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Barbell Bent Arm Pullover animation

How to do the Barbell Bent Arm Pullover

BackBack & LatsBarbellIntermediate

The barbell bent arm pullover is a rare movement that stretches and loads the lats through a long arc, building the thick, wide back that rows alone cannot deliver. Master this exercise and you unlock a level of lat development most lifters never achieve.

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Muscles worked

Primary
LatsMid-back
Secondary
BicepsRear deltsForearms

Step-by-step

  1. Lie perpendicular or lengthwise on a bench, holding a barbell with a shoulder-width overhand grip and elbows bent at roughly 90 degrees.
  2. Lower the barbell in a controlled arc behind your head, feeling a deep stretch through your lats and chest without letting the elbows flare wide.
  3. Drive the bar back over your chest by initiating the pull from your lats, not your triceps, keeping the same elbow angle throughout the movement.
  4. Pause briefly at the top, squeeze the lats, then repeat for the prescribed reps with full control on every lowering phase.

Common mistakes

  • Straightening the arms during the movement turns it into a triceps exercise, so lock in that bent-elbow position before you start and maintain it throughout each rep.
  • Dropping the hips off the bench to generate momentum removes tension from the target muscles, so keep your upper back firmly planted and move only at the shoulder joint.
  • Using too much weight forces you to shorten the range of motion, so choose a load that allows the barbell to travel well below bench level on every single rep.

Pro tip — Actively think about pulling your elbows toward your hips rather than lifting the bar, this internal cue shifts the dominant stress directly onto the lats and dramatically improves the mind-muscle connection on every rep.

Sets & reps by goal

Build muscle3–4 sets × 10–15 reps
Get stronger3–4 sets × 6–8 reps
Lose fat / tone3 sets × 12–20 reps

Rest: 60–90 sec between sets.

More Back exercises

Barbell Bent Over RowBarbell Bent Over RowBarbell Decline Bent Arm PulloverBarbell Decline Bent Arm PulloverBarbell Decline Wide Grip PulloverBarbell Decline Wide Grip PulloverBarbell Incline RowBarbell Incline RowBarbell ShrugBarbell ShrugBarbell Reverse Grip Bent Over RowBarbell Reverse Grip Bent Over Row
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