Reverse hypers (short for reverse hyperextensions) work the big buttock muscle, the backs of the thighs and the muscles along your lower back. You lie face down across a sturdy chair with your hips at the edge and your hands on the floor, then lift both straight legs behind you until they are level with your body. It is harder than lying leg lifts on the floor, so it tends to come later in a program.

How to do the reverse hypers

Choose a sturdy chair without wheels, on a floor that is not slippery. Lie face down across the seat so it supports your stomach, with your hips just at the edge and your legs out behind you.
Reach down and rest your hands on the floor below your shoulders, or hold the chair legs nearest your head, and keep them there the whole time. Let your upper body relax onto the seat.
Keep both legs straight and together, and lower them partway toward the floor. In the video the feet stay off the floor between lifts.
Squeeze your buttocks and lift both legs together until they are level with your body. Keep your knees straight.
Hold the squeeze for a moment, then lower the legs slowly and repeat.
When you finish, put your feet on the floor before you push yourself up off the chair.

What you should feel

Strong work in the buttocks and the backs of the thighs, with some effort in the lower back. A pinch or ache in the lower back is a sign to make the lift smaller.

Common mistakes

Lifting the legs above level. As the voice guide warns, going too high arches your back and presses your upper body into the seat. The legs in the video sometimes rise a little past level, but level is enough.
Swinging the legs up with momentum instead of lifting them with your buttocks.
Bending the knees as the legs rise.
Using a light, folding or wheeled chair that can shift or tip.

How often

Many programs start with 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 lifts, with a brief squeeze at the top. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp or pinching lower back pain, or back pain that builds with each lift.
Pain, numbness or tingling travels down a leg.
The chair shifts, rocks or tips, or you feel dizzy or unwell. If you faint while exercising, call emergency services, even if you feel fine again quickly.

From the clinic

Set up with care. Use a heavy chair with four legs and a solid seat, on a floor or mat that does not slide, and press down on the seat first to check it feels solid. A padded seat or a folded towel is kinder on your hip bones and stomach. If you are unsure about the chair, lie face down on a firm bed with your hips at the edge instead, which cannot tip.

Prone hip extension and the superman work similar muscles lying on the floor. Use one of those if you have osteoporosis, feel unsteady on your feet or have fallen in the past year, because getting on and off the chair face down is awkward.

Lifting the legs behind you arches the lower back a little. That can irritate a narrowed spinal canal (spinal stenosis) or a vertebra that has slipped forward (spondylolisthesis), so with either diagnosis, ask your physio first. If you are pregnant, choose a different exercise, as this position presses on your stomach. Your head sits a little lower than your hips here, so with high blood pressure, breathe out as you lift and never hold your breath.

If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try reverse hypers. Lifting the legs past level takes the hips back behind the line of your body, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations, especially when the hip was replaced from the front.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-26.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Reverse hypers