Prone Back Extension
Also known as: prone back extension hold, floor back extension, lying back extension
- Primary muscleSpine
- EquipmentBodyweight
- DifficultyBeginner
- TypeCompound · Hip-dominant
- Secondary muscles
- Glutes, Hamstrings
- Body part
- Back
- Position
- Prone
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
Track this exercise in SetGrip — no account needed
Flat on the floor with legs down, you simply curl the chest up a few inches, making this the smallest-range and most accessible entry in the extension family. Its ceiling is low, so treat it as a starting point or a high-rep burnout rather than a long-term progression.
How to do the Prone Back Extension
- Lie flat on your stomach with your legs extended and your arms by your sides.
- Engage your glutes and hamstrings, and slowly lift your upper body off the ground, curling your back upwards.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your upper body back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Keep the neck neutral and look at the floor a few feet ahead of you, not up at the ceiling.
Muscles worked
Primary
Spine · Back
The spinal erectors work both to hold the back in a rigid position and to bring the torso up, and you should feel a burn along both sides of the lower back.
Secondary
- Glutes — The glutes drive the hip extension that lifts the torso, and rounding the upper back slightly with a pelvic tuck shifts more of the work onto them.
- Hamstrings — The hamstrings assist hip extension and get more of a stretch the straighter your legs are on the pad.
Common mistakes
- Hyperextending at the top — the goal is a straight line from head to heels, not an arch; stop when the torso is level with the legs.
- Pad set too high — if the pad sits above the hip crease it blocks the hips from folding and forces the lower back to do all the bending; set it just below the hip bones.
- Using momentum — swinging the torso up fast turns it into a bounce; take two or three seconds on the way down and lift smoothly.
- Adding weight too early — bodyweight sets of 15 with a full pause at the top should feel easy before you hold a plate.
Where it fits in a workout
Back extensions are a good accessory after deadlifts or squats, or a stand-alone lower back builder on an upper body day. They pair well with a hamstring curl or a reverse hyperextension on adjacent equipment.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without bodyweight
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
Track the Prone Back Extension in SetGrip
All 1,100+ exercises with animations are in the app. No account, no sign-up — your history stays on your iPhone and in your private iCloud. Works with Apple Watch.
More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.