Training guide
A back extension, also called a hyperextension, is done face down over a pad with your ankles held: you hinge forward at your hips, then lift your body until it's straight. It works your back muscles, glutes and hamstrings, and the 45-degree bench is the usual place to start.
In one study of 15 trained women, the 45-degree back extension worked the glutes about as hard as a Romanian deadlift and the outer hamstring harder, with similar lower-back activity. Small trials show back extensions build back-muscle endurance; whether they ease back pain more than other exercise is unsettled.
This guide covers the 45-degree bench, the horizontal Roman chair and versions you can do on the floor at home, step by step on the 3D figure, whether they work your glutes or your lower back, where to hold a weight, how many to do, and what the evidence says about back pain, sciatica, stenosis and osteoporosis.
Hinge forward at your hips over the pad with a long back, then lift until your body is straight, in line with your legs, not arched past it. Lower under control. Despite the other name, hyperextension, the aim is straight, not bent backwards.
Source 1
Floor versions and the 45-degree bench come first; the horizontal Roman chair is the hardest. In 10 adults, lower-back muscle activity rose by up to 104% from the easiest set-up to the hardest as the chair became more level and the arms reached further overhead.
Source 2
In 15 trained women, the 45-degree back extension worked the glutes about as hard as a Romanian deadlift, more in the top half, and the outer hamstring 71% harder, with similar lower-back activity. That's one study of muscle activity, not growth.
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2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15, resting 60 to 90 seconds (our editorial starting point, in line with our workouts), or 2 sets of 8 to 12 if you're new. In a trial, 1 set of 15 to 25 three times a week raised back-muscle endurance by 42% in 8 weeks.
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Strength training for the back of the body eased chronic low back pain a little more than general exercise in 8 small trials, but the result only just reached significance and the trials used varied exercises; a pilot trial found adding back-extension machines to core work gave no extra benefit. Our back pain guides cover treatment.
The UK consensus on exercise for osteoporosis recommends back-strengthening exercises at least twice a week. In 80 women with osteoporosis, a simple face-down back raise at home raised back strength and quality of life in 4 months.
On a back-extension bench or Roman chair, your hips rest on a pad and your ankles are held. You bend forward at the hips, then lift your trunk until your body is straight. The 45-degree bench tilts you so your trunk is never level, so you lift less of its weight than on the horizontal chair.
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The same exercise: hyperextension is another name for a back extension on a Roman chair. Some gyms also call the captain's chair a Roman chair; that's a different station, for knee raises.
The long back muscles beside your spine (the erector spinae) and the deep multifidus, your glutes and your hamstrings. How you hold your hips and lower back shifts the balance between them.
The 45-degree bench; the horizontal Roman chair; a flat bench with someone holding your legs; a gym ball; and floor versions lying face down: a back raise with your arms out, the superman with your arms overhead, the locust with your arms by your sides and the low cobra. In the reverse hyperextension, your trunk stays on the bench and your legs lift.
Most back-extension studies use EMG (electromyography: electrodes measuring how hard a muscle works over a few reps). It isn't a validated predictor of which exercise grows a muscle more, so treat the comparisons below as clues, not verdicts.
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On a variable-angle Roman chair in 10 adults, lower-back muscle activity rose by up to 104% from the easiest to the hardest of 24 set-ups as the chair became more level and the hands moved further overhead. The angle mattered more than the hands.
Source 2
In 15 resistance-trained women lifting a weight they could manage 6 times, the 45-degree back extension worked the glutes 140% harder than a seated back-extension machine (the Romanian deadlift 94% harder), no differently from the Romanian deadlift overall but 74% harder in the top half. It worked the outer hamstring 71% harder than the Romanian deadlift and 174% harder than the machine. Lower-back activity was similar in all three.
Source 1
In 12 adults, turning the hips in raised lower-back muscle activity by 18%, and keeping a stronger curve in the lower back raised it by 25%, with no change in the glutes or hamstrings. In 18 male athletes, bending the knees to a right angle raised lat, lower-back and glute activity, and hands behind the head raised the lower trapezius.
We found no study that compared a rounded-back back extension with a flat-back one, so the popular "glute-focused" version (feet turned out, upper back rounded, a shorter range) is untested.
In a trial of 36 adults, 1 set of 15 to 25 on a variable-angle Roman chair three times a week raised back-muscle endurance by 42% in 8 weeks, but not lower-back strength measured on a machine. One set of 8 to 20 once a week for 12 weeks didn't raise it either, in 15 adults. Supervised back and core exercise twice a week for 24 weeks raised back endurance by 12% in 96 firefighters.
In 8 trials of 508 people with non-specific low back pain, exercise raised lower-back muscle endurance more than passive or active comparison treatments.
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Across 8 small trials of 408 people, strength training for the back of the body eased chronic low back pain a little more than general exercise or walking (a standardised difference of 0.61, whose confidence interval reached zero) and eased disability a little (0.53), with no more side effects; 12 to 16 weeks did better than 6 to 8. The trials used varied exercises, and in a pilot trial of 30 men, adding machine back extensions or deadlifts to core work gave no extra benefit.
In 928 adults followed for a year, men with better back-muscle endurance had less first-time back trouble. But a review of 12 cohort studies of 5,459 people found back strength and endurance didn't predict who developed back pain.
In 13 young men, exercises that actively lifted the trunk loaded the spine most of four back-extensor exercises, and extending one leg with the spine held still loaded it least. In 8 adults, back extensions on a gym ball loaded the spine less, with no more muscle activity than on a mat.
In 20 adults, the reverse hyperextension moved the hips through more range (77 against 65 degrees) with less lower-back bending (20 against 31 degrees), but put a higher load on the lower back and drew less total glute and hamstring activity than the back extension, with equal back-muscle activity. In 10 adults, it drew 34 to 71% higher peak activity in all three muscles.
The UK consensus on exercise for osteoporosis recommends exercises that strengthen the back, done 3 to 5 times and held 3 to 5 seconds, at least twice a week, and avoiding or modifying sustained, repeated or end-range bending forward. After a spinal fracture, it advises gentle back exercises daily.
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In 80 women with osteoporosis, a home exercise lifting the upper trunk face down to straight raised back strength by 26% against 11%, and quality of life by 7% against none, in 4 months. In 50 women, those who had done 2 years of progressive back-strengthening had fewer spinal fractures 10 years after starting (1.6% of vertebrae against 4.3%). In 99 adults aged 60 or over, spine-strengthening and posture training three times a week for 6 months reduced the curve of a rounded upper back by 3 degrees.
From our move page and our posterior chain workout ("stop when your body is in line with your legs"). The study above used about a 90-degree range at the hip. The breathing cue is from our breathing guide.
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The movement on the figure: Back extension on a 45-degree bench
From our move page for the prone back raise, whose dose is 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 slow reps, stopping 2 or 3 reps short (its editorial starting point).
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The movement on the figure: Prone back raise, arms out to the sides
Our order; only the bench angles have been measured. Bird dogs, 6 each side with a 3-second hold, and glute bridges, 12 reps with a 2-second squeeze, 2 rounds, and locust holds, 3 of 10 to 15 seconds (our posterior pelvic tilt routine); the prone back raise, 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 slow reps (its move page); supermans, 2 sets of 8 to 10 with a 2-second hold (our strength and balance workout); after a spinal fracture, the low cobra, 3 to 5 holds of 3 to 5 seconds (our bone-strengthening workout); ball back extensions, 8 reps (our Pilates ball workout); the 45-degree bench at the doses below; then the flat-bench and horizontal versions, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 (our editorial starting points), once 10 smooth reps on the 45-degree bench are easy.
3D demoBird dogBeginner · No equipment
3D demoGlute bridgeBeginner · No equipment
3D demoLocust pose (Salabhasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoProne back raise, arms out to the sidesBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSupermanIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoLow cobra (Bhujangasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoBall back extensionBeginner · Exercise ball
3D demoBack extension on a 45-degree benchIntermediate · A bench or box
3D demoBack extension off a flat benchIntermediate · A bench or box
3D demoHorizontal back extension (hyperextension, Roman chair)Advanced · A bench or boxThe usual starting point in a gym: your trunk is never level, and in the study above it worked the glutes and hamstrings hard.
Source 1
Your trunk hangs straight down and rises to level against its full weight, which made the back muscles work hardest of the chair's angles. Wait until 10 smooth reps on the 45-degree bench are easy, as our move page says.
Source 2
Lie along a flat bench with your hips off the end and someone holding your legs down, then bend down off the end and rise back to straight: the level version in a shorter range.
Lie over the ball with your feet pressed into the floor and lift your trunk in line with your legs. It loaded the spine less with no loss of muscle activity, so it's a gentle start.
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The prone back raise, superman, locust and low cobra need nothing but a mat. Lifting the trunk loads the spine more than lifting one leg with the spine held still, so the bird dog is the gentlest start.
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It worked the glutes and hamstrings least of the three exercises in the study above. We have no 3D demo of it.
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On the 45-degree bench the glutes and outer hamstring work hard, especially near the top, with lower-back activity similar to a Romanian deadlift.
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Keep the natural curve in your lower back and turn your hips slightly in: both raised lower-back activity without changing the glutes or hamstrings.
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Bending your knees to a right angle raised lower-back, glute and lat activity in 18 athletes, if your bench lets you.
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Feet turned out, upper back rounded and a shorter range is a coaching idea that no study has tested. A long back with its natural curve is our default; if your back is healthy and you like the rounded version, keep the load light.
Arms by your sides or crossed on your chest; hands behind your head; a plate held at your chest; a heavier plate or the plate held further from your chest; then the horizontal chair. That order is ours, from the study of chair angles and arm positions.
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The further the weight from your hips, the harder it is for the same plate. Holding it against your chest is the usual start.
Holding a plate behind your head pulls your neck forward, so keep it at your chest until your form is solid (coaching practice).
2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15, stopping with 2 RIR (reps in reserve: how many more reps you could have done), resting 60 to 90 seconds. That's our editorial starting point, in line with our workouts: 2 sets of 10 to 12 in our posterior chain workout, 2 sets of 10 to 15 in pull day B and 2 sets of 12 in our back workout.
2 sets of 8 to 12, as our bone-strengthening workout and kyphosis guide use (the kyphosis guide only without spinal fractures); our back pain guides use 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12.
Hold a plate at your chest once 15 smooth reps are easy (our editorial starting point; the women in the study above used plates and weighted vests).
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Twice a week is enough, as part of strengthening all your major muscles on at least 2 days a week; trials used once to three times a week.
There's no need to reach failure: it added a trivial amount of growth at most across 15 studies. People underestimate the reps they have left by about 1, so stop when the reps slow or you start to swing.
In two small trials, Roman chair training raised back-muscle endurance but not lower-back strength measured on a machine. Treat it as an endurance and hip exercise, not a strength test.
Often from swinging up. Stop when your body is in line with your legs, as our move page and workouts say.
If the pad sits on your stomach, your hips can't hinge and your back does all the bending. Set it just below your hip bones.
Pause for a moment at the bottom and rise smoothly.
Keep your head in line with your back, eyes on the floor ahead.
Breathe out as you rise, as our breathing guide advises.
Exercise raised back-muscle endurance in people with back pain, and back-of-body strength training helped a little more than general exercise in small trials. The NHS advises staying active and doing exercises and stretches, but stopping if the pain gets worse. Our back pain and chronic back pain guides cover treatment.
Discomfort up to about 5 out of 10 that settles within an hour and is no worse the next morning is acceptable, as our T-bar row and sit-up guides say; pain that spreads down a leg is not.
Arching back tends to bring stenosis symptoms on. Skip back extensions and other arching moves if they bring on leg symptoms, as our spinal stenosis guide says.
We found no study of Roman chair back extensions in people with a herniated disc or sciatica. Use them only if they leave your symptoms the same or better, and stop if pain spreads further down a leg; our herniated disc and sciatica guides set the order of exercises.
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The UK consensus recommends back-strengthening exercise at least twice a week. Move slowly and stop at straight, as our move page advises with osteoporosis.
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Start with gentle back exercises daily, held 3 to 5 seconds, up to 10 times, as our spinal compression fracture guide explains, and ask a physiotherapist before the 45-degree bench. Our kyphosis guide uses the bench only without spinal fractures.
Source 6
Back-strengthening raised back strength and quality of life in women with osteoporosis, went with fewer spinal fractures 10 years after starting, and reduced a rounded upper back a little in older adults. These are small trials, and the exercises varied.
Lying face down gets uncomfortable as your bump grows: use the bird dog instead, as our superman and low cobra move pages advise. The NHS says strength training is fine if you already do it.
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Keep back extensions at body weight or light, breathe out on the way up rather than holding your breath, and get advice before heavy lifting, as our breathing guide says. With controlled blood pressure, the American Heart Association considers low- to moderate-intensity strength training with proper breathing safe.
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Start on the floor or a gym ball, within the back pain rule above, and see our back pain guide.
The reverse hyperextension, 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 (our editorial starting point); good mornings, the empty bar for 8, then 3 sets of 8 to 10, hip thrusts, 3 sets of 8 to 12, cable pull-throughs, 2 sets of 12 to 15, and hip-hinge practice, 2 sets of 8 (our posterior chain workout); Romanian deadlifts, 3 sets of 8 to 12 (our strength and balance workout); the glute-ham raise as our nordic curl guide builds it.
3D demoReverse hyperextensionAdvanced · A bench or box
3D demoBarbell good morningIntermediate · A barbell
3D demoBarbell hip thrustIntermediate · A barbell + A bench or box
3D demoCable pull-throughBeginner · A cable machine
3D demoHip-hinge practiceBeginner · No equipment
3D demoDumbbell Romanian deadliftIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoGlute-ham raiseAdvanced · Other / check instructionsOptional: child's pose, held 1 to 3 minutes, and cat-cow, 8 waves, slower than feels natural (their move pages).
Our posterior chain workout puts back extensions after good mornings and hip thrusts; our back workout and pull day B finish with them; glute session B offers them on its hinge ladder; the bone-strengthening workout uses them with floor swaps; the posterior pelvic tilt routine and the strength and balance workout have the floor versions.
A 45-minute gym session for the back of your body: light barbell good mornings, hip thrusts, 45 degree back extensions, cable pull-throughs and a carry.
45 minIntermediate8 movesCardio machine, A barbellA gym back workout: lat pulldowns, cable rows, dumbbell rows, face pulls, back extensions and shrugs.
45 minBeginner8 movesPull-up bar, A bandPull day B: cable rows, lat pulldowns, one-arm dumbbell rows, reverse flyes, incline curls and back extensions, with sets, reps and rest.
50 minIntermediate10 movesPull-up bar, A cable machineSession B of the 30-day glute challenge: a hinge ladder to Romanian deadlifts, step-ups and standing band work, at home or in the gym.
20 minBeginner12 movesA wall, A dumbbellImpact, strength and balance for stronger bones, following UK osteoporosis consensus advice, with options for every level.
40 minBeginner14 movesA kettlebell, Other / check instructionsA 20-minute routine for a tucked pelvis or a flat lower back: pelvic tilts, hip hinges, back extensions, bridges and bird dogs, for control and strength.
20 minBeginner10 movesNo equipmentStrength and balance in one session: squats, Romanian deadlifts, push-ups, rows, step-ups, back extensions, carries and single-leg balance.
45 minBeginner14 movesA wall, A dumbbellEach of these plans has a workout with back extensions or the floor versions.
A weekly plan for women over 50: strength, bone-loading and balance on 3 days plus walking, built on UK osteoporosis consensus advice.
3 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week plan for women over 40: three strength days, impact for bone, cardio and recovery through the perimenopause, in a gym or at home, with a 4-day option.
3 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA 3-day strength plan for men over 40 with power and bone work, two cardio days and mobility, built on research on ageing muscle.
3 training days45 minBeginner4 days a weekAn 8-week glute workout plan: two glute days and two upper-body days a week, with hip thrusts, squats, hinges and side-hip work, plus a home option.
4 training days50 minIntermediate3 days a weekA free 30-day glute challenge for home or the gym: three 20-minute sessions a week with bridges, split squats, hinges and side-hip work, and rest days.
3 training days20 minBeginnerIf you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
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Loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
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For chest pain that feels tight, heavy or squeezing, or spreads to your arms, neck, jaw or back; a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, breathlessness or feeling faint; severe difficulty breathing; or angina pain that doesn't stop after rest and your medicine. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
If you haven't exercised for some time or have a medical condition, speak to your GP first, as the NHS advises. Get advice before heavy lifting if your blood pressure is uncontrolled, or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists.
See a GP after any faint, and for dizziness that won't go away or keeps coming back.
For back pain with a high temperature, or if you feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or the pain came on suddenly and is severe or getting worse quickly.
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Pain in your bottom and down the back of one leg: see a GP if it isn't better after a few weeks of home treatment, is getting worse or stops your normal activities. Sciatica on both sides, weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse, or numbness around or under your genitals or around your bottom, is a 999 call or a trip to A&E.
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A sudden sharp pain in your back or the back of your thigh may be a strained muscle. Get help from NHS 111 or an urgent treatment centre if it's very painful or getting worse, there's a lot of swelling or bruising, it's very stiff, or it isn't getting better with self-care.
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If back pain isn't improving after a few weeks, stops your daily activities, is worse at night, or comes with a lump or a change in your back's shape. With osteoporosis, a new back pain after a minor strain, or with nothing you can pinpoint, can be a spinal fracture, as our spinal compression fracture guide explains.
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They load the spine, more than gentler extensor exercises do, but back-extension training raised back endurance in trials, back-of-body strength training eased chronic low back pain a little with no more side effects, and the UK consensus recommends back-strengthening for osteoporosis. Build up, stop at straight, and skip them if they bring on leg symptoms. The evidence that they help is small; harm hasn't been shown.
No study supports arching past straight. Our move pages and workouts say stop when your body is in line with your legs.
On a 45-degree bench the glutes worked about as hard as in a Romanian deadlift and the outer hamstring harder, in one study of 15 trained women.
Source 1
One cohort linked better back endurance with less first-time back trouble in men; a review of 12 cohorts found back strength and endurance didn't predict back pain.
Two small trials found it built endurance (42% in 8 weeks) but not lower-back strength measured on a machine.
Your back muscles, glutes and hamstrings. On a 45-degree bench, one study of 15 trained women found the glutes worked about as hard as in a Romanian deadlift and the outer hamstring harder, with similar lower-back activity.
Not when you build up and stop at straight. They do load the spine, but training trials raised back endurance, and back-of-body strength training eased chronic low back pain a little with no more side effects than general exercise. Stop if pain spreads down a leg.
They're the same exercise: hyperextension is another name for a back extension on a Roman chair. The aim is to finish with your body straight, not bent backwards.
The 45-degree back extension already works your glutes hard, especially near the top. Coaches suggest turning your feet out and rounding your upper back to bias the glutes, but no study has tested that, so keep your back long unless you're used to it.
Keep it long, with its natural curve, as the default. Keeping that curve raised lower-back activity in one study, with no change in the glutes or hamstrings, and no study has compared a rounded with a flat back.
Start with your arms crossed, then put your hands behind your head, then hold a plate at your chest. The further your arms or the weight reach from your hips, the harder it gets.
2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15, resting 60 to 90 seconds and stopping with 2 reps to spare, is our starting point; 2 sets of 8 to 12 if you're new to it. In one trial, a single set of 15 to 25 three times a week raised back endurance by 42% in 8 weeks.
Lie face down and lift your chest with your arms out to the sides (the prone back raise), by your sides (the locust) or overhead (the superman). You can also do them over a gym ball, or along a bench with someone holding your legs.
They can be part of the mix: exercise raised back-muscle endurance in people with back pain, and back-of-body strength training helped a little more than general exercise in small trials. Discomfort up to about 5 out of 10 that settles within an hour and is no worse the next morning is fine; our back pain guides cover treatment.
Both work the back muscles, glutes and hamstrings. The reverse version moved the hips through more range with less lower-back bending but put a higher load on the lower back, and two studies disagree on which works the glutes and hamstrings harder.
Back-strengthening exercises are recommended for osteoporosis, done 3 to 5 times and held 3 to 5 seconds, at least twice a week. Move slowly and stop at straight. After a spinal fracture, start with gentle floor holds and ask a physiotherapist before the bench.
With stenosis, arching back tends to bring symptoms on, so skip back extensions if they cause leg symptoms. With a disc problem or sciatica, use them only if they leave your symptoms the same or better, and stop if pain spreads further down a leg.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
