Stability Ball Reverse Hyperextension
Also known as: reverse hyper
- Primary muscleGlutes
- EquipmentStability Ball
- DifficultyIntermediate
- TypeCompound · Hip-dominant
- Secondary muscles
- Hamstrings, Spine
- Body part
- Upper Legs
- Position
- Standing
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
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Hips draped over a ball instead of a bench add a wobble the trunk has to cancel while the legs lift behind you, and the ball's curve lets the legs start from a deeper hang. Hands stay planted on the floor for balance, so expect the first sets to be about steadiness as much as the glutes.
How to do the Stability Ball Reverse Hyperextension
- Lie face down on a stability ball with your hips resting on the ball and your legs extended straight behind you.
- Place your hands on the ground in front of you for stability.
- Engaging your glutes and hamstrings, lift your legs up towards the ceiling as high as you can.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your legs back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Tuck the pelvis slightly and keep the ribs down so the glute, not the lower back, gets the squeeze.
Muscles worked
Primary
Glutes · Legs
The glutes drive the leg or hips back and finish the rep, and you should feel a hard squeeze in the working side at the top.
Secondary
- Hamstrings — The hamstrings assist the glutes in extending the hip and get a good stretch on pull-throughs.
- Spine — The lower back holds a neutral position so the movement comes from the hip and not from arching.
Common mistakes
- Arching to get higher — the range ends when the hip is fully extended, not when the spine bends; stop at the point where the glute is squeezed and go no further.
- Rushing the reps — most hip extensions are a squeeze exercise; pause at the top for a count unless the variation is meant to be rhythmic.
- Kicking instead of extending — on kickbacks keep the knee bent at a fixed angle so the glute drives the hip back; if the leg straightens as you lift, it has turned into a leg kick.
- Pull-throughs with a vertical torso — on a cable pull-through you need to hinge far forward with the hips back so the cable stretches the glutes before they fire.
Where it fits in a workout
Hip extensions are accessory glute work for after squats, deadlifts or hip thrusts. Cable pull-throughs superset well with cable rows on the same stack, and kickbacks with abduction work.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without stability ball
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.
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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.