How To Use & Program The Reverse Hyper

The Reverse hyper is a piece of equipment like no other. This open-chain exercise provides the unique benefits of traction and strengthening and can be used to facilitate recovery.

You’ll want to make sure you use this piece of equipment correctly, as many times athletes use the Reverse Hyper incorrectly with excessive “swinging”. With that said, the range of motion should be controlled, and you have the ability to prevent excessive swinging of the pendulum.

• Contract glutes at the top of the movement
• Relax/Control halfway down. The head travels with the natural course of the body.
• Keep head neutral
• Control pendulum means you can stop at any movement without having to wait for it to slow down.

Why You May Want To Consider Owning A Reverse Hyper 

• Provides decompression of the spine that cannot be duplicated by any other piece of equipment
• Works as a strengthening tool for the posterior chain and lower back
• Rehabilitative tool for those with lower back disorders
• Helps with flexibility and aids in a dynamic range of motion
• Facilitates lower back recovery after heavy pulling sessions

Not all my programs utilize the RH mainly because it's a specialty piece of equipment that not everyone has, which is why I made a program utilizing specialty equipment, like RH so those that do have it can use it correctly!

Programming

I've had great success with using multiple variations during the week and using the Reverse Hyper for both strengthening and recovery.

Frequency

I've had the most success using the RH 1 day per week for strengthening purposes (roughly 75-100 total reps) and 1 day per week for recovery (roughly 40-60 total reps), but I've seen people have success using the RH daily so you'll need to experiment and find out what works best for you (I'd recommend starting with the lowest dose and moving up from there.) 

Here are some programming examples for strength purposes.

• Strict Reverse Hyper: 5 x 20 @50% of 1RM squat. Rest 90s - 2:00
• Single Leg Reverse Hyper: 4 x 15 each @25% of Squat. Rest 60s.
• Reverse Hyper Drop Set: Reps of 10, 20, 30, 40. Rest as little as possible.
  - Start with a fully loaded pendulum of 45s and remove 1 45 from each set.
• Reverse Hyper For Recovery: 2 x 25-30 @25% of Squat. Rest 60s.

Closing

As with any new exercise, take the time to get acclimated and proficient before delving into new variations or increasing the loading. For most people, starting off with 1 exposure a week will provide a noticeable change.

Over time, you can introduce the Reverse Hyper to additional training sessions. Overall, these are guidelines as there is no “one-size fits” model.

For some of you simply start with bodyweight-only reps in which you can focus on perfecting technique and contracting your glutes hard at the top of each rep.

With any tool, the execution takes precedence. Be forewarned that this piece of equipment will challenge you and you will likely be surprised how much of a “back pump” you incur after just a few sets. Start light/low volume and progress over weeks/months.