Hyperextension

Why Should You do Hyperextension?

Hyperextension in a 45-degree angled bench is an excellent exercise for the lower back, your erector spine. You will also train your buttocks and hamstrings. The exercise is easy to perform and suitable for you who are relatively new to the gym and experienced back lifting practitioners because it provides a pump in the lower back.

Exercise Details for Hyperextension

  • Primary Muscle
    Lower back
  • Secondary Muscle
    Gluteus
  • Equipment
    Body weight, Weight Plate
  • Level
    Easy

Starting Position

Stand on the bench intended for the exercise. It should have a 45-degree angle (there are benches where you lie horizontally with the ground, but these work similarly). Place your feet on the base plate and press your heels against the support so that you stand firmly on the ground. Place your thighs on the leg rest and ensure that the upper part of the support ends at the hip bone. Stretch your back so that your whole body is in a single straight line. This is your starting position.

Performance

Now slowly lower your upper body to the floor. You should bend your body at the hips and keep your back neutrally straight. Perform the movement slowly all the way down until it stops in the back of the thigh or until your back can no longer be in a neutral position. You have now reached the bottom. Slowly reverse the movement upwards again until your whole body is in a straight line. Hold in this position for 2-3 seconds. Do not stretch your body backward. Some may feel a larger pump when they do so, but you expose your back to unnecessary pressure in this position. When you have been in the top position for a few seconds, you slowly go down again.

Three Different Difficulty Levels

Hyperextensions can be performed in three different ways. The easiest way is to cross your arms over your chest. It all gets a little more challenging if you stretch out arms like Superman or put them behind your neck during the exercise. The heaviest way to perform the exercise is with a weight plate in your hands in front of your body. However, be careful when doing this and make sure that you have learned the exercise properly before testing with weights.

Tips for Hyperextension

  • The support should end at the hip bone so that you can fold forward
  • Perform the movement slowly
  • Do not bend the spine; it should be in a neutral position
  • Do not overstretch in the top position. The body should stay in a straight position
  • You can perform the exercise within three different difficulty levels. Crossing the arms over the chest is the easiest; lifting the arms forward is more difficult, and the most difficult is lifting your arms forward with a weight plate.

Download our App Mygreatness

You'll be able to track your workouts, nail your nutrition plan, stock up on supps, and get fit on the go.

Related Exercises

placeholder-image

Seated Leg Curl

Deadlift

Maintain a tensed torso throughout the lift. Your back should be neutral throughout the lift, do not bend it at all. Your arms should be straight throughout the exercise. Your hips should lie between your knees and your shoulders at the starting position

Pull Down

The back muscles on the side are called Latissimus Dorsi or short your Lats, and they give the back its width. As the name suggests, this exercise mainly trains these muscles. There are lots of rowing exercises that train your lats, but the advantage of Pull Downs is that your lats are stretched out in the starting position. This is because the Lats muscle attaches to the arm bone and is stretched out completely when you lift your arms forward over your head. The path of movement for the muscle is thus long, which is good for muscle growth.