Cable Pullover

How to perform the Cable Pullover

1. Attach a rope to a high pulley, step back two or three paces so the cable runs at a steep angle, and take one end of the rope in each hand.
2. Hinge forward from the hips until your torso is angled toward the stack, with the arms reaching up and forward and the lats already under stretch.
3. Lock a small bend into the elbows and keep it fixed; the arms act as levers and the shoulders are the only joint that moves.
4. Sweep the rope down in a wide arc past your face and chest, leading with the pinkies and thinking of driving the upper arms toward your hips.
5. Finish with the rope ends beside your thighs, spread them slightly apart, and hold the lat squeeze for a moment with the ribs pulled down.
6. Let the rope travel back up the same arc slowly until the arms are overhead again and the lats are fully lengthened before the next rep.

Suggested working range: 10–15 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Common mistakes

• •Standing directly under the pulley, so the cable pulls straight down and the top of the arc loses its lat stretch.
• •Letting the elbows bend and straighten through each rep, which turns the pullover into a rope pushdown for the triceps.
• •Staying bolt upright instead of hinging, so the lower back arches and the rope stops short of the thighs.
• •Letting the stack yank the arms back overhead instead of controlling the rope on the way up.

Variations & alternatives

Swap in a related movement if equipment, recovery, or progression demands it.

Conventional Deadlift

Back · Barbell

Barbell Row

Back · Barbell

Pull-Up

Back · Bodyweight

Lat Pulldown

Back · Machine

Seated Cable Row

Back · Cable