August ’26 Movement of the Month: Kettlebell Pull Over
by Coach Nick
This month’s movement of the month is the: Kettlebell Pullover
The kettlebell pullover is a great drill for building lat strength, shoulder control, and awareness in an overhead position. This has a huge transfer to CrossFit-style gymnastics movements like pull-ups, toes-to-bar, kipping pull-ups, and bar muscle-ups.
If you struggle to stay connected through your lats on the rig, this is a great movement to slow things down and feel what that engagement should be like.
Set Up:
Lie flat on a bench with a kettlebell held in both hands.
Start with your arms straight and the kettlebell directly over your chest, similar to the top position of a bench press.
Keep your feet planted, ribs down, and core engaged.
How to Perform:
With straight arms, slowly lower the kettlebell overhead until you feel a stretch through your lats and shoulders.
From there, pull the kettlebell back to the starting position, finishing with straight arms directly over your chest.
Move slow and controlled. The goal is to use your lats, not just swing the weight.
Regressions:
Start with a very light kettlebell or dumbbell.
Limit the range of motion if you feel discomfort in your shoulders.
You can also perform this movement lying on the floor to reduce the range of motion.
Sets and Reps:
Perform this movement 2x per week in 3 sets x 8–10 reps.
Focus on straight arms, controlled movement, ribs down, and feeling your lats do the work
