Reverse Hyper is the name often given for the opposite of the Back Hyperextension. In the latter you stand in the foot pads with your heels held firmly in place. Then leaning the quads or the upper part of the front of your legs on pads you lean forward hinging at the hip toward the floor. You go down to approximately 45 to 60 degrees and then rise up to parallel or more above the ground.

With the Reverse Hyper you can use the special bench shown. You place your chest and torso on the bench with your hips extended out over the edge. Then you grasp the handles and hold yourself steady while hinging at the hip joint to lift your legs to above parallel to the floor. You then lower your legs under control to perpendicular below you.

In the video demonstration I’m doing sets of 12 with no additional weight. I’m lifting my heels up fairly high with a good degree of flexibility and mobility in my lower back.

Disclaimer: Obviously this might differ between individuals and is best determined by your own self-awareness or the advice of a qualified professional familiar with this movement and the requirements to perform it safely. Be careful and don’t become injured.

Reverse Hyper Video Demonstration:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8xyR6i97ho

This type of reverse hyper bench has a swing arm that you can slip around your ankles to add weight. The lever arm itself adds in about 5 pounds or so of resistance but it takes a little getting used to. If you want to add weight perhaps just using the empty lever tubing would be a good way to start to see if you like it or not.

I think you could also add ankle weights when you do the reverse hyper. For an exercise like this that I consider an accessory movement I prefer 3-6 sets of 12 with no or little weight added. An accessory movement supports another more primary movement, such as the RDL. Otherwise known as the Romanian Dead Lift this is itself an accessory movement for Squats and Deadlifts.

I’ve seen demos of the reverse hyper holding a dumbbell in between the toes of the feet, but I think this would be too dangerous for most normal people and recommend against it.

The “Superman Plank”, a bodyweight, no bench version of this, is one of the main core exercises in my Mountaineering Fitness: Beginner Training Manual INFO HERE