Do not fear the Reverse Hyper

I want to introduce the Reverse Hyper, and explain why I love it. The people I know that use it love it. I'm not telling you to start using it, and sure as hell am not telling you that you're ready to use it just from reading this article.

WHAT IT DOES -

1) Provides a range of motion (ROM) that is difficult to replicate; decompressing the lower back. When you decompress, you increase blood-flow to the area, promoting relief and healing. You may have seen decompression before when people hang upside-down by their ankles, or using an inversion table. If you're in a medical field, you may have seen traction applied.

2) Builds strength through the hips, hamstrings, glutes and lower back.

My lower back can get funky sometimes if I'm not careful. I can't remember exactly when (close to two years ago), I bent over to move a plastic bag and WHAM: before I could even stand up, a tweak in my lower back. Since then, I have been apprehensive to get under moderate or heavy weights, as I used to. I'm much more alert and actively guarded about my lower back. I stopped dead lifting, stayed lighter on squats and eased back into working out, modifying nearly everything.

I wanted my back to get better and I wanted to lift again, so I started familiarizing myself with the reverse hyper at Conviction Training Facility. All I knew was that it helped Louie Simmons recover from serious back injuries more than once. Using this has allowed me to get back under some weight, and feel good. Better than that, it's helping me strengthen my lower back so that this doesn't happen again in the future. Perhaps introducing yourself to the reverse hyper somewhere along your journey could be beneficial as well. I'm not saying to go jump on this piece of equipment today. I'm not saying that everyone should use this. I'm not saying it will help everyone, or anyone. I'm not selling these, and I do not care how many people use it. I'm only saying there is nothing to fear about the reverse hyper. There's information online if you're interested, or you can ask me about my experience with it.

I started using this without any weight. I used it without any weight until I became comfortable with the movement (a simple and often overlooked idea).