoulder into extension. A shoulder extensor has a line of action behind the center of the shoulder. The action of a muscle describes how it tends to move a joint when it shortens (concentric contraction).First, we need a solid framework to understand a muscle's effectiveness for a given action, such as shoulder extension. To address the pecs versus lats question, we must make educated interpretations based on anatomy and muscle physiology.

The pullover is performed overhead, toward end-range shoulder flexion (around 100-180 degrees). Textbooks provide muscle actions from the anatomical arms-at-sides position. Well, if you look up 'shoulder extension' in an anatomy textbook, it'll be listed as an action of the latissimus dorsi, not the pectoralis major. So which muscles are contributing the most during the shoulder extension: pecs or lats? The pullover is a resisted shoulder extension. Therefore, my bias is to include pullovers with the rest of my pulling movements during back training. Performing pullovers with back training has never interfered with my subsequent push session. However, I feel it trains the back more robustly, applying a much greater mechanical stimulus on the lats than the chest. Though we'll discuss it in depth, research is inconclusive about whether pullovers are best for pectoralis major (chest) or latissimus dorsi (back). Let's go over the standard variations, dig into some research, discuss the variations you can do for stiff shoulders, and then get into the modifications that'll improve the resistance profile so you can make more gains.

Flat bench lat pullover free#

This means the resistance profile of the pullover has an extremely steep descending curve when you do it with free weights. If you haven't done it in a while, here's a reminder: The toughest part occurs when the arms are flexed overhead, and it gets much easier when your arms are perpendicular to your torso. Seasoned lifters have long known about this exercise, but these days, it's rare to see someone do it.īut is a back or a chest exercise? Should you include it with upper-body pulling work or upper-body pushing? Even practitioners squabble about it. You might remember golden era bodybuilders doing the pullover, their bodies arching across benches, lats flared wide, pumping out reps.