This was definitely one of my more difficult challenges, but by the end of the week, I felt a lot more confident in the exercise. I did 50 dumbbell pullovers a day for a week - My verdict These were tough and definitely forced me to work my core hard. At the bottom of the dumbbell pullover, with my arms holding the dumbbell extended behind my head, I extended my legs out, before bringing them back in and completing the dumbbell pullover. For this exercise, instead of keeping my feet flat against the bench, I raised them up into a tabletop position as if I was doing a dead bug (here’s what happened when I did 100 dead bugs a day for a week). I also felt this move in my chest - dumbbell pullovers can help improve flexibility in the upper body, something that can easily become tight if you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk, like me.īy the final days in this challenge, I felt more confident in the move and opted for a slight variation, doing 50 dumbbell pullovers with leg extensions. Going from not working my triceps, to doing dumbbell pullovers every day meant that by days four and five, my arms were aching. I could feel my abs working throughout the move, and tried to think about keeping my belly button sucked into my spine throughout. On one of these days, there weren’t enough weight plates in the gym to stack next to the bench, (I was too small to lie on the bench and keep my feet flat on the floor), so I bent my knees and placed my feet flat on the bench, being sure my head was still supported.įor the final set on both days, I increased the weight, grabbing a 15-pound dumbbell.

I definitely felt my abs workingįor days two and three, I continued moving with the lighter weight, opting to do three sets of 15 reps, with a break in between each to re-set. I’d pause at the bottom of the movement, and by the end of day one, I felt like I could feel a slight twinge in my triceps. For the rest of the reps, I used a ten-pound dumbbell and moved slowly, with control for the rest of the reps. I realized after ten reps I needed to get my ego in check and lower my weight - my back was arching as I lowered the dumbbell behind my head, and my palms were facing up toward the ceiling at the bottom of the move. On day one of this challenge, I grabbed a 20-pound dumbbell and got to work. I had to lower the weight to make sure my form was correct To find out more, I grabbed a dumbbell (check out the best adjustable dumbbells if you’re weightlifting at home), and added 50 dumbbell pullovers daily to my routine. I did 50 dumbbell pullovers a day for a week - here’s what happened Make sure that you keep your back pressed into the bench for the entire exercise - if you are arching your back, chances are you’re not engaging your core as you lower the weight behind your head.

Dumbbell pullover floor