Lie on your stomach on a flat bench with your legs hanging off the edge. Your hips should be at the end of the bench.
Hug the bench with your arms and lift your feet a few inches off the ground, keeping your knees straight.
Execution
Keeping your legs straight, exhale as you lift your feet as high as you can.
Hold for a count of two.
Inhale as you lower your feet back to the starting position.
Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.
Comments and tips
Use the flat bench reverse hyperextension to build and strengthen your glute muscles.
If the lower back is hyperextended, the erector spinae also becomes a synergist, making this a wonderful exercise for developing your posterior chain muscles.
For the safety of your back, do not swing or use momentum.
Keeping your legs straight will increase the activation of your hamstrings, while flexing the knees will reduce activation of your hamstrings and increase activation of your glutes instead.
For best glute activation, hold the hyperextension for a count of two to add an isometric contraction to the exercise.
Place a towel under your hips if there is any pain or discomfort.
