Reverse Hyper Revised
I posted my reverse hyper ideas awhile back. Unfortunately, they all suffered from not being able to use enough weight to get the full benefit of the exercise. I came up with this idea several months ago. It has done wonders for my back. I highly recommend the exercise. I lack the room and funds to get a real reverse hyper machine, so had to do something. The weight is the key. It has to be high enough to force the legs forward when doing the exercise. I have had up to 500 pounds on this machine and it has held up great. The exercise is a SWING! Think swing set. I'm sorry, I've haven't found a good video of it on the net, but most of Louie Simmon's videos show it. Also, be careful, there are a number of cheap knock offs of his design. All that I have seen seem to lack the ability to swing the weight. Again, with out the swing, it is a whole difference exercise and of much more limited value. This article will not be super detailed, but I've included a lot of photos.
The photo above shows the unit in place and ready to go. I use a Ironmind© hip belt to attach my feet to the unit. Note the large amount of weight on the furthest end of the unit. It is on the lat pull down arms. It is VERY IMPORTANT to have a lot of weight here as a counter-weight. It prevents the unit tipping over. Obviously, if you don't have this type of exercise machine, major modifications will be necessary, but hopefully this will give you some ideas.
The left photo shows the I being anchored to the wood. Note the original anchors were the outer ones. They are designed to hold pipe against a wall and proved not strong enough. I broke several, until I had the idea to use U bolts. They are holding fine. The left photo shows the square bolt that is used to hold the devise to the exercise machine.
As the photos show, I used a 2X12, 3/4 inch plywood and 2x4s to make the unit. It has held up great. And again don't forget, the reverse hyper is a SWING!
Revised
Another reverse hyper design, as well as other homemade stuff, can be found here.