Back Extension

Muscles worked by the Back Extension

Primary

Lower BackErector Spinae

Secondary

GlutesGluteus MaximusHamstringsHamstring Muscles

Also called: erector spinae, spinal erectors, lower back muscles, back extensors.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Back Extension

1. Lie face down on a hyperextension bench with hips at the pad edge.
2. Lower your upper body toward the floor.
3. Raise your torso back up until your body is straight.
4. Repeat.

Form tips

• Keep movements controlled.
• Do not hyperextend beyond neutral spine.

At a glance

Back Extension in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Bird Dog Hold
• Machine Back Extension
• Superman
• Barbell Deadlift
• Bench Child's Pose
• Bodyweight Good Morning
• Deficit Deadlift
• Dumbbell Deadlift

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "back-extension",
  "name_en": "Back Extension",
  "name_de": "Rückenstreckung",
  "name_es": "Extensión de Espalda",
  "description_en": "An isolation movement targeting the lower back erector spinae on a hyperextension bench.",
  "description_de": "Eine Isolationsübung für die Rückenstrecker der Lendenwirbelsäule auf einer Hyperextensionsbank.",
  "description_es": "Un movimiento de aislamiento que trabaja los erectores espinales de la zona lumbar en un banco de hiperextensión.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "back",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "rehabilitation"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "leg_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "back-extension",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie face down on a hyperextension bench with hips at the pad edge.",
    "Lower your upper body toward the floor.",
    "Raise your torso back up until your body is straight.",
    "Repeat."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Lege dich mit dem Gesicht nach unten auf die Hyperextensionsbank, Hüften an der Polsterkante.",
    "Senke den Oberkörper in Richtung Boden.",
    "Hebe den Oberkörper wieder hoch, bis dein Körper gerade ist.",
    "Wiederhole."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Acuéstate boca abajo en un banco de hiperextensión con las caderas en el borde del pad.",
    "Baja el torso hacia el suelo.",
    "Sube el torso hasta que el cuerpo quede recto.",
    "Repite."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep movements controlled.",
    "Do not hyperextend beyond neutral spine."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Führe die Bewegung kontrolliert aus.",
    "Strecke nicht über die neutrale Wirbelsäulenposition hinaus."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén los movimientos controlados.",
    "No hiperextiendas más allá de la posición neutra de la columna."
  ],
  "met": 3.5,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/back-extension-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/back-extension-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "back-extension");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.