Machine Pullover
Also known as: Pullover Machine, Lat Pullover Machine, Nautilus Pullover
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Description
Sit in a pullover machine and drive your elbows from overhead down to your sides against the arm pads to train your lats without your grip giving out. The lats along the sides of your back do most of the work, followed by the teres major at the back of your armpit, while the triceps' long head, rear delts, lower traps and lower chest chip in. The pads sit behind your elbows, so your hands only steer the bar and a weak grip or sore elbows won't end the set. Next to a cable straight-arm pulldown, the arc is longer, the path is fixed and the overhead stretch stays loaded.
How to Perform
- Set the seat so the middle of your shoulder is level with the pivot, the axis the arm levers turn around.
- Sit with your hips all the way back, your back and head on the reclined pad and your feet flat. Buckle the belt if there is one.
- Bring the bar into the start position, with the foot lever if your machine has one, and rest the backs of your upper arms, just above the elbows, on the pads.
- Lay your hands on the crossbar overhand, about shoulder-width apart, with a light grip. Your elbows stay bent at about 90° until the set is over.
- Start in the stretch: upper arms beside your head, elbows pointing up and back, ribs down and lower back flat on the pad.
- Breathe out and drive your elbows forward and down into the pads in a wide arc until they reach your sides and the bar is in front of your upper stomach.
- Hold a second with your shoulders down, then let the levers carry your arms back overhead over 2–3 seconds until the sides of your back stretch.
- At the end of the set, take the load on the foot lever, or let the weight settle slowly, before you slide your arms off the pads.
What Muscles Work
Primary Muscle:
Secondary Muscles:
Tips
- Do 2–4 sets of 8–15 reps, often after the day's main pulldown or row; heavy sets of 6–8 add little here and load the shoulder in the stretch.
- Progress by reps. When you get 15 on all sets with the whole arc and a slow return, add the smallest step (one plate on a stack, usually 2.5–5 kg, or 2.5 kg per side on a plate-loaded machine) and build the reps back up.
- The work runs from the armpit down to the lower ribs, most in the stretch and at the bottom, plus a little in the lower chest and the back of the upper arm. A pinch at the front or top of the shoulder in the stretch means the seat is off or the arc is too long at the top.
- Shoulder not happy overhead? Go lighter and stop the levers short of the full stretch, at the point where your lower back still stays on the pad. To progress, slow the return to 3 seconds and pause 1–2 seconds in the stretch before you add weight.
- Substitutes: Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown (cable stack, standing, found in almost every gym), Dumbbell Pullover (just a dumbbell and a bench), Rope Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown, Barbell Pullover.
Common Mistakes
- Seat at the wrong height. The pads roll along your arms and the shoulder feels jammed at the top. Line the shoulder joint up with the pivot before the first set; the pads should stay on the same spot of your arms.
- Pulling with your hands and squeezing the bar until your arms take over and the elbows open and close. Keep the hands loose, even open, hold the 90° elbow and push with the backs of your arms.
- Arching your lower back and flaring the ribs to reach further overhead. Ribs down, lower back on the pad, and end the stretch where you can still hold that position.
- Stopping with the bar at your chest. Every rep ends with the elbows at your sides and the bar at your upper stomach, held for a second; don't round forward or shrug to push it further.
- Letting the weight snap your arms back into the stretch and bouncing out of it. Take 2–3 seconds on the way back and stop just before the weight touches down.
Recommended Exercises
Explore exercises related to Machine Pullover for back training and similar movement patterns.
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