The lying cable pullover is a straight-arm isolation exercise performed on a bench with the head toward a low pulley, sweeping a straight bar from overhead to the hips to train the lats. It is the bar version of the same arc thecable pull overpage describes: the fixed grip holds the hands a set distance apart, so the shoulders travel on one repeatable path and the load is easy to compare week to week. The cable stays loaded through the whole sweep. Lifters use it as a late lat accessory.
What Muscles Does the Lying Cable Pullover Work?
- Primary: Latissimus dorsi, teres major
- Secondary: Pectoralis major (sternal fibres), triceps brachii (long head), posterior deltoid
- Tertiary: Rectus abdominis, serratus anterior, forearm flexors (grip)
How Do You Set Up for the Lying Cable Pullover?
Drop the pulley to its lowest position and attach a straight bar. Place a flat bench lengthwise in front of the stack, then lie back with your head at the end nearest the pulley and your feet flat on the floor. Reach overhead and take an overhand grip at shoulder width, arms nearly straight behind you. Pull the ribs down so the lower back sits flat and the cable is taut.
How Do You Perform the Lying Cable Pullover?
- Set the arms nearly straight behind the head with soft elbows and the lats already stretched.
- Sweep the bar over your face in a wide arc, driving the upper arms toward your hips.
- Finish with the bar over the hips and the arms in line with the torso, lats fully shortened.
- Hold for one count, pressing the lower back down instead of letting the hips arch up.
- Return the bar slowly along the same path, letting the stack open the shoulders overhead.
- Stop at the stretch with the bar just below head height and the cable still under tension.
What Are the Key Form Cues?
- Move the upper arms, not the hands: the bar is along for the ride, so aim the elbows at your hips.
- Ribs glued to the bench: keeping the ribcage down puts the stretch in the lats rather than the lower back.
- Keep the grip width fixed; the bar makes it easy to feel any drift.
- Reach the shoulders fully overhead at the stretch before starting the sweep.
- Exhale as the bar crosses your face and keep the arc tight to your body.
What Are the Most Common Mistakes?
- Using more weight than the arms can hold long: the elbows bend and the movement becomes a lying triceps extension, so cut the load.
- Hyperextending the lower back at the stretch: the lumbar spine takes cable load as the bar drops behind the head, so keep the ribs pinned down.
- Ending the sweep above the chest: the lats stop short of their shortened position, so bring the bar all the way to the hips.
- Gripping too wide: the shoulders internally rotate at the stretch and the front of the joint takes the pull, so stay near shoulder width.
- Bouncing the plates on the return: the stretch happens with slack in the cable, so slow the last few inches.
What Are the Best Lying Cable Pullover Variations?
- Lying cable rope pullover: a rope lets the hands spread and the elbows travel wider.
- Dumbbell pullover on flat bench: tension fades past the chest, the easier way to learn the path.
- Decline lying cable pullover: the head-down bench angle lengthens the stretch behind the head.
- Single-arm cable pullover: a D-handle per side, with the trunk resisting rotation.
- Kneeling straight-arm pulldown: the standing cousin from a high pulley, for when no bench is free.
How Do You Progress the Lying Cable Pullover?
- Add one plate to the stack once every rep reaches the hips with the arms long.
- Build from 10 reps to 15 per set before adding weight again.
- Work 3 sets and add a fourth when the final set matches the first for range.
- Lower on a three-count, or pause two seconds at the overhead stretch.
How Should You Program the Lying Cable Pullover?
Run it near the end of a back or pull session, after rows and pulldowns. Once or twice a week is enough for an isolation lift. Use 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 15 reps with 45 to 60 seconds of rest between sets. Because the bar path is fixed, log the stack and chase small jumps. Pair it with a face pull so the upper back also trains a horizontal pull.