Reverse Hyperextension
Lying face down with your hips at the edge of a pad, you lift your straight legs back until they line up with your torso, training your glutes and lower back.
Equipment
- Primary muscles
- Glutes, Lower back
- Secondary
- Hamstrings
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
- Primary muscles
- Glutes, Lower back
- Secondary
- Hamstrings
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
Here your torso stays still and your legs move, the reverse of a back extension. That lets you work your glutes and lower back without holding a weight in your hands or on your back, which is why many lifters use it as an accessory to squats and deadlifts. The machine adds a pendulum you can load with plates; a high bench and bodyweight are a good way to learn the movement and are often enough for higher-rep sets.
How to do it (Machine)
Lie face down on the machine with your hips at the edge of the pad and your legs hanging free. Hold the handles.
Let your legs hang down with your torso flat on the pad.
Squeeze your glutes to swing your straight legs back and up until they're in line with your torso.
Lower them under control rather than letting the pendulum drop. Keep the range moderate and don't hyperextend at the top.
Lie face down on a high bench with your hips at the edge and your legs hanging down. Hold the sides of the bench.
Lift both legs back and up by squeezing your glutes, keeping your knees almost straight.
Stop when your legs are level with your torso instead of swinging them higher.
Lower them slowly. If you need momentum to get them up, the range is too long for your current strength.
Common mistakes
Swinging the pendulum
Letting the machine's pendulum drop and swinging it back up turns the set into momentum. Lower your legs under control and start each rep from a near stop.
Kicking your legs too high
Swinging your legs past torso level arches your lower back hard. Stop when your legs are in line with your body.
Hips too far onto the pad
If your hips are on the pad, your legs can't hang freely and the range disappears. Slide forward until the edge of the pad is at your hips and your legs hang straight down.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
