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Why Back Raises Are The BEST Hinging Exercise. PERIOD.
Build Next Level Hamstrings!
by Alec Enkiri | 12/17/24
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The plain old hyperextension machine (aka the “back raise”) is one of the most underrated pieces of equipment in the gym. This exercise builds a bulletproof back, strong and resilient hamstrings, and rock solid glutes.
ALL ABOUT THE BACK RAISE
The term “back raise” is actually quite a bit of a misnomer. Yes, you are “raising your back,” but the hamstrings and the glutes really should be doing the brunt of the work here. At it's heart, the back raise is really a hinging exercise in much the same way as a Romanian deadlift or a good morning. Together, these 3 movements make up what I call the holy trinity of hinges.
The difference between the back raise and the other two is that the back raise possesses the unique feature of having the pelvis fixed in place via the pad on the machine. This actually makes it the purest hinging exercise of all because with the pelvis locked in place the knees are removed from the equation entirely.
A problem often seen in Romanian deadlifts and good mornings is that when things get hard people have a tendency to cheat the movements by bending the knees progressively more and more as they “hinge” down. This lets the quadriceps get involved in the exercise (beyond their designated stability role), reduces the stress and tension on the target posterior chain muscles (more knee bend also means more slack in the hamstrings, reducing the intensity of the strength and hypertrophy stimulus they receive), and turns the exercises into a hybrid abomination between a squat and a hinge.
The hyperextension machine solves these issues by removing the temptation to get the knees involved altogether. In many ways, it's actually a very good introductory hinging exercise for people who have trouble isolating movement at the hips from movement at the knees (read: most newbies). It can help you learn how to feel out and hone the hinge pattern if you're a newer lifter because when you set things up properly (with the majority of your pelvis hanging off the top of the pad leaving the hips with the ability to move freely) hinging at the hips is really the only way to create any sort of substantial movement.
But at the same time this exercise is a phenomenal tool for taking the posterior chain strength of an advanced lifter to vastly new heights once it is trained seriously, as the potency of the training stimulus that this movement can produce on the backside of the body is hard to match.
The pureness of the hinging movement all but guarantees that the hamstrings will get massively strong and resilient at end range. Without any ability to cheat the hardest part by bending the knees, taking that beneficial tautness out of the hamstrings and using the quads to assist, the hamstrings are forced to lengthen under load (hopefully fully, if you're not being a sissy) and shorten themselves once again in the face of all that massive tension.
BUT YOU NEED TO LOAD IT!
But most people don't go heavy enough. Banging out reps all day long with body weight has its own value, but turning this exercise into a true strength & hypertrophy endeavor requires heavier weights. That is where the REAL magic happens.
The trick is to bear hug a dumbbell, hold a barbell in a semi-contracted row, or have a partner place a barbell on your back in order to load the exercise heavily enough to treat it as the true strength and hypertrophy movement that it deserves to be.
With rear loaded variations you don't need nearly as much weight and they are pretty conducive to heavy-ish sets of 4-6 reps. However, with this variation the lockout is disproportionately difficult.
With front loaded variations the sweet spot is probably a little bit higher. I like 8-10 reps most of the time, with forays into the 12-15 range as well. I'll occasionally play with sets in the 6-8 rep range also, but going too heavy here can be tricky because supporting the weight in the anteriorly loaded position can sometimes become the limiting factor in the movement, as opposed to the strength of the hip extensor muscles.
Rear Loaded Hyperextension (175x5)
Front Loaded Hyperextension (250x8)
Both methods of loading have distinct value. With front loaded variations the ease of the setup is obviously a huge plus in terms of accessibility and just getting the work done. Another plus is that with the front loaded setup you can alter the lever arm mid-rep by gradually lowering the bar lower down closer to your hip joints as you raise your torso up. This smooths out the strength curve and creates a more seamless rep.
With rear loaded variations the main plus is that the overall intensity and potency of the training stimulus seems to increase pretty dramatically. The strength curve is more asymmetrical and less smooth, but the hamstrings seem to get hit a lot harder even with much lighter weights.
FINAL THOUGHTS
No matter which way you choose you will find that your posterior chain strength goes through the roof when you start treating this movement like a true strength/mass movement and training it as such, and with the same gusto and intensity that I hope you are already applying to your Romanian deadlifts and good mornings.
So do HEAVY back raises!
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