LOST ARTS: PULLOVERS

So this is a series I really wanna do. You all know I like moves and implements that make people ask what the fuck you're doing, and that's basically what this is gonna be: an ongoing saga of wild shit that'll get you jacked. So without further a-do:

The pullover. Golden Age dudes called it the upper body squat (I'm just some shit posting blog man but I would argue that's the dip. I digress). Ever hear of 20 rep squats and breathing pullovers? The old school guys believed it expanded your thorax/ribcage. We know that isn't possible but what it does do is give you a bigger chest AND back. Is it fancy? No. Does it look cool? Not particularly. Does it work you body in a new plane? Yup.

There are a few ways to do em, traditional pullovers I mean. You can lay perpendicular to the bench (cross body), parallel on a bench (how you normally lay), you can use dumbbells, kettlebells, cables, bands... Even in calisthenics moves deemed "straight arm strength" are types of pullovers. If you happen to still have this machine:

Lucky you, also can I come over and train? Anyways I have two personal favorites that I'll cover here: The Pullover Press and the Tri Pullover (or PJR Pullover)

I think The Bugez ran a cycle of Pullover Pressing when he was big on Bulgarian Lite. It works best from a decline bench but you can do it on the floor or flat bench (if you have flexible shoulders). With the bar on the ground, pull it to your chest using your lats (think about pulling with your elbows), then press it like a regular bench. Wanna talk about an upper body pump? Do 10 reps of this.

So a less talked about motion of the long head of the tricep (the side touching your back, and the largest of the 3 tricep heads) is bringing the arms from overhead to your sides. I don't recall the scientific name for this so if your looking for some big brain shit go look up that short Canadian dude. Anyways Paul Carter (of Lift-Run-Bang) uses pullovers for ease of elbow heavy triceps training. YouTube "PJR Pullover" for the nuances of this move.

All pullovers are cool moves to integrate. The Gada (made swings) are a type of pullover, for example. Anyways try some of these out. Toss them in on back day near the end, supersetted with chest flies, or in place of overhead triceps work.