Arnold Schwarzenegger commands attention. Whether he’s running his mouth on camera in Pumping Iron, serving up iconic action movie one-liners, or taking to the political podium, people listen to what the Austrian Oak has to say.

And for good reason. Schwarzenegger is perhaps more responsible for ushering bodybuilding into popular culture than any man living. So when the G.O.A.T. calls the dumbbell pullover a “forgotten gem” and one of bodybuilding’s “must-do” movements, we certainly take note. 

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“One of the prime movements that made [my chest grow to 57 inches] was the dumbbell pullover…” Schwarzenegger wrote for Flex magazine in 2014. He purported that the pullover not only helped develop his now-iconic pecs, but that the exercise could even expand the human rib cage. 

Naturally, we’re skeptical. So we reached out to an Exercise Physiology PhD (who also happens to be a competitive bodybuilder himself) to separate fact from fiction and find out if Schwarzenegger was blowing smoke about the dumbbell pullover. 

The Dumbbell Pullover: Arnold’s Favorite Exercise? 

Before we unpack the Oak’s rationale, let’s get on the same page. Dumbbell pullovers are an old-fashioned bodybuilding exercise that was commonly adored by golden-era pros like Schwarzenegger and his contemporaries. However, it has since fallen out of fashion somewhat — a “forgotten gem,” as Schwarzenegger puts it. 

Pullovers work a unique assortment of muscles. From the man himself: “[Pullovers] work the chest (both outer and lower), lats, and serratus,” Schwarzenegger says. But in his view, that’s not the real selling point.

“I would recommend [pullovers] as an absolute must for expanding the rib cage,” he writes, specifically citing the movement’s utility for teenage bodybuilders. “The younger you are when you start training, the more effective the exercise is.” 

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That’s where we raised an eyebrow. Modern science has finally dispelled the myth that lifting weights stunts growth or is inherently damaging for children and can even be beneficial for kids as long as strength training workouts are performed in supervised conditions with reasonable loads. (1)(2) So what’s the deal?

Do Dumbbell Pullovers Make Your Rib Cage Bigger?

Schwarzenegger certainly knows his stuff when it comes to muscle hypertrophy — he won the Mr. Olympia seven times, after all — but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s an anatomy expert. 

According to the UK-based Royal Osteoporosis Society, “…bones stop growing in length between the ages of 16 and 18, but your bone density continues to increase until your late 20s.” 

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Case closed? Not quite. Schwarzenegger may have simply conflated the natural goings-on of puberty with his training choices. After all, he sports a famously pronounced ribcage, which contributed to his iconic V-taper look. 

But we wanted to dig a little deeper, so we tapped BarBend expert, Exercise Physiology PhD, and bodybuilding competitor Dr. Ryan Girts for his take: 

“I wouldn’t say that pullovers actually expand the rib cage,” Girts told us. “But Arnold did have a point. When performed with a full range of motion, pullovers can improve lat and thoracic spine mobility, which probably helped Arnold perfect his stomach vacuum and other poses on stage, creating the appearance of a broader torso.” 

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We think Dr. Girts is right on the money here. To recap, Schwarzenegger’s most-adored exercise didn’t actually make his rib cage larger, but pullovers can definitely create the illusion of a broader, beefier torso. We think it’s a combination of a few factors: 

As Dr. Girts notes, pullovers are fantastic for improving shoulder and spinal mobility, which can make it easier to hit the right poses on a bodybuilding stage. 

Pullovers are unique in that they work two opposing muscles that surround the ribs simultaneously: your pecs and lats. Growing both will increase your upper-body mass and improve your shoulder-to-waist ratio. 

Bodybuilders who undergo contest prep diets walk out on stage with very low levels of body fat, making the ribs more pronounced and visible than they might be during the off-season. 

How To Do Dumbbell Pullovers 

Will pullovers give you a barrel chest? Yes, but not by making your ribcage bigger (sorry, Arnie). This dumbbell exercise targets the musculature that surrounds your ribs and, when performed with proper form, is one of the best ways to develop your lats and chest at the same time.

The dumbbell pullover places a high amount of mechanical tension on the target muscles when they’re stretched with your arms behind your head.

Contemporary studies are showing that long-length partial reps, which suit the dumbbell pullover, are exceptionally potent at building muscle. (4) 

So, if you want to make the kind of gains that would have Schwarzenegger blushing, you need to know how to do pullovers as well as he did. Here’s a crash course: 

Lie down on a weight bench and hold a dumbbell by the underside of the plate in your palms, with your arms reaching vertically above you.

Brace your core; you can plant your feet on the far end of the bench, leave them on the ground, or lie perpendicular to the bench altogether without supporting your hips.

Drift your arms slowly back behind your head without excessively bending your elbows. 

As the weight passes behind you, allow the dumbbell to stretch your lats and pecs until your upper arm is parallel to the floor.

Pull the weight back to the starting position, stopping just as the dumbbell comes back into your field of view.

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References

Dahab KS, McCambridge TM. Strength training in children and adolescents: raising the bar for young athletes? Sports Health. 2009 May;1(3):223-6. doi: 10.1177/1941738109334215. PMID: 23015875; PMCID: PMC3445252.

Conroy, B. P., Kraemer, W. J., Maresh, C. M., Fleck, S. J., Stone, M. H., Fry, A. C., Miller, P. D., & Dalsky, G. P. (1993). Bone mineral density in elite junior Olympic weightlifters. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 25(10), 1103–1109.

Pedrosa, G. F., Lima, F. V., Schoenfeld, B. J., Lacerda, L. T., Simões, M. G., Pereira, M. R., Diniz, R. C. R., & Chagas, M. H. (2022). Partial range of motion training elicits favorable improvements in muscular adaptations when carried out at long muscle lengths. European journal of sport science, 22(8), 1250–1260.

Featured Image: @schwarzenegger / Instagram

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