Core
Hip extension
From the tuck reverse hyperextension to the straight-leg one with ankle weights.
- Steps
- 5
- Levels
- N2–N5
- The goal
- Straight-leg reverse hyper
Before you start
It is the hip extension from the most common calisthenics core triplet.
The main path
One of the two
EXT-1aLevel 2
Tuck reverse hyper
Torso on a bench or table, hips at the edge, knees to chest: extend the hips to the line of the torso.
- Achievement
- 10 reps
- Mastery
- 3 × 10 reps
More about this step
If it won't come today
- Partial range.
EXT-1bLevel 2
Back extension
On a Roman chair, hips supported: the torso rises to the line of the legs.
- Achievement
- 10 reps
- Mastery
- 3 × 10 reps
More about this step
If it won't come today
- Partial range.
EXT-2Level 3
Reverse hyper, knees at 90°
The reverse hyperextension with the knees at 90°.
- To start
- Back extension: 3 × 10 reps or Tuck reverse hyper: 3 × 10 reps
- Achievement
- 8 reps
- Mastery
- 3 × 8 reps
More about this step
If it won't come today
EXT-3Level 4The goal
Straight-leg reverse hyper
The reverse hyperextension with straight legs.
- To start
- Reverse hyper, knees at 90°: 3 × 5 reps
- Achievement
- 8 reps
- Mastery
- 3 × 8 reps
More about this step
If it won't come today
Weighted
EXT-L1Level 5
Reverse hyper +5%
The straight-leg reverse hyper with ankle weights adding up to +5% of your bodyweight.
- To start
- Straight-leg reverse hyper: 3 × 8 reps
- Achievement
- 1 rep with +5% BW
- Mastery
- 3 × 8 reps with +5% BW
More about this step
If it won't come today
Training it
Reference, not a prescription.
How it's trained
The third of the core trio
Core work is built on three patterns, anti-extension, anti-rotation and extension, and this is the extension one: the reverse hyperextension, with 3 sets of 8 to 12. It progresses by straightening the legs: tucked, knees at 90° and straight.
Prepare the body
A sturdy bench and hips at the edge
The torso rests on a sturdy bench or table, with the hips at the edge, and the legs rise to the line of the torso. Without a bench, the Roman chair extension is the alternative.
When to stop
Pain that gets worse
Discomfort up to 2 or 3 out of 10 can be tolerated if it does not get worse during the session, afterwards or the next day. If it goes past that or gets worse, stop for the day.
How to read it
Every step has three marks. “To start” is what you want to have before training it, measured on the previous step or on another progression. The achievement is the first clean one, and mastery is repeating it within a single workout: “3 × 8 reps” means three sets of eight in one session.
Levels run from N0 to N16: N1 to N4 beginner, N5 to N8 intermediate, N9 to N12 advanced and N13 to N16 elite; N0 covers the steps before that.
Added weight and assistance are written as a percentage of bodyweight (BW): +18% BW is 12.5 kg if you weigh 72 kg. “Per side” means the numbers apply to each side.
When two steps sit together —“one of the two”— either one counts: whichever you do opens what comes next.
How a Core step is counted: Full range, no momentum. On planks, body straight and pelvis tucked under; on hanging raises, no swing. Added weight is everything you add, as % of your bodyweight: ankle weights count as a pair.
Myosin keeps track
Here's the sequence. In the app, each step ticks itself when you finish the workout that meets it: the achievement the first time, mastery when you repeat it. And when you master a step from your routine and the next one is a different exercise, it offers to swap it in.
