# Reverse Hyperextension: how to do it

- Main muscles: glutes, hamstrings
- Also works: lower back
- Equipment: machine
- Level: intermediate
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/reverse_hyperextension/8b023a1905/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Lie face down with your hips at the back edge of the pad.
2. Hold the handles and put both ankles through the strap.
3. Squeeze your glutes and lift your straight legs until level with your body.
4. Hold for a moment, then lower your legs under control.

## Cues

- Lift with your glutes, not your lower back.
- Legs together and nearly straight.
- Stop when your legs are level.

## Common mistakes

- Swinging the legs with momentum.
- Arching your lower back to lift higher.
- Bending your knees to kick up.

## Starting position

Lie face down on the pad with the trunk and the front of the pelvis supported and the hip creases at the back edge, so the hips can bend freely. Hold the handles, elbows bent. Both legs pass through the strap, which sits just above the ankles. Legs hang down nearly straight, knees soft, feet together and clear of the floor. Stomach braced, head in line with the trunk.

## The movement

Squeeze the glutes and swing both straight legs back and up, pulling the strap and the pendulum arm with them. The legs rise as one unit, feet together, until they are level with the trunk. Hold briefly with the glutes tight. Lower under control and let the legs swing down and a little under the pad, so the pelvis tips forward over the edge and the low back rounds gently. The chest and front of the pelvis stay on the pad throughout; only the hips and pelvis move.

## End position

Top: legs level with the trunk, hips straight, no arch in the low back. Bottom: legs hanging about 75° below level, feet just behind the line under the hips, knees soft. | Measure | Target | Accept | Source | | ------- | ------ | ------ | ------ | | Pad edge | at the hip crease | hip crease to 5 cm below | [1] | | Strap position | just above the ankles | lower shin | [1] | | Knee flexion through the rep | 10° | 0–20° | [1] | | Legs at the top, from level with the trunk | 0° | 10° below to 5° above | [2], [4] | | Thigh-to-trunk range, bottom to top | 77° | 60–90° | [2] | | Lumbar flexion at the bottom | 20° | 10–30° | [2] | | Feet clear of the floor at the bottom | ≥ 5 cm | never touch | [1] | | Feet apart | together | ≤ 10 cm | [1] | | Chest lift off the pad | 0 cm | 0 cm | [1] | Derivation: on a 1.75 m avatar the leg from hip to ankle is about 90 cm, so a top pad about 1.0–1.1 m high keeps the feet off the floor when the legs hang 75° below level. A 77° range with the legs ending level puts the bottom about 13° short of hanging straight down; the extra forward tip of the pelvis (lumbar flexion about 20° in [2]) carries the feet a little under the pad.

## Tempo

1 s up, 0.5 s hold at the top, 1.5 s down, 0.5 s at the bottom.

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pad edge | at the hip crease | hip crease to 5 cm below | [1] |
| Strap position | just above the ankles | lower shin | [1] |
| Knee flexion through the rep | 10° | 0–20° | [1] |
| Legs at the top, from level with the trunk | 0° | 10° below to 5° above | [2] [4] |
| Thigh-to-trunk range, bottom to top | 77° | 60–90° | [2] |
| Lumbar flexion at the bottom | 20° | 10–30° | [2] |
| Feet clear of the floor at the bottom | ≥ 5 cm | never touch | [1] |
| Feet apart | together | ≤ 10 cm | [1] |
| Chest lift off the pad | 0 cm | 0 cm | [1] |

## Sources

1. [ExRx, Lever Reverse Hyper-extension (plate loaded)](https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/GluteusMaximus/LVReverseHyperextension)
2. [Lawrence, Chin and Swanson 2019, J Strength Cond Res 33(8):2053–2056, "Biomechanical comparison of the reverse hyperextension machine and the hyperextension exercise"](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30946266/)
3. [Lawrence, Somma and Swanson 2022, J Appl Biomech 38(5):336–345, "Effect of load on muscle activity, kinematics, and force production during the reverse hyperextension exercise"](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36096478/)
4. [Cuthbert et al. 2021, J Strength Cond Res 35(6):1477–1483, "Electromyographical differences between the hyperextension and reverse-hyperextension"](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34027916/)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/reverse-hyperextension