Back Extensions: The Reverse Way

[Guest guest]

Grant wrote:

<Since I am behind in my reading, I am not sure if this has been mentioned

but has anyone discussed using the

back extensor muscles in the following exercise?

Lying prone, with the upper body on a bench or desk and lifting the legs to

horizontal (or above). I guess, techanically speaking, it is not a " back

extension " but more a " hip extension. "

How would this compare to the other exercises in terms of muscle contaction,

injury occurrence or any other aspects? >

*** What you are describing is a Louie favourite, namely the prone

" reverse hyper " exercise, which you will see discussed in many articles by

Louie and Dave Tate, for example on the deepsquatter.com site. Actually,

most forms of prone hyper, except for the curlup variant, are largely a form

of prone hip extension. This does not mean that the spinal muscles are not

being exercised, but that their main role is mainly isometric stabilisation.

There are essentially two ways of executing this exercise if you have access

to a prone reverse hyper bench with the lever arm free to swing beneath the

bench (Louie sells his specific version of these):

1. Slow controlled hip extending action from beginning to end.

2. Ballistic, rapid action using the swinging pendulum to help you handle

more weight, move more dynamically and overload you on the eccentric return

to rest.

Both forms have not been associated with any special injuries and can be very

useful in strengthening some of the key muscles involved in squats, deadlifts

and Olympic pulls. Some of the Westside members on the list might like to

add their comments on this exercise.

Dr Mel C Siff

Denver, USA

Supertraining/