I have always been interested in getting one of these, but they are SO DAMN expensive! I have tried all sorts of things to mimic the actual movement, but I wanted to know what everyone else has to say: for those of you who do not have access to a reverse-hyper, how do you do them? Also, does anyone manufacture a “knock-off reverse hyper” that is at least respectable? Has anyone taken measurements of one and then constructed one on their own? If so, please include a description of what material you used, and the dimensions of each piece. Any other tidbits that you can add to the mystique of the reverse-hyper would be greatly appreciated!
Dave Tate’s website shows how to perform “reverse-hypers” on a regular hyperextension bench. And that’s what we do - and it works just fine!
Make your own. I made one for 160.00, better than the 1100 model. Call the company ask for the specks (you want to make sure it will fit in your private gym,wink,wink)…A new level of sore, go SLOW!
I was fooling around with this idea, but I never finished it. If you have a power rack with a low pulley attached to it, you can set the spotting rails at a good height and construct a padded board that you can set across it. It needs to be high enough of course so that your legs do not touch the ground. Attach those sheepskin and leather ankle attachments to you ankles and try to do weighted reverse hypers that way. Another way is to hold a dumbell between your ankles. I have not really done much other than fooling around with this idea, but it may work.
Yeh i had this problem before i woke up and went to a real gym, but this is what i did when i didnt have a real reverse hyper. take a length of rope that you can loosely fit around you lower leg and fix it at both ends, so it is now just a circle of rope. take a plate and put half the rope through the middle of it so now there is a figgure of 8 with the plate in the middle of the rope, then you can put your feet through and secure on either side the rope around the top of your shoes. as for the bench to persorm them on, my gym had a bench pull bench, which was like a lying face down row to the chest, so it was a very heigh bench. but i have also used the flat board that people use to do abs on the flore placed across the supports in the power rack, and used 3 benches, 2 paralel to each other and then placed 1 back across ontop of them to make it heigher. oh, and the only way i could use some decent weight this way was to hold 45 pound plate underneath the bench, that pulled my chest back into the bench. i got up to 2 and a half plates this way. also use the rope setup for other exercises like leg raises off the chin up bar and a few others. have i been too confusing? see if it works for you and tell me what you think.
Hay Patricia i wanted to see what Dave said about how to do reverse hypers with an ordinary hyper bench but cant find it on his elite site, what is the name of the article?? thsnxs.
Well, I have it at home (and I’m leaving the office right now) - so I’m sure the web address is on my printed sheets of the workout. I’ll post it…
Well - it wasn’t a Dave Tate article,but by someone else. Here’s how I found it: I did a search on T-Mag’s search engine by using, “reverse hypers” as the search word. The article (in my case, the first article) for Testosterone Magazine/Issue 157 is the one you need! It’ll show how to perform reverse hypers on both the hyperextension bench AND a fitball - I do both (I have a fitball at home, believe it or not).
Everyone, thanks for your input. Believe it or not I have tried all of the things suggested here (with the exception of the figure-eight rope; that is rather clever Tray)! My main problem is that I really do not have anything to compare with because I have never used a real reverse-hyper machine. So, if anyone else can offer a comparison it would be really helpful. Thanks!
Hey, Drake. Care to post the dimensions of the reverse-hyper that you built? Also, what materials did you use? 4X4’s, steel, etc.? Any other details, tips, or secrets? Throw me a bone, here! $160 total, huh? That sounds a little bit better than a grand or so. Do you find it to be just as effective?
I don’t know how anyone can mimic a reverse hyper without actually having one. Most people who do this don’t use near enough weight. You do know you should be using about 50-60% of your 1RM squat for sets of 8-12. For a 500lbs squatter, that’s at least 250lbs on the machine. I’ve seen guys use up to 580 for 12 reps. Go get one welded for you. That’s what I did. Just look at the pictures, it’s not that hard. Swing arm should be about 25-26" depending on length of legs (from center of plates to pivot). Mount pivot point a good 6" below surface of top pad. Get strap long enough so plates don’t wack you in legs on way up. The rest is just a frame (about 36" high)to hold it all. Just make sure it’s tall enough so plates clear floor, but no to tall where you can’t jump up while keeping feet in strap. PDA sells one you can mount in a cage. Seems sturdy enough (up to a point).
Greg
Buy a standard model from elitefitness.
There is no substitute for this machine. You will not get much benefit from the exercise if you don’t use a lot of weight. Like a previous poster mentioned, you should be doing about 50% of your 1rm squat on this exercise. So strapping 50 or 100lbs to your ankles and doing them off of a home-made device won’t cut it. Ask Dave Tate or Louie and they will tell you the same. The best thing I ever did for my posterior chain was to spend the 700 on a standard model reverse hyper. Yeah, I had to save a little but it is definately worth it. Dont make the mistake of spending 150 or 200 dollars on making one yourself. If you absolutely cannot afford one, concentrate on glute-ham raises and regular hypers instead. You will have little benefit from doing rev hypers unless you go heavy.
Honestly I have a reverse hyper but i still prefer my old way of lieing backwards on the glute ham bench with a weight strapped around my feet…feels more natural.
Cool, thanks.
I’m with Drake.Made mine from 4X4’s,works awesome.The exercise,for sports performance!
Just let me know how I can strap 270lbs to my feet. Then I can sell my machine.
Greg
Kelly: Interested in selling your reverse-hyper? We can swap email addresses via another board and go from there.
Greg: Well, you could use Ivanko’s powerboots (or something like that), although I am not sure if they could hold 270lbs between both feet but if so, THEN I CAN BUY YOUR REVERSE-HYPER:)
Here are the dimensions of the PRO Model: 40" x 48" and 42" high, with a weight resistance of 0 to 500 lbs (for 2" weights). Standard Model is 30" x 48" and 41" high, with a weight resistance of 0 to 250 lbs (for 2" weights).
I’ve just been facing backwards on a hyperextension machine and placing a db between my ankles. So far its worked well. Less back pain and better squat workouts.
Do you guys feel short as hell when you get off this evil thing also? I’m not the tallest guy but damn…My mother told me when I was young if I got lost the police could put my picture on a Half-n-Half container…lol