For those who’re targeted in your rearview, the glute extension—higher generally known as hyperextension—is a top-tier glute train for strengthening and constructing the musculature of your butt. Whereas many individuals flip to the apparent selections like Romanian deadlifts and hip thrust options, glute extensions have one benefit they don’t. When finished with a full vary of movement, this transfer may also assist work a physique half we’re typically afraid to coach: the low again.
“As a health tradition, and in society basically, we’re afraid of spinal flexion,” the place the decrease again is flexed right into a C-shape, says Greg Pignataro, C.S.C.S., founding father of By no means Previous Your Prime. “But it surely’s a basic motion. It’s one thing we do every single day if we bend down to choose one thing up. And similar to another motion, it’s one thing we are able to practice to be robust in.”
Under we’ll break down how you should utilize glute extensions to extend your energy, put together your glutes and hamstrings for extra hip-hinging, and injury-proof your backbone when doing heavy squats or deadlifts.
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What Is a Glute Extension aka Hyperextension?
The glute extension, or hyperextension, is an train that is carried out on a again extension bench. This bench sits at 45 levels, has two flat pads in entrance for the thighs, and two spherical pads nearer to the ground for holding the decrease legs in place.
The unique use of the again extension bench was to carry out a again extension—an train that helps strengthen your decrease again and core muscle tissues. When doing this transfer, the thighs are positioned in opposition to the flat pads, and the backs of the decrease legs are locked in by the spherical pads. The trainee bends at their hips—and finally rounds their again—to fold in half as their head goes in direction of their toes and the ground. From the underside, the again is prolonged to return again to the highest.
When exercisers name this transfer a “glute extension,” they’re typically utilizing totally different methods to assist the again extension goal the glutes extra and work their backs much less.
The right way to Set Up for a Glute Extension
Oftentimes a glute extension is finished by arching the higher again all through the motion, with the chin pressed in opposition to the chest. However Pignataro and Shawn Arent, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., chair of the Division of Train Science on the College of South Carolina, don’t advocate doing this.
As a substitute, they advocate two totally different methods to extend this transfer’s effectiveness for glute progress whereas concurrently defending the decrease again.
Decrease the Thigh Pads to Mid-Thigh
Within the again extension, the thigh pads are sometimes positioned larger up on the thighs, nearly into the crease of the hip, says Arent.
“If I transfer the pad somewhat decrease so it’s hitting me at mid-hip, or on the meat of the thigh, you’re altering the purpose of leverage somewhat bit,” he says. “You’re going to get somewhat extra glute and hamstring involvement once you’re pulling again up, since you’ve moved the fulcrum.”
Shorten the Vary of Movement
When bending all the way in which over on this bench to around the decrease again, the decrease again muscle tissues are used to straighten the again, and the glutes are used to straighten the hips.
If you wish to practice your again and hips, that’s good, Pignataro says. But when your focus is barely in your glutes, you possibly can cease the motion earlier than your again begins to spherical.
So from the highest of the transfer, you’d start to fold ahead on the hips, sustaining a flat again. When the angle of your hips reaches round 90 levels, you’ll cease, Pignataro says. Right here, you’ll squeeze your glutes to return again to the beginning place.
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The right way to Do a Glute Extension/Hyperextension
For those who’re including the glute extension to your exercise, contemplate doing so later in your leg exercise, Arent says. Different strikes that you just may be doing, together with squats, lunges, deadlifts, and Romanian deadlifts, will want your hip-hinging muscle tissues and back-stabilizing muscle tissues to be robust, and the glute extension can tire these out.
Each specialists recommend performing the transfer with lighter weights, specializing in type and the mind-muscle connection along with your glutes and the muscle tissues in your again. To your glutes, which means attempting to actively really feel the transfer in your butt as your hips are hinging.
Beth Bischoff
The right way to Do It
Modify the again extension bench to your peak. For a extra glute-focused extension, set the thigh pads up in order that they’ll hit you round mid-thigh. For a “regular” again extension, transfer the pads up into the crease of your hips. Straddle the bench with the thigh pads in opposition to your thighs and the spherical pads in opposition to the again of your decrease legs. Stack your head, shoulders, waist, and knees in a straight line. Maintain a softness in your knees whereas bracing your core. If performing the transfer with body weight solely, cross your arms in entrance of your chest or put your arms up calmly by your ears. If holding a lightweight weight, maintain a dumbbell by its sides or plate in entrance of your chest with elbows bent. That is the beginning place.Push your hips again to hinge on the hips and preserve a impartial curve in your backbone as you start to decrease your chest in direction of the ground. For those who’re targeted solely in your glutes, cease bending ahead when the angle of your hips reaches 90 levels. For those who’re going for the complete vary of movement, proceed bending ahead till you possibly can’t hinge your hips anymore, then spherical your again to fold your self fully in half. Brace your core, squeeze your glutes, and use the muscle tissues in your again to return again to the beginning place. Cease on the prime when your physique kinds a straight line once more. That is 1 rep.
Professional Tip
Pignataro suggests performing this transfer for two to three units of 10 to twenty reps per set. As soon as you possibly can carry out that with good type, add a five- or 10-pound dumbbell, working as much as 10 to twenty % of your physique weight.
Security Considerations With the Hyperextension
Whereas it’s good to coach your decrease again, when finished incorrectly this transfer may cause undesirable strain on the lumbar backbone and, at worst, trigger disc herniation. Listed here are a number of ideas our specialists recommend to maintain this transfer protected.
Don’t Hyperextend on the Prime
Regardless of the transfer generally being referred to as a “hyperextension,” one of many methods this train can find yourself leading to ache or damage is by hyperextending your hips on the prime of the transfer, Arent says. On this place, you’ve pushed your hips ahead, your chest is puffed means out, and your head comes behind your butt.
“Right here, your backbone is in a less-than-ideal place,” he says. As a substitute, work to maintain your head, shoulders, waist, and knees stacked in a straight line. Whereas there will likely be some pure arching to the again, don’t push the hips ahead to overextend on this transfer.
Use a Low Weight and Extra Reps
You could have seen movies on-line the place trainees load this train with heavy barbells over their shoulders. However along with your knees locked into the bench, it is a precarious place, Pignataro says.
“For the aim of strengthening the low again, I feel as soon as you are able to do 20 repetitions with good type, you possibly can seize possibly a five- or 10-pound dumbbell,” he says. Maintain the dumbbell in entrance of your chest by its ends, and do the again/glute extension this fashion.
Pignataro additionally thinks that when targeted on the glutes, it’s finest to do that transfer with lighter weights.
“For those who do high-repetition units of this, it’s actually good for strengthening the mind-muscle reference to the glutes,” he says, that means you’ll be higher at firing these bottom muscle tissues when you’ll want to straighten your hips, as a substitute of compensating with the low again. “Numerous us wrestle with this as a result of we spend a lot time sitting.”
If you wish to practice your glutes to be as robust as attainable within the shortened place—which the glute extension does—Pignataro suggests going heavier on different glute workouts that work this portion of the glute’s vary of movement.
“Hip thrusts, hip thrust machines, Romanian deadlifts—these will provide a safer solution to load the glutes [in this shortened position] and nonetheless problem the identical factor,” he says.
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Muscular tissues Labored in Glute Extensions
If you’re hinging your hips on this transfer, you’re primarily utilizing your glutes and the hamstrings, the muscle tissues at the back of your thighs. When your again rounds on the backside of the vary of movement, the transfer focuses on the spinal erectors, or erector spinae.
The erector spinae aren’t simply your decrease again, Arent says.
“It’s that column of muscle that runs up out of your decrease again into your decrease traps, [the muscles that shrug your shoulders],” he says. “It’s like a set of cables that run up your again.”
When these cables flex, they pull your backbone straight. And that’s the way in which they work on the backside of the glute extension, straightening the again. The glutes and hamstrings straighten the hips, pulling the now-flat again as much as the highest of the transfer.
This train principally works the glutes within the shortened place, Pignataro says.
Right here’s what which means: Muscular tissues have a lengthened place, and a shortened place. When your arm is straight at your facet and also you begin a biceps curl, the underside half of the transfer is the lengthened place. On the prime of the transfer, when your bicep is all bunched up, it’s within the shortened place. Working simply the highest of the curl, then, would work the muscle within the shortened place.
For the glutes, that’s primarily how the hyperextension works: It principally trains the glute within the shortened place. Different strikes, just like the Bulgarian cut up squat, work extra of the lengthened place.
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Glute-Ham Elevate vs. Again Extension
Courtesy Picture
The glute-ham increase is the same train to the again extension/glute extension, but it surely’s carried out on a unique kind of bench. The glute-ham increase bench has two units of spherical pads within the again for locking the toes in place, and a big, half-moon-shaped pad the place the knees and decrease thighs are often positioned.
When doing this transfer, the exerciser often begins in a kneeling place with their physique forming a straight line from head to knees. They hold this line straight and unbend their knees to go ahead till their entire physique is parallel to the ground whereas there’s nonetheless a slight bend within the knee. From this place, they pull themselves again as much as the beginning.
“You’re pulling extra with the hamstrings and the glutes” than on the again extension bench, Arent says. This transfer is sort of like a body weight model of the mendacity leg curl machine, he says.
The glute-ham increase (GHR) bench will also be used for a unique sort of glute extension train, he says. To do it, flip round in order that your face is close to the feet-locking spherical pads. Many GHR benches have handles right here. Seize them. The entrance of your hips will likely be on the half-moon pad, along with your legs hanging off of it. Maintaining your legs straight, squeeze your glutes to carry your legs from being bent 90 levels till your physique kinds a straight line. This transfer sort of appears just like the reverse of a leg carry on a Roman chair.
