If you know how to do a triceps pushdown on a cable machine, you're one small adjustment away from doing standing cable pullovers. You need a high pulley for this exercise, and almost any type of handle that's wide enough for you to get both hands on it, about shoulder-width apart, will work. You can also do this exercise with two elastic resistance bands and a door anchor.
Muscles Worked
The standing cable pullover has received quite a bit of press as a good ab exercise, but your back muscles, in particular the latissimus dorsi, are the primary movers. Your triceps and chest muscles also work to swing your arms down toward your thighs. Taken as a whole, the standing cable pullover is an excellent exercise for working your entire upper body.
Basic Technique
Stand facing the cable pulley, which should be higher than your head. Grasp the handle with your palms facing down, hands about shoulder-width apart. Keep your arms straight, but not locked, as you swing your hands in an arc down toward your thighs. Keep the weight under control as you slowly raise your hands back to the starting position. Your elbows should point down, not out, through the entire range of motion.
Abs
As you swing your arms down, you may notice a tendency to hunch your shoulders over the bar and use your body weight to press it down. As your arms come back up, your body will want to do the opposite, swinging your shoulders back and arching your lower back. This can be a challenging ab exercise, depending on how much weight you're using, because in order to combat these tendencies, you must squeeze your abs throughout the exercise. Think of keeping your torso steady and upright, as still as possible from the shoulders down.
Resistance Band Variation
If you don't have access to a high cable pulley, you can still do this exercise. Use a door anchor to fix the ends of two resistance bands over a door, then position yourself facing the door with the handle from one band in each hand. If you're very tall, you can kneel to get into the right position. The rest of the exercise form is the same: Swing your straight arms down toward your thighs, then slowly return to the starting position.
Modifications
If you experience shoulder discomfort during this exercise, point your elbows down instead of outward. For a slightly more challenging variation, try balancing on one foot as you do the pullovers. You might not expect this to make the exercise more difficult, but balancing will quickly reveal any other errors or imbalances in your technique. You might even have to reduce the weight slightly.
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