Reverse Hyperextension
A prone hip extension off the end of a bench, lifting the legs behind the body to drive the glutes and hamstrings.
How to do it
- Lie face down on a flat bench with your hip crease at the front edge.
- Let both legs hang toward the floor with your knees softly bent.
- Reach under the bench and grip the frame so your torso cannot slide forward.
- Squeeze your glutes and lift your legs behind you until your body is level.
- Pause at the top without arching your lower back past flat.
- Lower your legs slowly back to the hang and repeat for the prescribed reps.
Key technique cue
Lift the legs with the glutes, no swinging, not above body level; hips at the bench edge.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Swinging the legs so momentum carries them up, which unloads the glutes entirely.
- ✕ Arching past level at the top, which shifts the load onto the lumbar spine.
- ✕ Sliding forward so the hips are supported by the bench, which kills the range.
- ✕ Leading with the lower back instead of the glutes, which is what makes it feel like a back exercise.
Benefits
- ✓ Trains hip extension with the torso supported, so the lower back is not the limiter.
- ✓ Needs only a bench, so it works in home and minimal-equipment settings.
- ✓ Builds the glute and hamstring strength that carries into hinges and squats.
About the exercise
The reverse hyperextension is hip extension performed from a fixed torso. You lie face down on a bench with your hips at the edge and your legs hanging free, grip the frame underneath, then lift your legs behind you until the body is level and lower them under control. The glutes drive it, the hamstrings assist and the spinal erectors hold the trunk flat. Despite the name it is not a spinal exercise: the joint that moves is the hip. The machine version is credited with posterior chain loading and less lumbar stress than a back extension.
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