Back Extension: Benefits, Muscles Worked, and More

Back extension is an exercise that focuses on targeting the lower back muscles, glutes, and hamstrings.

It’s primarily used as a stretching exercise to relieve tension and soreness from the muscles and allow the smaller fibers in the muscle groups to become stronger. More often than not, this exercise is used as a warm-up or post-workout stretch.

Among the muscles worked in the back extension exercise, the lower back muscles are the primary muscles, while the glutes and hamstrings are secondary muscles. However, the back extension exercise works the upper back, arms, and shoulders too.

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Benefits of back extension

Back extension (Photo via Unsplash/LOGAN WEAVER@LGNWVR)

It’s important to be aware of the benefits of identifying exactly how the exercise will help the muscles. Without knowing the benefits, it may not encourage you to add exercise to your daily workout routine.

Here are the benefits of the back extension exercise:

Muscle strengthening

As mentioned earlier, the back extension exercise works on strengthening the glutes, back, and hamstrings.

Posture improvement

It helps improve posture by rounding the shoulders and reducing slouching.

Reducing lower back pain

It helps with increased endurance and spinal stability, which reduces lower back pain.

Enhancing performance

It enhances performance by improving stability and core strength.

Improve flexibility

The exercise helps with improving flexibility and range of motion for the lower back.

Reducing risk of injury

The exercise helps with improving muscle balance and coordination, which reduces risk of injury.

Providing variation

Exercise is a good low-impact exercise for the lower back muscles, especially for individuals with joint pain or other limitations.

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What is back hyperextension?

Back exercises (Photo via Unsplash/Gordon Cowie)

If you’ve heard of back extension exercise, it’s possible you’ve heard of back hyperextension exercises too.

It's the same as the back extension, which is hyperextension of the spine beyond its neutral position. It can be accomplished using a back hyperextension machine or a bench that targets the muscles in the lower back but also works on the glutes and hamstrings.

However, back hyperextension creates significant pressure or stress on the spine, and with improper form, it can cause injury. It’s imperative to use the back hyperextension machine under the guidance of a fitness coach or gym trainer only.

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Back hyperextensions at home

Home workouts (Photo via Unsplash/Julia Ballew)

If you primarily workout at home, you can add back hyperextensions at home to your routine:

• Lie on a yoga mat facing the floor
• Place your hands behind your head
• Lift your upper body and chest off the ground by keeping the lower back muscles engaged
• Hold the position for a couple of second before lowering your upper body to the starting position

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It’s important to remember that back hyperextensions can be performed using a dumbbell or any other object held across the chest. You can use a stability ball to add to the challenge, as that will work the core muscles.

There is another variation of the back hyperextension exercise - lower back hyperextension. This is a movement that involves excessive arching of the lower back.

That means, you will have to arch your lower back beyond its usual range of motion. So, given the stress this exercise puts on the muscles, it’s better to not do it at all, as it puts you at risk of injury. However, the back hyperextension exercise uses a controlled movement that can help with reducing pain while improving spinal stability.

If you’ve never done back hyperextensions before, it’s absolutely important to consult a medical professional if you have prior back injuries. The exercise stretches the lower back muscles, which might not be suitable for certain recovery injuries, in which cases, you should keep yourself safe by not indulging in it.

There are other lower back exercises that can be done without causing harm to your muscles if you cannot do this exercise.