Bent-Arm Barbell Pullover

How to perform

1. 01Lie on a flat bench with a barbell using a shoulder grip width.
2. 02Hold the bar straight over your chest with a bend in your arms. This will be your starting position.
3. 03While keeping your arms in the bent arm position, lower the weight slowly in an arc behind your head while breathing in until you feel a stretch on the chest.
4. 04At that point, bring the barbell back to the starting position using the arc through which the weight was lowered and exhale as you perform this movement.
5. 05Hold the weight on the initial position for a second and repeat the motion for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Form cues

• —Brace your core before the first rep and keep it braced.
• —Lead with the elbows and finish by squeezing the target muscle.
• —Set the bar path over mid-foot and keep it there.
• —Control the lowering phase — that is where most of the growth stimulus lives.

Common mistakes

• —Using momentum instead of the target muscle.
• —Cutting the range of motion short to add load.
• —Adding weight before the movement pattern is clean.