Barbell floor pullover
Lying on the floor with the bar in both hands, arcing it from over your chest to behind your head. A vertical pull for the lats that needs only a barbell.
The movement
2 stages
Over the chest
01 Over the chest
Bar over the shoulders in an overhand grip, elbows slightly bent, lower back on the floor.
02 Arc behind the head
Lower the bar behind the head until the arms near the floor, and stop before the plates touch it.
How to do it
Setup
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, and roll the bar along the floor until it rests just past your head.
- Reach back, take the bar with an overhand grip about shoulder-width apart, and press it up over your chest.
- Bend your elbows slightly and keep that bend fixed.
Execution
- Lower the bar in an arc over your face and behind your head until your upper arms are close to the floor.
- Stop before the plates touch the floor and hold the bar still for a moment.
- Pull it back through the same arc until it is over your chest.
- Keep your lower back pressed into the floor on each rep.
BreathingInhale as the bar goes back, exhale as you pull it over.
Cues and mistakes
Check every rep
- The arc runs through the shoulders. The elbows do not open or close.
- Grip the bar hard and keep the wrists straight, with the plates level.
- Ribs stay down as the bar travels behind the head.
What goes wrong
- Letting the plates rest on the floor behind you, which drops the tension off the lats.
- Arching the back off the floor to get the bar further.
- Loading the bar before the slow version is comfortable.
Safety
- The bar passes over your face with your arms nearly straight. Use full-size plates so the bar can rest on the floor at the end of the set, and put it down behind your head rather than over your chest.
General guidance, not medical advice. See how Setkit works.
Notes
A barbell turns the pullover into something you can load in small steps. Most dumbbell sets jump in big increments, and the pullover is sensitive to weight because the lever is long. A bar with small plates lets you add a kilo or two at a time, which is how an exercise that works a stretched position is meant to progress.
The grip is the thing to get right. Take the bar about shoulder-width, overhand, and keep the wrists straight so the plates stay level through the arc. A wide grip shortens the arc and moves the work toward the chest. A narrow one loads the elbows. Shoulder-width keeps the pull on the lats, where it belongs.
The floor is both the limit and the safety net. Your upper arms stop near the ground before the shoulders reach their end range, which keeps the stretch moderate, and if a rep fails you can simply set the bar down behind your head. For that reason it suits a home barbell setup with no rack, where it covers the overhead pull the rest of the kit cannot.