Pullovers What's the deal??

[Thorgrim]

Do they actually expand the rib cage? Are they a useful exercise or a waste of time?

[cog]

This may be outdated,i can't recall any info since the early 80's when Boyer Coe was discussing this.Apparently you must be young...the most benefit going to 17 yr olds....

[ironwill]

great for lats, and upper pecs......

[tiramisu]

... what's an Upper Pec? Last time I checked there was a pectoralis major and a pectoralis minor that share the same attachments and couldn't be seperated by exercise :)

[ironwill]

upper pec/ front shoulder tie ins, and lats....that better mr. anatomy chart....lol

[tiramisu]

My baiting is weak this evening.

[ironwill]

lol, i feel the pullovers big time in my lats, and pecs....thats all im sayin from here on in......before you get your bait freshened up a bit....;)

[O-Train]

... what's an Upper Pec? Last time I checked there was a pectoralis major and a pectoralis minor that share the same attachments and couldn't be seperated by exercise :)

Clavicular attachment of the pectoralis major...the muscle fans out a lot.

[Ritch]

My baiting is weak this evening.

Ha ha ha...

[Chaps]

... what's an Upper Pec? Last time I checked there was a pectoralis major and a pectoralis minor that share the same attachments and couldn't be seperated by exercise :)

great for pec minor :a+

[ta-kid]

Pullovers can expand your chest well into your 30,s ,if done right and consistently.I was a late starter in my mid 20,s when i started bodybuilding and i managed to expand my chest over 10 years.Yes its a lot easier the younger you are ,but what is not.
I basically do them for my lats now in my BACK days.I have found the most effective pullover for me was ,shoulder blades on a bench,hips as low as possiable,take a deep breath,and pull across the bench with a dumbell.As you use heavier wieght you will tend to lift your hips which makes it less effective.I would get my wife to sit on my hips when I went over a 100 lb pullovers.
That usually brought a lot of comments from the rest of the guys in the gym.

[Thorgrim]

^^^^LOL!

What kind of exercises were you actually doing.... :D

Seriously though sounds like good advice. I never really thought about dropping my hips really low. I get a decent stretch in the lats from them but wonder if other exercises would be more beneficial for me.

I will give them a try again with the low hips. Other then sore lats how will I know they are working does your rib cage get sore too?

I might also have to find a hot girl at the gym to help hold my hips down. Can you give me a spot miss? Now here's what I need you to do. HAHA!

[ta-kid]

^^^^LOL!

What kind of exercises were you actually doing.... :D

Seriously though sounds like good advice. I never really thought about dropping my hips really low. I get a decent stretch in the lats from them but wonder if other exercises would be more beneficial for me.

I will give them a try again with the low hips. Other then sore lats how will I know they are working does your rib cage get sore too?

I might also have to find a hot girl at the gym to help hold my hips down. Can you give me a spot miss? Now here's what I need you to do. HAHA!
LOL yea one of my x training partners always teases her with his requests.
I feel the pull in my lats where they attach at the side of the rib cage and they are good for bringing out the row of three smaller muscles at the same attachment location.I forget what they are called at the moment.The combination of taking a deep breath and lowering the wieght over and behind your head pulls across the pectorals which creates a slight pull on your rib cage,hence after many months of doing them you get a slight rib cage expansion.Obviously it will effect everybody to different extents depending on your body structure.Some perfer doing them with a ez-curl bar and some perfer doing them length wise on a bench instead of across.

[cog]

Teenagers should do this movement.They will get the most dramatic increase in ribcage diameter.In short order.This used to get paired up with 15-20 rep squats.Back and forth.

[Chaps]

try these with two dumbbells to make the movement unilateral and also use a decline bench, this will put more emphasis on the lats

[btufts]

I used to do these all the time either on the end of a chest workout or the end of a lat workout. They work great for bringing out your seratus muscles and my ribs have definately expanded from doing them so much when i was 15-16. I've been doing them again lately and the end of my workouts with my hips low and my upper back braced on a flat bench. definately work for expanding ribs.