Lower Back Pain? This Underrated Exercise Deserves a Spot in Your Routine

Lower back pain can feel like a rite of passage into adulthood. But we actually aren’t doomed to complain about our backs for the rest of our lives. Lower back pain is often a sign of weakness, says Ani Oksayan, certified personal trainer and vice president of fitness at Chuze Fitness. 

One way to strengthen it? Reverse hip raises, also known as reverse leg lifts or prone hip extensions. “This is a great way to strengthen the glutes, hamstrings and lower back without putting a ton of pressure on the spine or the knees,” she says. “They’re great for boosting hip mobility and building that overall posterior chain strength, which is so key for athletic performance but also just moving through day-to-day tasks.”

Here’s how to do a reverse hip raise the right way, plus modifications, common mistakes, and how to incorporate it into your gym routine.

How to do a reverse hip raise

1. 1.
   Lie face down on a bench, with your hips at the edge of the bench and your legs extended off the bench behind you. Gently hold on to either side of the bench with your elbows bent and hands by your head. 
2. 2.
   Engage your core and squeeze your glutes as you lift both legs until they’re in line with the body, keeping the legs straight, but not locked in the knees. 
3. 3.
   Hold the legs briefly at the top, continuing to maintain tension in the glutes.
4. 4.
   Slowly and with control lower the legs, without letting them drop all the way to the floor. 

The benefits of reverse hip raises

Building strength for everyday movement

“This should be in everyone’s repertoire as something that builds strength for your everyday life,” says Oksayan. “It can really go a long way in preventing throwing out your back by picking up a bag of groceries.” In addition to the erectors in the lower back, reverse hip raises are also a targeted way to strengthen the hamstrings and glutes, she says. 

Accessibility

A reverse hip raise is just you versus gravity, which can be a benefit for beginners or those dealing with an injury, says Mathew Welch, MS, CSCS, ATC, USAW-1, an exercise physiologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. And unlike many lower body exercises, it doesn’t put strain on the knees, which Oksayan says is huge.

Balancing out the core

When we’re working our core, most of the time we’re moving the torso forward, says Oksayan. (Think: crunches and planks.) She says this exercise helps balance out the body by engaging those back muscles, which are so often neglected. 

Common mistakes to avoid doing reverse hip raises

Using momentum

It’s all too easy to use momentum to swing the legs up and down, which Oksayan sees often, and which defeats the purpose of the exercise.

Fix it: Focus on using your core and maintaining control up and down. If you can’t stay controlled, cut down on the number of reps. 

Hyperextending the lower back

If you lift your legs too high, you’re hyperextending the back, and putting all the work in the erectors rather than allowing the glutes to help, says Oksayan.

Fix it: Only lift your legs to be in line with the rest of the body. If you feel your glutes disengage, you’ve gone too far. 

Improper bench placement

If you’re too far up on the bench, you won’t be able to access the full range of motion of your hips. Lie too far back, and your lower back will have to work too hard to keep itself in line with the rest of the body.

Fix it: The edge of the bench should be right at the hip crease. 

Using the wrong equipment

For safety’s sake, it’s crucial to do this exercise on a sturdy bench that’s secured to the ground or heavy enough not to be upended by your weight hanging off the back of it. 

Fix it: Oksayan says a good-quality bench at a gym shouldn’t pose any concerns. Just don’t try it on, say, the storage bench in your bedroom. 

Reverse hip raises modifications and progressions

Reverse hip raises modifications (how to make it easier)

• Stay on the floor. Rather than hanging off a bench, lie prone on the floor and lift the legs up. You could also add the upper body, lifting the arms either extended in front of you or behind you. 
• Use a tabletop position. Try the exercise on hands and knees, using one leg at a time. 
• Lift one leg at a time. Instead of lifting and lowering the legs together off the bench, do one at a time.

Reverse hip raises progressions (how to make it harder)

• Use ankle weights or a resistance band. “It’s best with light-to-moderate resistance,” says Oksayan. You could also try placing a ball between the feet to engage through the inner thighs. 
• Use a reverse hyper extension machine. If you have access to a reverse hyper extension machine at your gym, Welch highly recommends using it. It’s essentially a weighted version of a reverse hip raise: “It’s going to load the glutes, the upper hamstring, and the lower back,” says Welch. The machine can be a little tricky, so be sure to get expert help the first time you try it, he says. 

How to add reverse hip raises to your routine

Reverse hip raises are a great addition to your leg day routine, says Oksayan, who suggests switching it up and trying different progressions and modifications depending on the day. In general, she suggests three sets of 12-15 reps. After you’ve been doing it for a while, you’ll likely find that the bodyweight version of the exercise will start to feel easy, at which point Oksayan recommends using the hyper machine or adding resistance so you can progress.