Back · Barbell
Barbell Hyperextension
How to do the barbell hyperextension, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Set yourself on a hyperextension bench with your hips on the pad and ankles secured, holding a barbell across your upper back or hugged to your chest. Hinge down at the hips with a flat back until you feel a stretch in the hamstrings, then drive your hips up and squeeze your glutes to return to a straight body line.
- 1Glutes and hamstrings driving you back up from the bottom
- 2A braced core and a flat, neutral spine throughout
- 3A brief squeeze at the top without overarching
Common mistakes
- Hyperextending or arching past a straight body line at the top
- Jerking the bar or using momentum to swing up
- Letting your torso drop uncontrolled on the way down
Muscles worked
The barbell hyperextension mainly works the lower back, with the glutes and hamstrings assisting.
- Lower BackPrimary
- GlutesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the barbell hyperextension for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More back exercises
- How to do the archer pull-up
- How to do the resistance band assisted pull-up
- How to do the machine assisted pull-up
- How to do the back extension bench back extension
- How to do the machine back extension
- How to do the back lever
Last reviewed June 2026.