Reverse Hypers are one of the best exercises for developing lower body strength that you’re not doing! It is a great exercise for those those managing injuries or those that struggle with the technique of large compound movements because the machine gives you a stable base of support to load the legs from.

What is a Reverse Hyper?

The reverse hyper is a posterior dominant lower body exercise that is great for targeting the glutes, lower back and hamstrings. It benefits form less heavy axial (spinal) loading than that associated with other compound exercises like squats or deadlifts, which can make it beneficial for those currently managing or rehabbing a lower back injury.

How to Perform a Reverse Hyper

• Lay prone (face down) on a Reverse Hyper, with your feet secured in the machines ankle belt.

• Make sure your hip crease is comfortably overhanging the bench and you have a strong grip on the handles, with your head tucked down.

• Keeping your legs as straight as possible, imagine trying to touch the sky with your calf muscles, squeezing your glutes at the top.

• Slowly reverse the movement, controlling the eccentric portion of the exercise, to complete the rep.

Common Reverse Hyper Mistakes

Having the Handles Too Close

If the handles are too close, your arms will be bent and have to work really hard to keep you still, reducing the stability of the exercise, which in turn will reduce the amount of force you are able to create.

Solution - Bring the handles as far away from you as you can reach so that your arms are in a longer position and the muscles in your arms don’t have to be held in a more difficult position.

Head Looking Up

If the eyes are up, the upper spine and lower spine with have a greater propensity to stay extended. We want the back to bend and flex around the pad, so we actually want to do the opposite to help it do so.

Solution - Look down at the floor in front of you.

Being Too High on the Bench

If you are too high on the bench, the reverse hyper will become more of a strict hinge movement, which is fine if you are trying to mimic your Deadlifts or RDL’s, but if you want to perform a normal Reverse Hyper, varying your training stimulus, we want to get somewhat of a rolling of the lower back, around the machines pad.

Solution - Make sure your hip crease is overhanging the bench, keeping your arms long to allow you to do so.

Using Too Much Momentum or Going Too Heavy

If you use too much momentum or add to much weight to the machine, it becomes much more difficult to perform strict reps, which are best for precisely targeting strength adaptations of the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.

Solution - Use RPE to work out what weight you should use during your sets so that you are working hard enough, but not too hard. Somewhere around an 8/10 difficulty is good as a general guide.

Give the Reverse Hyper Exercise a go in your next lower body training day as a main exercise or to compliment your other compound lower body exercises. It will give your training an extra something special to boost your leg strength!

Written by guest author Ewan Hammond.

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Tags: Equipment > Benches ; Exercise Type > Strength