posted June 22, 2000 07:50 PM            

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i have done these before but never feel anny thing. any opinions?

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posted June 22, 2000 08:19 PM            

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I believe that pullovers work. Maybe you're not going heavy enough or you may not be doing the exercise correctly. Try to feel a stretch in your lats. I always breathe deeply when I do this exercise. It's not a good exercise for building mass. It's good for bringing up your serratus muscles. These muscles are located below your chest muscles.

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posted June 22, 2000 10:43 PM         

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I definitely think they are an important exercise to use in your back workout. They isolate the lats very well and give you a damn good stretch.

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I Deadlift therefore I am!

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posted June 23, 2000 02:16 PM            

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i havent been doing this exercise much..so i was wondering...it isolates the lats you say...in what way?? like chins? barbell rows?? what..

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"Pain, is only weakness leaving your body"

"...damn you for not giving my TEST" - Metallica

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posted June 23, 2000 03:51 PM         

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MrMuscle: I never used to do them when I started training. About a year and a half ago my father introduced me to a friend of his who is a really big guy and has been training for close to 20 years or so. He gave me some tips and one of them was to use pullovers in your back routine. I've done them ever since and my back has improved so much that it almost overshadows the rest of my physique.
When I do them I lay flat on the bench(like you were doing a bench press), but I hang my head slightly over the edge. I keep my arms bent throughout the entire movement so I don't feel it so much in my tri's. I let it go back down behind my head as far as possible for a good stretch, then I pull it back up squeezing my lats. I hold for 1-2 secs. just above my throat area, then I lower it back down. After a warmup, I do 1-2 sets of 8-10 reps and really feel it in my lats. I follow them up with some rows to put the finishing touch on.
It's a damn good exercise for the lats, that is why guys like Dorian Yates and Skip Lacour use a pullover exercise in their back routines. Arnold did them for chest, but I feel them to a small degree in my chest and a lot in my lats. Hope I helped.

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I Deadlift therefore I am!

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posted June 23, 2000 07:51 PM            

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yeah, i didn't really feel it in my chest either, ill try to do what you said and use it in my back routine. thanks guys i appreciate it!

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posted June 25, 2000 07:20 AM            

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I do it on my chest days....with barbell though. I can really feel it in my upper chest, it really pumps up my upper chest.
I actually use an EZ curl bar.

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posted June 25, 2000 02:16 PM         

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I haven't done them for a long time.....straights arm pullovers that it, but last night I started a new routine and I stuck pullovers in there that I saw in the Arnold book. I can't remember the name of them but they work damn good. You can feel you ribcage really stretch out. Does anyone know the name of these? I know you keep you forearms at a 90 degree angle to your upper arm the whole time and lower them below the bench. I know that's a horrible explanation but does anyone know what I'm talking about?

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posted June 28, 2000 08:21 AM            

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Pullovers dude!

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posted June 28, 2000 08:44 AM            

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the thing is back in "the good ol days" Schwarzenegger and those guys did pullovers for chest training...and some guys does it for back training...i dont get it...

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"Pain, is only weakness leaving your body"

"...damn you for not giving my TEST" - Metallica

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posted June 28, 2000 09:38 AM         

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I did them for the first time yesterday and wasn't too happy with them. I did it on back day and it felt like i was hitting my arms too much. I'm gonna try switching up my grip next time and see If i can start hitting the lats. I kept my arms bent the whole time too but maybe I had bad form or something. I'm not giving up on them yet though. How wide of a grip do you all use?

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posted June 28, 2000 09:41 AM            

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i recently did Dumbell Pullover and flys, very good feel to it. You stretch it both ways. Suppose to help expand ribcage..

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posted June 28, 2000 11:36 AM         

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Latimer: Did you use a barbell or dumbell? I always use a d.b., so if you didn't I would try this next time. I basically make a diamond shape with my hands on the inside of one end of the d.b.

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I Deadlift therefore I am!

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posted June 28, 2000 11:48 AM            

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IRBD - I use the same grip on the dumbell with pullover...still I tend to hit the tri and chest...my best guess is that my lats are weak in comparison so I'm still working on them. I've seen a lot of people lay cross bench when doing pullovers - what do you think about that position?

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posted June 28, 2000 12:43 PM         

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I used a barbell. I'll try it out with some db's next time. In Arnold's book they have it under chest and back exercises, and if i'm not mistaken , the chest picture shows them laying on the bench sideways and the back they show the guy doing them in the normal bench position with his head hanging over.

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posted June 28, 2000 01:07 PM            

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My training partner and I do these sometimes on a decline bench, the trick is to only go so far on the contraction where you still feel it in your chest, dont go past your eyes when you bring the weight back up, other wise you feel it in your arms.

Digga

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posted June 28, 2000 01:07 PM         

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I've tried them laying on the bench like that and I didn't like them. They felt awkward on my lower back and I was so worried about balance I couldn't focus on my lats. When I lay flat on the bench I can really focus on the mind-muscle link and blast my lats.
I too felt them in my tri's when I started doing them. I've learned that when my arms are straight, I feel it in my tri's, when they are bent, I can squeeze my lats.

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posted June 28, 2000 03:13 PM            

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hmmm- I didn't like the cross bench either. I do keep my arms bent but obviously I need to bend them more. Practice makes perfect! Thanks.

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posted June 28, 2000 04:03 PM         

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If I've helped even one person, I'm glad. Back happens to be one of my strong points, so if anyone has any questions feel free to ask. Now if I could just bring up my weakpoints( arms and legs). All in do time.

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I Deadlift therefore I am!

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posted June 28, 2000 04:18 PM            

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Yeah - I'd like to know how long its going to take me to be able to do ONE DARN CHIN!! I've never been able to do them and I'm just starting to work on 'em. Its so frustrating! I know - patience and work, patience and work. But I feel like an idiot! (Just venting a bit...I'll be happy as hell when I can report doing a full set!)

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posted June 29, 2000 04:02 AM         

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Patience and practice can work wonders. Keep trying to add weight to wide grip pulldowns. Eventually you will get stronger and can move to chins. Two years ago, I could do 3 chins. Now I can do about 15 in a set with no resistance. I can do sets with a 35 or 45 pound weight around my waist. I also weigh about 10 lbs heavier than I did 2 years ago. My sister is also struggling to try and be able to do a chin. I'll let you know if she does one. Good Luck!

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I Deadlift therefore I am!

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