How to Safely Set Up, Perform, & Program Reverse Nordics (Progressions | Regressions | Alternatives)

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In this video, I explain how to safely set up, perform, and program reverse nordics (also referred to as natural or bodyweight leg extensions), and provide you with progressions, regressions, and alternatives to help you meet your goals.
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0:00 Intro
0:11 Quadriceps Anatomy & Function
0:47 Why You Should Perform Reverse Nordics
2:51 How To Set Up Reverse Nordics
3:26 How To Perform Reverse Nordics
4:28 How to Program Reverse Nordics
5:58 Are Reverse Nordics Dangerous?
6:29 Reverse Nordic Alternatives
7:06 Summary
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Disclaimer: The information presented is not intended as medical advice or to be a substitute for medical counseling but is intended for entertainment purposes only. If you are experiencing pain, please seek the appropriate healthcare professional.

[@E3Rehab]

Thanks for watching! Check out the blog for references: e3rehab.com/blog/how-to-set-up-perform-and-program-reverse-nordics/

[@StraitjacketFitness]

This is brilliant. This very high quality content. Thoroughly explained in understandable phrasing, not rushed through nor spoken through too slowly. I will be coming back to this video in the future, for sure. This is very very helpful. I thank you.

[@readywhen]

It feels amazing being able to comfortably BOUNCE into a full reverse nordic (even with a slight deficit and weighted!). Definitely worth training towards. My starting point was absolutely horrible and it took me a couple of years to get to this point. I'm glad I decided to adopt a long-term approach to training, because reversing poor joint health takes time.

[@StraitjacketFitness]

This is something Kneesovertoesguy would say. Embracing this kind of mindset and incorporating his methods, has saved my knees and changed my life. FrFr #TrueStory

[@readywhen]

@@StraitjacketFitness Lol. Unfortunately I was too f'kd for kneesovertoesguy's protocol, even at the absolute lowest level. But once I tolerated basic movement, I did adopt some of their guiding principles in my training/rehab. That way I was forced to extract principles - not blindly follow protocols. I've learned from tons of different sources.

[@philipkim9779]

Amazing content like always! Thank you!

[@gabeduran8321]

Brilliant! Comprehensive and to the point! Amazing Instruction and teaching!!

[@austinwhisler5938]

@E3Rehab thank you for this video. Have had a quad strain for over 2 years and reverse Nordic’s are helping me overcome plateaus I seemingly couldn’t overcome for the last year

[@ParvParashar]

Phenomenal work! I’m definitely going to add this exercise in my lower body training routine to maximize quads development. 💪

[@AbuOmarElmasry2012]

I would like to thank you very much because I was hesitant to perform the total hip joint replacement due to my young age, but your videos encouraged me. Thank you with all my heart

[@DavidListenMentalHealth]

Great explanation with research to back it up.

[@niteshmajhi3784]

Thankyou so much sir for helping us through this knowledge video..

[@rdmckeever7645]

Thank you, from the very bottom of my old knees. Great content and details, as always...

[@shawnzayn]

Love this channel!

[@mikolajochocki2810]

This is beyond amazing

[@amooirani240]

Drop your leg day right now those legs are humongous

[@missionfitness7933]

Great video!

[@a112085]

Great video for all level people

[@knowledgeRS]

Thanks for the great content! Wicked physique as well, dude.

[@mnlw1363]

Thank you very much. I wonder if this would also help strengthen the adductors, esp if done with knees further apart-Trying to recover from a nagging likely high adductor tendinopathy

[@doronuzanhebrew]

pure gold

[@fedupwithyourstuff]

Many thanks for your amazing content. I'm able to do a full reverse nordic without any padding under my ankles but struggle with the consequences of the full syndesmosis disruption including the fully torn interosseous membrane. Is there any practical way to make it safer for me? My injury happened a few years ago and I'm pretty much recovered. The burning feel in the interosseous membrane is quite scary. I do not want to re-injure it. Any suggestions? Thank you very much!

[@keenanranch849]

good tutorial

[@WorldofJennifer]

I like your content very much. Btw ,do you have any video about tibialis anterior?

[@E3Rehab]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYDcf6tri7KtsMU No, but the approach to management will have overlapping principles as the video linked.

[@petechumly985]

So will these exercises build up the quads ? also any forearm tips to build them up please ?

[@theunknownpassenger552]

Can you talk about the medial knee where the gastrocnemius head is and coming back from pes anserine bursa tendonitis

[@pedromuller2216]

Que lastima que no tenés un canal en español pero está muy bueno tus vídeos , soy de Argentina y te sigo bueno te felicito

[@jackparcell9631]

Good day doc Please drop a safe but effective leg workout for guys like me who's had a total hip replacement, im 50years old and the other hip is also bothering me hence im scared to train legs😢

[@user-yd8hw8lo2x]

Good stuff. I’m going to try it even though my flexibility is suspect. I think the leg work will help my pickle game!

[@proudmisfit4405]

the good thing about them is that thsy also stretch your quads so just go slow

[@fn3200]

best quad movement for hypertrophy, wow!

[@asprinklingofclouds]

It's not, it may be one of the best for the rectus femoris though.

[@specter4570]

At 7:42 you set some prerequsitis, that you need to comfy sit on your feet. How to do that?

[@johanesterhuizen1842]

I wonder if all this research took into account hip range of motion as well as previous injuries

[@whitedime]

my knees keep lifting off the ground, any thoughts?

[@proverbalizer]

what happens if you get toward the bottom of the range of motion and you start to tip over so that your knees come off the ground

[@user-fv2cj9ls3m]

good

[@martinhayward]

Is it a safe exercise to do after having a totoal hip replacement ? About two years ago.

[@E3Rehab]

Most likely (I have a right total hip replacement), but there are likely better exercises to prioritize. We have a new video coming out related to total hip replacements in a couple months.

[@martinhayward]

@@E3Rehab thank you. I look forward to your next video🙂👍

[@bertlindsay]

​@E3 Rehab you had a hip replacement already? You are still quite young, may I ask what caused this?

[@martinhayward]

@@bertlindsay thanks Burt , I’ll take that as a compliment… I guess it was my lifestyle, I was quite sporty I played soccer and my other hobby was running. I actually need the other hip done at some point but it’s not as bad as the other hip got yet. Why do you ask ?

[@allstrongfitness]

“But knees over toes kills your knees” - hold my beer

[@saurabhpal9505]

I am one year post ACL surgery can I do these

[@E3Rehab]

Maybe, but there might be other things worth prioritizing. Check out this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eavbZ3-Lo6xkmdU

[@RubyRedDances]

Quadzilla❤

[@wagnerduro]

the tio is good but you dont have this legs, so... this works really?

[@mrk00lguyy]

Did these without shoes and the supportpillow, fucked upp the nerve in my foot and still one month later my whole leg is numb 24/7 and cant put on a shoe without being super carefull otherwise itll feel like someone stabbing a knife through my foot..

[@Immortalplays81]

I can sit on my heels but there’s pain on my right leg and d it’s abit tight left leg is fine tho

[@keithosorio6301]

Safe after acl reconstruction?

[@E3Rehab]

Eventually, but there are better alternatives throughout the rehab process.

[@keithosorio6301]

@@E3Rehab Thanks! I’m currently doing leg extensions, leg presses and variations of step ups along with static hold squats. Thinking about adding belt squats soon. I’m 4 months post op allograft repair

[@gmelliot19]

The blanket recommendation to “progress range of motion” is dangerous. More range of motion is not always better, and for more flexible individuals it can cause injury. I started doing reverse Nordics because I saw them from Kneesovertoesguy. He said the same thing “gradually increase the range of motion”. From start I was able to do high reps with bodyweight (5’6 and 175 lbs) going through a full range of motion without pain. I was actually able to perform them with my butt passing my heels and touching the flooring. Like a hero pose in yoga. Thought, “more range of motion is better”. But after doing these for a few months I gradually developed medial knee pain (probably minor MCL sprain with possible meniscus injury). Not sure if it was reverse Nordics, something else, or a combination of things, but once pain started reverse Nordics were the most consistently provocative exercise/activity. Still bothers me almost a year later. I think the main problem was I was using excessive range of motion. To bring butt to floor I had to slide tibia and femur past each other, which put high forces on medial knee structures. (Again think of Hero pose used by yoga practitioners) I think a better recommendation would be to progress range of motion UNTIL you can do reverse Nordics with butt touching heels. Then progress reps and weight. Explicitly avoid going past your heels will place excessive force on medial knee structures.

[@E3Rehab]

The “blanket recommendation”? Did you purposely tune out/ignore all of the nuance in the video?

[@gmelliot19]

No. But I could have used better word choice (sorry). Your basic message was “gradually progress range of motion without pain”. That’s great just thought “up to a point” should be added. Most people shouldn’t progress range of motion further than butt touching heels. I’ve seen many videos of people performing and/or promoting reverse Nordics with an extreme range of motion where butt goes past heels and touches floor. One video of a guy who trains reverse Nordics with feet raised on 3 inch blocks and butt sinking down until feet are on the side of the thighs. If progressed slowly enough that is not inherently dangerous but most people will get hurt chasing extremes. For most people getting butt to heels is sufficient range of motion. Pushing further is more likely to create injury then build capacity. Once that is achieved progress with load, tempo, reps. Or progress to sissy squats.

[@E3Rehab]

@@gmelliot19 You commented on a different video that your programming was the issue. Doesn’t seem to be an exercise problem.

[@gmelliot19]

@E3Rehab Well it was a LOAD MANAGEMENT problem (axiomatically true for non-traumatic injuries). Load management includes BOTH exercise selection and programming. No movement is inherently injurious but some movements require more recovery and should be programmed/progressed more conservatively than others. For most people I believe that trying to progress reverse Nordics to the extreme range of motion I described above is more likely to create injury than build capacity. That’s especially true for people with less programming experience (beginners) or more complex programming considerations (past injury, cross-training, physically demanding occupations). I believe that based on my own experience with the exercise and my basic knowledge of anatomy/biomechanics. And most people don’t need to push range of motion to extremes to get benefits of reverse Nordics. I think good standard is to get heels to butt. Then progress load, reps, tempo. Or progress to sissy squats.

[@chrisekstrom907]

@@gmelliot19 Your point about going lower is valid and makes sense to me as I'm able to reach the floor and return for reps, however, I'm concerned that the range of motion is excessive and dangerous; perhaps E3 Rehab can comment on the safety of 'butt to floor' rang of motion for the reverse nordic?

[@denie979]

Beautiful legs 👍💪😘

[@philthyphil3324]

I dont see how this is any better than leg extensions on a machine.

[@Anastasiia-Zelyonaya]

With reverse Nordic the targeted muscle is completely lengthened, as there is no hip flexion present

[@JGA99]

Does the sissy squat have the same mechanics?

[@hornedgod2873]

I was wondering the same. I think this is more isolated than the sissy squat. At least more so than the variation Platz popularized

[@E3Rehab]

Not exactly, but both do a good job of targeting the quads.

[@swisstrader]

I do this and something is going to snap or expode😂

[@reinerheiner1148]

Do reverse nordics at your own risk. I needed surgery after performing them for months, because part of the cartilage of my patella just could not take the pressure and basically just blasted away in the last reverse nordic set I did. This exercise is just not worth it getting surgery and years of rehab.

[@E3Rehab]

What made them safe for the months leading up to your experience? And if someone hurt their knee after 6 months of squatting, would you consider squatting the culprit?

[@reinerheiner1148]

@@E3Rehab It was most likely an overuse injury. The cartilage degraded over those months and eventually ripped off. I was slowly adapting to the exercise and perfectly capable to go all the way down and up for 15+ reps. The thing is that reverse nordics may present a very different force to the patellas cartilage, depending on how large someone is and how much that person weighs. I am around 2 meters and about 95kg with long femurs. Which presents my patella with much more force through leverage and weight than a smaller person. The amount of focre the patella cen tolerate also depends hugely on the shape of the patella and nobody can check that before performing this exercise to see if the patella can tolerate that exercise long term. I understand your reasoning, but we have to differenciate between safe and not so safe exercises. For both is true, we can do them many times, but more people will get injured in the case of less safe exercises. At the end of the day, as reverse nordics get more popular, we will see if there is an increase of cartilage damage. I have the feeling that after decades of knee over toes phobia, that we currently do the exact opposite, until enough people get hurt and we settle somewhere in the middle between those two extremes.