Louie Simmons: Reverse Hypers, A Revolution in Lower Back Training

Printed in Milo JULY 1995/ Vol.3, No.2

Since I cannot find this article anywhere else and the back issue of Milo does not appear to be available in digital format I have chosen to reproduce it below in memory of Louie Simmons.

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Reverse Hypers: A Revolution in Lower Back Training

Milo JULY 1995/ Vol.3, No.2Louie Simmons - Westside Barbell Club

In 1973, competing as a 181-pounder, I had just made a 670 deadlift and a 630 squat. My total was 1655, which was one of the top totals in the country. At the time, I thought my back was indestructible and for good reason. After all, I was able to do 435 for five reps in the bent over good morning. One day wile doing these, I heard something snap. It turned out to be my fifth lumbar vertbra.

Although it was very painful, I felt that would be able to resume regular training. Instead, I was restricted to crutches on and off for 10 months. When I finally returned to regular training, it didn’t last long. My back hurt all the time, and all the standard exercises that I once did caused severe pain. I had developed sciatica to the point where I could not straighten out either leg. No ore good mornings, back raises, squats, or deadlifts. I couldn’t even touch my toes because of the pain.

I experimented with every exercise I could think of. Nothing worked. Then one day I wondered what would happen if I did the reverse of a hyperextension, by lying with my torso suspended and my legs hanging down. By raising my feet with my legs perfectly straight, I found I was able to exercise my back without pain. It was now 1975 and the first time in nearly two years that I could get a pump in my lower back without discomfort.

It was not long until I was able to return to regular training again. By 1977, I was back to an official 710 deadlift along with the sixth best total in the U.S. at 198 pounds. I had found a device that would stabilise my very unstable sacral region, namely, the Reverse Hyper machine, which rotates the lower back like no other exercise.

In 1982, I fractured my fifth lumbar vertebra again, after falling off an icy porch. Again, I was in severe pain. I consulted a top orthopaedic surgeon, who recommended that two discs be removed, a bone spur taken off, and my vertebra fused. He could not guarantee that my pain would be reduced. Instead, I sought help from my acupuncturist, Mr. Chen, and another friend, Chow Pin, an acupressurist. With their help and by taking 17 weeks off (except for Reverse Hypers), I was again able to return to the lifting platform.

In 1982, at 34 years old, I was able to return to top form.

In 1988, at 41 years old, I totalled 2033 at the YMCA Nationals at a body-weight of 233, making an 810 squat, 523 bench, and 699 deadlift. At 42 years old, officially squatted 821 and while training, deadlifted 745. This was all made possible by Reverse Hypers.

The Reverse Hyper machine has helped all my lifters. In fact, 16 are now world champion and 22 are national champions. I have five women who have done a 500-pound squat or deadlift in a world or national meet, a 242-pounder who does no deadlifting in the gym yet pills 793, and a 275-pounder who pulls 800. After my nearly career ending injury in 1973, Reverse Hypers have enabled me to total Elite in five weight classes. To this da, only five men have accomplished this.

What can Reverse Hypers do for you? If you are a body builder and would like an astonishing back, like Mike Francois, do what Mike does — Reverse Hypers. If you want to pose for pay, then Reverse Hypers are the edge you have been looking for. Mike has been doing them for two years, and his lower back shows it.

If you have a nagging back and nothing seems to help, Reverse Hypers could be the answer. Displaying the Reverse Hyper machine at several trade shows has given many people with bad lower backs a chance to try it out. So far, over two dozen people with bulging or herniated disks have used my machine without pain. The machine decompresses the disks when the weights travel to a position under the face. It repairs the back by rotating the sacrum and pumping blood into the area. This can only be accomplished with the Reverse Hyper machine.

The Reverse hyper can even help Olympic lifters by allowing them to work the lower back four times a week without overtraining because Reverse Hypers work as restoration and the same time build you up. You may wonder how effective Reverse Hypers are compared to, let’s say, the Romanian deadlift. Both exercises were tested by an independent EMG tester. The lower back activity generated by the Romanian deadlift was 240 microvolts, compared to 400 microvolts for the Reverse Hyper. For the hamstrings, the rating for the Romanian deadlift was 180 microvolts, compared to 335 microvolts for the Reverse Hyper. The tester did not measure glute activity, but believe me, there is nothing that compares to the Reverse Hyper of building the glutes.

Reverse Hypers could revolutionise strength training in the United States. They have a tremendous positive effect on anyone who uses them.