Strength exercise
45-degree back extension
A hinge on a 45-degree bench with your hips on the pad and feet anchored. You lower your upper body, then rise until your body is one straight line.
Also called: hyperextension, roman chair back extension
- Type
- Strength
- Equipment
- Gym
- Area
- Lower back
- Level
- Advanced
- Starting dose in Remedy
- 3 sets of 10
How to do it
- Set the pad so it sits just below your hip bones and lock your heels under the foot pads.
- Start with your body in a straight line and your arms crossed on your chest.
- Hinge at the hips to lower your upper body toward the floor with a long back.
- Rise by squeezing your glutes until your body is one straight line again.
Form cues
- Hinge down, then rise until the body is one line.
- Stop at straight; don’t arch past it.
Common mistakes
- Arching back past a straight line at the top.
- Pad set too high, so you bend at the waist instead of the hips.
Easier and harder versions
- Easier: Hip hinge
Why it helps a sore back
It strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, and muscles along the spine together. Remedy places it late in a program, after the bodyweight hinge feels solid.
How Remedy uses it
In the app it is called Back Extension (45°). Remedy is more likely to pick it if you say your back is bothered by bending or lifting or sitting too long. A typical starting dose is 3 sets of 10, and the program adjusts reps as the weeks go on. Every exercise in the app has a demonstration video.
General fitness information, not medical advice. Stop any exercise that causes sharp pain, or pain, numbness, or tingling spreading down a leg.
More strength exercises
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