Instructions

  1. Adjust the pad on a 45-degree back-extension bench, also called a Roman chair, so the top of the pad is level with the tops of your hip bones with your feet on the footrests.
  2. Push your heels into the heel pads, cross your arms over your chest, and bend forward at the waist. If you’re adding weight, hold a weight plate or dumbbell in front of your chest as shown in the videos.
  3. Raise your torso until it’s in line with your legs.
  4. Slowly lower your torso toward the floor by rounding your back, and keep lowering yourself until you’ve rounded your back as far as you comfortably can while keeping your hips against the pad.
  5. Straighten your back until your torso is in line with your legs, without leaning backward. Hold this position for a brief moment, and then begin your next rep.

Expert Tips

  • Use a bench that supports your pelvis securely. If you can’t get that support, use another bench rather than trying to force the setup.
  • Keep the rounding and straightening deliberate and controlled from the first rep. Use the same range of motion and a smooth lowering motion; end the set if you have to bounce at the bottom or jerk yourself upward.
  • You may hear people call this exercise a “hyperextension,” but stop when your torso lines up with your legs. Lifting your chest higher by arching your lower back isn’t necessary to complete the rep.
  • Add weight in small increments once bodyweight reps feel easy and controlled. Hold a dumbbell against your chest and keep it in the same position each workout so you can compare your performance.
  • Lowering the pad allows more hip movement and puts more emphasis on your glutes and hamstrings.

Workout Programming

Use back extensions near the end of a lower-body, back, or full-body workout when you want direct lower-back work after your main lifts.

A good default is 3 sets of 8–12 reps. Rest 2–3 minutes between sets.

Finish each set while you could still perform another 2–3 controlled reps.

If you’re new to deliberate spinal movement, start with one easy bodyweight set. Add reps and sets gradually as you get comfortable with the exercise. You don’t need to reach the full prescription in your first session.

Mike’s Take

Back extensions are an underrated exercise for safely and effectively training your lower back and glutes, but whether you should include them in your program depends on what other exercises you do each week.

The back extension primarily trains your spinal erectors—the muscles running along your spine—as your back rounds and straightens, and can also train your gluteus maximus and hamstrings depending on how it’s performed.

Many people look at the back extension as more of a beginner exercise for people who aren’t comfortable squatting and deadlifting, and I understand where they’re coming from.

You’ll often see older folks and people recovering from injuries doing very gentle, bodyweight back extensions with a short range of motion as a rehab exercise, so many people assume they aren’t a “serious” exercise. I disagree.

While the squat, deadlift, Romanian deadlift, and other lower-body compound exercises are fantastic for training your spinal erectors, they also require greater skill and concentration, are harder to learn, cause more fatigue, and generally come with a higher risk of injury.

What’s more, how much these exercises train your spinal erectors also depends on your anatomy, technique, and the strength of other muscles. For example, if you have relatively weak quads, your legs might hit failure long before your spinal erectors are fully trained while squatting. In this scenario, back extensions are a great way to continue training your back after your legs are thrashed.

Others may simply find that based on their unique proportions, they never seem to see much back growth from these exercises, in which case the back extension is a useful solution.

While there isn’t much scientific evidence to support this, many experienced powerlifters also do back extensions as a way to strengthen their lower-back muscles and reduce the risk of injury, despite already doing lots of squatting and deadlifting.

When you perform it correctly, through a full range of motion, and if you add weight over time, I’d argue the back extension is just as effective for developing your spinal erectors as deadlifts, squats, Romanian deadlifts, and other compound exercises.

It checks basically every box for being an effective exercise:

  1. It thoroughly trains the target muscle (your spinal erectors and other low-back muscles).
  2. It allows you to train through a full range of motion and provides a relatively consistent level of resistance through the whole range of motion.
  3. You can add weight in small increments over time.
  4. It’s safe and easy to learn.

There are only a couple of downsides to the back extension.

First, it can be hard on your lower back if you take the exercise all of the way to failure. Personally, I’ve never experienced issues with this, but given how many people struggle with low-back issues, it’s safer to avoid grinding reps or taking this exercise all of the way to true muscular failure.

Second, it can be a little awkward to overload. For example, if you want to progress from 10 pounds to 12.5 pounds, then you have to hold both a 10-pound plate and a 2.5-pound plate in front of your torso. Or, you have to hold a dumbbell, which is generally less comfortable than a plate.

That said, given that you probably won’t be using very heavy weights on this exercise anyway, this isn’t typically a big deal.

There are also three versions of the back extension worth knowing about. The first, and the one shown in the videos above, emphasizes the spinal erectors and other low-back muscles and minimizes glute and hamstring activation. This is because the pad is positioned directly against your hips, which minimizes the involvement of hamstrings and glutes.

You can also increase your glute and hamstring involvement by lowering the pad so it sits around the middle of your thighs.

Generally, I prefer the first version as I like to use this as an isolation exercise for my low back, and use other exercises to train my hamstrings and glutes directly like the hamstring curl, Romanian deadlift, hip thrust, and others.

The third version of the back extension is performed using a horizontal bench, where you lie face down with your heels and hips pressed against a pad. This tends to be harder and also has a more variable resistance curve, so the exercise feels significantly more difficult at the top of each rep than at the bottom.

Typically, I prefer the 45-degree back extension, but this is also a fine alternative if it’s all your gym has.

Some gyms also have a machine back extension, which can also be a great alternative depending on the machine. Many machines don’t allow you to move through as far of a range of motion as the 45-degree bench version, though, and many gyms don’t have a machine back extension of any kind.

So, if you’re squatting, deadlifting, and doing other compound exercises that already train your lower back, and those are working for you, you may not need to bother with the back extension. If these exercises don’t play nicely with your anatomy, though, then it’s a fantastic way to train your lower back (and hips and hamstrings depending on how you do it).

Back Extension Alternatives

  • Seated Back-Extension Machine. This is basically the same movement, but performed with a machine. This provides consistent resistance throughout each rep, but may not allow you to achieve the same range of motion or be as comfortable as the 45-degree bench version, depending on the machine.
  • Horizontal Back Extension. This variation tends to be harder overall and is significantly harder at the top of each rep than at the bottom, but it’s a fine alternative if your gym doesn’t have anything else.
  • Barbell Romanian Deadlift (RDL). This is the best barbell hamstring exercise you can do. It allows you to use very heavy weights and trains your glutes, low-back, and forearms, too. Unlike spinal back extensions, it mainly has your spinal erectors hold your back steady.

3 Back Extension Workouts

Here are three sample workouts that show how to program back extensions in back, lower-body, and full-body workouts.

Back Workout with Back Extensions

Chest-Supported Machine Row: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Lat Pulldown: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Standing Cable Curl: 2 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest
Cable Pullover: 2 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest
Back Extension: 3 sets | 8–12 reps | 2–3 min rest

Lower-Body Workout with Back Extensions

Barbell Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Leg Press: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Seated Leg Curl: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest
Leg Extension: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest
Back Extension: 3 sets | 8–12 reps | 2–3 min rest

Full-Body Workout with Back Extensions

Barbell Back Squat: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Chest-Supported Machine Row: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Seated Leg Curl: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest
Cable Lateral Raise: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest
Back Extension: 3 sets | 8–12 reps | 2–3 min rest

Before the first exercise in each workout, do two warm-up sets. Perform 5 reps with about 50% of the weight you plan to use for your first hard set, rest for 1–2 minutes, then do 5 reps with about 80% and rest for another 1–2 minutes.

To progress these workouts, use double progression: use a weight that allows you to work within the given rep range, take each set 1–2 reps shy of failure, and once you hit the top of the range for your first set, add weight.

Failure is the point where you can’t move the weight with good form despite giving your maximum effort.

With back extensions, it’s better to stay at least 2–3 reps shy of failure to avoid irritating your low back.

More Lower-Back Exercises