If you have a hard time hitting the glute-ham tie-in area of your backside, you're going to love this exercise.
It targets that area perfectly by using a landmine barbell setup. This gives you variable resistance that almost perfectly matches the strength curve of the extension exercise.
And while it's done on a 45 degree back extension bench, the lower back / spinal erector muscles won't get nearly as much work as the hamstrings and glutes (some but they're not the focus).
My hams and glutes were sore for days, the first time I tried this one. It works great paired with exercises that target the hip flexion function of the hamstrings and that put more stretch on the glutes (like Bulgarian Split Squats).
This is not a beginner exercise, though you can use a smaller EZ curl bar instead of a full-sized Olympic bar if you need to use lighter weight.
It can also be done one arm at a time or both arms at the same time (even though both sides of your hams and glutes will be activated even with a one-arm version).
How to set up and do the Landmine Glute-Ham Extension
To perform this one you will (ideally) need a landmine barbell setup that allows you to anchor the end of the bar to the floor.
I've done this exercise without that attachment, with the bar end just braced against the frame of the hyper bench, but I wouldn't recommend it, especially if you add weight to the other end of the bar. There is a risk of the bar end sliding off the bench and coming up.
This is the exact piece of landmine equipment I'm using in the demo, sold by New York Barbell (click here to check it out and get it...it's very versatile and fits under the bottom cross bar of just about any bench or rack).
They also have another landmine piece that uses any Olympic plate to anchor.
Set the end of the bar in the landmine with the bar going straight out in front. Get in position on the bench then reach forward and down a few feet and grab the bar (one hand or two hands). You can adjust your grip on the bar depending on what's comfortable for you in terms of distance.
Here's what the two-hand version looks like. This puts more balanced loading on the body.
Come up until your body is straight, really squeezing your glutes and hams on the way up. Squeeze them HARD at the top.
Because the bar is still angled at the top, you still get great tension (and contraction) at the very top of the exercise.
You don't get as much on the stretch at the bottom, but that's fine...the "money" part of this exercise occurs as you come up to the top.
Here's the one-hand version.
And if you're strong enough and need more of a challenge, add a plate to the other end of the bar. I have a 10 lb plate on here and that was plenty. The leverage of this setup is not great so even just a small plate on the end will make it tough.
Take a rest before going to the other side...you're using most of the same muscles even though you're switching hands.
In my case, with my landmine equipment, I'm also switching the side of the bench that the thing is attached to during that rest period to line up better with the hand I'm using. It may be different with your landmine setup.
Again, don't just brace the end of the bar on the bench, especially when you start adding weight...you can see the potential for what could happen if that slips off and the bar end gets launched straight up.
I was hitting 4-5 reps with this weight on the bar, which is good for a powerful set of muscles like the glutes and hamstrings.
You CAN do this with a shorter, lighter EZ curl, if you like. The concept is the same and you may find you DO need to add weight in that case, because the leverage is better with the shorter bar.
And let me tell you, even thoug you might be using an empty bar, this one is TOUGH.
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