5 EZ Bar Lying Bent Arms Pullover Alternatives for Limited Gear

What can I do instead of EZ Bar Lying Bent Arms Pullover? Use variations that reproduce the pullover's long-lever lat stretch: dumbbell lying pullover, cable straight-arm pulldown, wide-grip lat pulldown, or single-arm DB pullover. Cue: keep a soft bend in the elbows and pull through the lats, feeling the posterior torso lengthen.

Original Exercise: EZ Bar Lying Bent Arms Pullover

EZ Bar Lying Bent Arms Pullover
Primary Muscle
Lats
Equipment
Ez-barbell
Difficulty
Intermediate
Type
Isolation
Secondary Muscles: Triceps, Chest
How to Perform EZ Bar Lying Bent Arms Pullover
  1. Lie flat on a bench with your head at one end and your feet on the floor.
  2. Hold the EZ barbell with a pronated grip (palms facing away from you) and your hands shoulder-width apart.
  3. Extend your arms straight above your chest, keeping a slight bend in your elbows.
  4. Lower the barbell in an arc motion behind your head, maintaining the slight bend in your elbows.
  5. Pause for a moment, then return the barbell to the starting position by reversing the arc motion.
  6. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Ranked EZ Bar Lying Bent Arms Pullover Alternatives

Best Match
Bent-Arm Barbell Pullover

1. Bent-Arm Barbell Pullover

99.9% Match
Lats Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie on a flat bench with a barbell using a shoulder grip width.
  2. Hold the bar straight over your chest with a bend in your arms. This will be your starting position.
  3. While keeping your arms in the bent arm position, lower the weight slowly in an arc behind your head while breathing in until you feel a stretch on the chest.
  4. At that point, bring the barbell back to the starting position using the arc through which the weight was lowered and exhale as you perform this movement.
  5. Hold the weight on the initial position for a second and repeat the motion for the prescribed number of repetitions.
Barbell Decline Bent Arm Pullover

2. Barbell Decline Bent Arm Pullover

95% Match
Lats Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie down on a decline bench with your head lower than your hips and your feet secured.
  2. Hold a barbell with a pronated grip (palms facing away from you) and extend your arms straight above your chest.
  3. Lower the barbell behind your head in a controlled manner, keeping your arms slightly bent.
  4. Pause for a moment, then raise the barbell back to the starting position by contracting your lats.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Barbell Decline Wide-grip Pullover

3. Barbell Decline Wide-grip Pullover

93% Match
Lats Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie on a decline bench with your head lower than your hips and your feet secured.
  2. Hold a barbell with a wide grip and extend your arms straight above your chest.
  3. Lower the barbell behind your head in a controlled manner, keeping your arms straight.
  4. Pause for a moment, then raise the barbell back to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Barbell Pullover

4. Barbell Pullover

83.7% Match
Lats Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie flat on a bench with your head at one end and your feet on the floor.
  2. Hold a barbell with a shoulder-width grip and extend your arms straight above your chest.
  3. Keeping your arms straight, lower the barbell behind your head in a controlled manner until you feel a stretch in your lats.
  4. Pause for a moment, then raise the barbell back to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Cable Lying Extension Pullover (with Rope Attachment)

5. Cable Lying Extension Pullover (with Rope Attachment)

81% Match
Lats Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Attach a rope to a cable machine and set the pulley at the highest position.
  2. Lie down on a bench with your head towards the cable machine.
  3. Hold the rope with both hands and extend your arms straight up above your chest.
  4. Keeping your arms straight, slowly lower the rope behind your head while maintaining control.
  5. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then slowly raise the rope back to the starting position.
Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown

6. Rope Straight-Arm Pulldown

78% Match
Lats Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Attach a rope to a high pulley and make your weight selection. Stand a couple feet back from the pulley with your feet staggered and take the rope with both hands. Lean forward from the hip, keeping your back straight, with your arms extended up in front of you. This will be your starting position.
  2. Keeping your arms straight, extend the shoulder to pull the rope down to your thighs.
  3. Pause at the bottom of the motion, squeezing your lats.
  4. Return to the starting position without allowing the weight to fully rest on the stack.
Straight-Arm Pulldown

7. Straight-Arm Pulldown

77% Match
Lats Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. You will start by grabbing the wide bar from the top pulley of a pulldown machine and using a wider than shoulder-width pronated (palms down) grip. Step backwards two feet or so.
  2. Bend your torso forward at the waist by around 30-degrees with your arms fully extended in front of you and a slight bend at the elbows. If your arms are not fully extended then you need to step a bit more backwards until they are. Once your arms are fully extended and your torso is slightly bent at the waist, tighten the lats and then you are ready to begin.
  3. While keeping the arms straight, pull the bar down by contracting the lats until your hands are next to the side of the thighs. Breathe out as you perform this step.
  4. While keeping the arms straight, go back to the starting position while breathing in.
  5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Lever Pullover

8. Lever Pullover

75.7% Match
Lats Lever Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Adjust the seat and handles of the leverage machine to a comfortable position.
  2. Sit on the machine with your back against the pad and grasp the handles with an overhand grip.
  3. Keep your arms slightly bent and your core engaged.
  4. Slowly pull the handles towards your chest, squeezing your lats.
  5. Pause for a moment at the peak contraction, then slowly return to the starting position.
Cable Straight Arm Pulldown (with Rope)

9. Cable Straight Arm Pulldown (with Rope)

72.2% Match
Lats Cable Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Attach a rope to the cable machine at the highest setting.
  2. Stand facing the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  3. Grasp the rope with both hands, palms facing down.
  4. Extend your arms fully in front of you, keeping your elbows slightly bent.
  5. Engage your lats and slowly pull the rope down towards your thighs, keeping your arms straight.
Weighted Pull-up

10. Weighted Pull-up

72.2% Match
Lats Weighted Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Grab the pull-up bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  2. Hang from the bar with your arms fully extended and your body straight.
  3. Engage your back muscles and pull your body up towards the bar, keeping your elbows close to your body.
  4. Continue pulling until your chin is above the bar.
  5. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your body back down to the starting position.

Why You Might Need a EZ Bar Lying Bent Arms Pullover Alternative

You may substitute the EZ-bar pullover for several practical reasons: no EZ-bar available, shoulder discomfort with loaded end-range shoulder flexion, or a desire for unilateral work to address left-right imbalances. Alternatives let you preserve lat emphasis while changing load path and joint stress. For example, cable straight-arm pulldowns reduce end-range shoulder torque, cue: hinge slightly at the hips, lock the scapula down and pull with the lats. Dumbbell pullovers allow a larger thoracic extension and scapular glide, increasing long-lever lat stretch without barbell wrist strain. Choosing a swap changes leverage and muscle recruitment, so match the substitute to your mobility and pain profile.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Select a substitute based on equipment, shoulder health, desired range of motion and unilateral vs bilateral loading. If you lack an EZ-bar but have dumbbells, choose a lying dumbbell pullover and focus on scapular depression to bias the lats; cue: keep elbows slightly bent and lead the movement with the lats, not the triceps. If shoulder pain limits end-range flexion, choose cable straight-arm pulldowns or lat pulldowns to control ROM and reduce impingement risk. For symmetry work, pick single-arm cable or dumbbell variations to improve neural drive and correct strength imbalances. Prioritize exercises that let you progressively overload the lats through full, controlled reps.

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles does EZ Bar Lying Bent Arms Pullover work?

The primary mover is the latissimus dorsi, with secondary contribution from the teres major, serratus anterior and the long head of the triceps. Cue execution by maintaining a slight elbow bend and initiating the return with scapular depression and lat contraction to maximize posterior shoulder and ribcage tension.

What is the best bodyweight alternative to EZ Bar Lying Bent Arms Pullover?

A wide-grip inverted row (bodyweight row) targets the lats effectively when you pull the elbows down and back. Cue: keep the torso rigid, drive the elbows toward your hips and squeeze the lats at the top to replicate the pullover's horizontal pulling pattern.

Can I build muscle without doing EZ Bar Lying Bent Arms Pullover?

Yes, you can build lat mass using other lat-dominant movements like wide-grip pulldowns, bent-over rows, and cable straight-arm pulldowns. Focus on consistent progressive overload, full controlled range of motion, and mind-muscle connection with cues to pull through the lats rather than the arms.

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