Female Bodybuilder Michelle Russell packs muscle on her pecs with dumbbell pullovers – maybe you should too! :

Niggling doubts over the effectiveness of the dumbbell pullover? Then you need to see Canadian female bodybuilder Michelle Russell's crazy thick pecs as she powers through a set of this sorely misunderstood exercise.

Michelle, 33,, has packed on masses of hard muscle and is rapidly carving a name for herself as one of the finest rising talents in the sport of female bodybuilding.

As she flexed her way to both the Womens Open Heavyweight and Best Poser titles at the  Nova Scotia Provincial Bodybuilding Championships recently she stunned the audience with her truly mountainous 17 inch biceps.

Indeed, Michelle's arms are so good they threaten to overshadow her other attributes – in particular her beautiful overall shape and her super-thick ripped pecs.

For which, as you may have figured by now, she utilises the dumbbell pullover.

The pullover has fallen out of favor a little because no-one was sure if it developed the pecs, the lats, the back or the shoulders.

In fact it develops ALL of them and has been likened to 'a squat for the upper body'

And here's how to do it.

Dumbbell Pullovers Preparation

Lie on a flat bench, either the "usual" way or, as Michelle Russell prefers at 90 degrees to the bench, feet on the floor.

Grab a light dumbbell, as if you were going to do a triceps extension, palms against the plates and the handle positioned between your thumbs and index fingers.

This should be as easy as squatting with an empty bar because we're basically learning the movement and testing range of motion, so around 10 pounds should be plenty.

Start with the weight even with your chest and both arms straight, and slowly lower the weight towards your head, paying attention to the muscles you feel stretching throughout the upper body.

Go as far back as is comfortable, while maintaining almost-locked arms, before pulling back in to the start position.

As you're going through the reps (12-15 for now), try lowering a bit further until, ideally, your hands are at least level with the bench, if not slightly below.

Once you've done an easy set or two with the dumbbell, stand up and see how your shoulders, chest, and lats are feeling – what's tight, what's loose, what's getting pumped – and then repeat the test with a short barbell or EZ-curl bar using a pronated (palms-down) grip, again with a weight that has you thinking, "This is way too light for me."

If you feeling any shoulder soreness after trying pullovers with light-ish weight, higher reps, and different hand positions then seriously this may not be the exercise for you.

But if you're good then get ready to build some Michelle Russell style super thick muscle!


Dumbbell Pullover Exercise

Traditionally the Dumbbell Pullover is the last exercise to be performed on chest day – and with good reason. Your pecs need to be pre-fatigued and it would be good if your shoulders were too.

This exercise is all about mind-muscle connection.

Try 3-4 sets of 8-15 reps and FOCUS ON SQUEEEEEEZING THE PECS!