PUBLISHED ON Mar, 19, 2025
The Freak Athlete Hyper Pro: A Case Study in Low Back Pain Rehab
If you’ve ever dealt with low back pain, you know it’s about more than just the physical discomfort—it’s the fear, doubt, and frustration that tag along with it. Suddenly, you’re questioning everything: Can I lift again? Did I just do serious damage? Am I ever going to feel normal?
That’s exactly where one of my clients, a firefighter and busy dad, found himself after tweaking his back during a heavy deadlift session.
Training was his outlet, but now he felt completely sidelined. As a firefighter and a parent, getting him back to full strength wasn’t just about lifting for fun; it was about being ready for the physical demands of his job and being able to pick up his young son without hesitation. He needed more than just relief from pain—he needed to rebuild confidence and strength to return to what he loved and what his life required.
That’s where the Freak Athlete Hyper Pro came in.
The Freak Athlete Hyper Pro isn’t just another fancy piece of home gym equipment—it’s compact, versatile, and (in my opinion) an absolute powerhouse for rehab and performance. In this case study, I’m sharing how the Hyper Pro became a centre point of our rehab plan to get this client back on his feet and doing what he loves to do.
Who am I?
My name is Katie, and I’m a physiotherapist specializing in sports rehab, working out of a clinic in Ontario, Canada. I’ve also built a vibrant community on social media under the handle @theequestrianphysio, where I share rehab and strength training tips tailored to equestrians.
When I first came across the Freak Athlete Hyper Pro (targeted advertising done right), I immediately saw its potential as a versatile tool for our clinic. With limited space, we prioritize selecting equipment that can deliver big results for our clients—whether they’re aiming for high performance or simply achieving their personal goals. I reached out to Freak Athlete to test it out, and it’s quickly become a game-changer in several of my clients’ rehab programs.
Plus, it’s been a fantastic addition to my own training routine, which is always a bonus!
A Bit About the Client: Firefighter, Dad, and Home Gym Devotee
This client is a part-time firefighter, full-time dad, and a passionate home-gym user. He’s the type of guy who mixes traditional strength training with MetCon conditioning as a previous CrossFit Coach.
Unfortunately, a perfect storm of insufficient recovery and/or excessive loading, volume, and progression led to a severe back pain flare during a heavy deadlift session. While we knew the mechanical trigger, we also had to address the psychosocial side of the injury:
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Fear of flaring up again
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Doubts about the resilience of his tissues
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The need to balance training, work, and chasing after his young kid
It’s a lot for anyone to juggle.
Through all of this, the Hyper Pro became our go-to tool for easing back into movement, progressively challenging his limits, and ultimately building strength and resilience. It helped that this client also happened to have his own Hyper Pro as part of his home gym, making it easy to assign a home rehab plan incorporating it.
Our approach? Move intentionally, start small, and use tools like the Hyper Pro to gradually reintroduce movements that his back wasn’t so sure about.
The goal wasn’t just to fix the pain—it was to build trust in his back again.
Phase 1: Calm Things Down (The Acute Phase)
In the early days, acute low back pain often comes with muscle guarding, stiffness, and the overwhelming fear of don’t make it worse.
It’s tempting to just lie down and hope it goes away, but unfortunately, that often leads to prolonged discomfort. Our first goals centered around reducing sensitivity and restoring gentle movement—without flaring his back further.
Pain was okay to push into, but we didn’t want anything lingering for longer than 24 hours or causing a significant increase in symptoms.
Early Movement Strategies with the Hyper Pro:
Reverse Hyper Traction – This was an instant favorite. Traction off the reverse hyper setting allowed his low back to unload passively—a relief for his sensitive spine. When he didn’t have the HyperPro available, we focused on other traction techniques, like a dead hang, to help decompress things.
Isometric Holds in Forward and Side Flexion – We started using the Hyper Pro’s 45º back extension setting for forward and side flexion holds. These low-intensity holds encouraged stability without pushing into larger ranges of motion, making them an ideal starting point for sensitive tissues. Isometrics are a fantastic option in the early stages of rehab because they provide gentle input to help calm irritated tissues without over-stressing them. They also offer pain relief by gradually desensitizing the area to movement and load.
Supported Mobility Work – Gentle movements like cat-cow, child’s pose to cobra, and scorpions allowed us to reintroduce gentle, unloaded ranges, exploring different movements within tolerable limits, reducing guarding, and reminding the back that it’s ok and safe to move.
Low-Load Trunk Stability – Exercises like bird dogs, curl-ups, and side planks kept the work light and tolerable but still got his trunk muscles firing, offering some gentle muscle engagement and movement.
Pain doesn’t necessarily mean more damage is happening, especially at this stage of recovery. Inflammation can make tissues incredibly sensitive, but it’s important to remember that this sensitivity is the body’s way of protecting itself—it’s like a warning light, not a sign of harm.
Phase 2: Build Things Back Up (The Proliferative Phase)
Once we calmed the initial pain and started to help the stiffness and guarding subside after a week or two, it was time to start reintroducing load and expanding his range of motion. The focus here was on graded exposure to the movements that had become “sensitized”—slowly increasing his back’s capacity to handle load and movement without flaring up.
Hyper Pro Progressions:
Isometric Holds – Starting at 45º and progressing to 90º, he worked up to holding light weights for short bursts. This built stability and created lots of muscular input to help desensitize the area, without demanding movement his back wasn’t quite ready for yet.
Through-Range Movements – Reverse hyper and controlled back extensions were a game-changer here. At first, we limited the range of motion, then gradually introduced fuller movement and added load as his confidence grew.
Deadlift Progressions – We started simple. Kettlebell deadlifts off a step reduced the range while still letting him practice a hinge pattern. From there, we progressed to heavier and deeper ranges before building back to barbell deadlifts.
Strengthening Surrounding Muscles – Bulgarian split squats, hip thrusts, and assisted Nordic curls helped build up his glutes, hamstrings, and quads without directly overloading his low back. Accessory movements like these are fantastic for mid-stage back rehab, as they provide indirect loading on the spinal muscles without asking too much in the way of range, and can help rebuild confidence in movement as a whole., and quad strength without overloading the low back.
We followed the 24-Hour Rule—if discomfort settled within 24 hours, we stayed on track. If it caused a flare-up, we scaled back slightly before progressing again.
Phase 3: Load It and Love It (The Regenerative Phase)
By the time we hit this phase a few weeks in, his low back was feeling way more settled and capable, and his confidence was coming back up for flexion-based movements. As we moved into the regenerative phase of tissue healing, our goals shifted to building resilience with full-range loaded movements and even incorporating speed work to prepare him for the demands of real life (firefighting, parenting, and those CrossFit-style MetCons).
Here’s where the Hyper Pro really shined:
Reverse Hypers and Back Extensions – We loaded these up, focusing on full-range control with progressively heavier weights. The reverse hyper’s versatility allowed us to introduce tempo variations—slow, controlled reps and eventually faster, dynamic ones.
Deadlifts – By now, he was back to barbell deadlifts with full range and progressing load. We worked up in weight methodically, checking in with symptoms, regressing where needed, and pushing where we could.
Rotational Strength and Core Work – Movements like wood chops, GHD sit-ups, and weighted rotational movements kept things functional and challenging. This allowed us to load the low back not just with posterior-chain-focused movements, but with rotational and anteriorly biased movements as well.
At this stage, we weren’t just focusing on rehabbing the injury—we were building a stronger, more resilient low back that could handle the demands of everyday life and training.
Does this mean the client will never experience another back pain flare-up? Probably not—unfortunately, one of the strongest predictors of injury is having had the same injury before. But that doesn’t mean he’s doomed to feel fragile or avoid hinge movements forever. Back pain can feel scary and overwhelming, but it doesn’t mean you’re broken.
Recovery isn’t about avoiding movement—it’s about reintroducing it thoughtfully, progressively, and with confidence.
Myth busting – Is Form to Blame for Back Pain Flares?
Does form really matter?
Spoiler alert—it probably doesn’t matter as much as you think. While “good” form can improve efficiency and make movements feel smoother, allowing you to lift heavier with less effort, it’s not the main factor when it comes to injury. We also need to remember that what counts as “good” form will depend a lot on your anatomy, training age, and the intensity you’re targeting. A 1RM is going to look very different then a set of 10 warm up lifts, and someone who’s all thighs and no torso will lift very differently than someone built the other way around.
The real culprits of injury risk are usually related to load, volume, progression, and recovery—essentially, doing too much, too soon, with too little time to adapt. Your body is incredibly resilient and adaptable, but it needs time to build capacity. Poor form might make an exercise harder or less efficient, but it’s unlikely to be the sole reason for injury.
Are deadlifts and back extensions bad for your back?
Absolutely not! These style of movements are some of the most effective ways to build a strong, resilient posterior chain, including your lower back. The issue is rarely the exercise itself—it’s how it’s performed and programmed. If you suddenly jump into heavy deadlifts without building a base of strength or progress too quickly, you might run into trouble. But when these movements are introduced gradually, with appropriate progression and attention to recovery, they’re one of the best tools for keeping your back strong and ready for life’s demands. Instead of avoiding these movements out of fear, it’s all about learning how to use them wisely.
The Takeaway: Back Pain Doesn’t Have to Sideline You
By the end of this program, my client was:
✅ Deadlifting confidently
✅ Moving without hesitation
✅ Enjoying life with his kid
If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this story, it’s this; your body is capable of amazing things, even after setbacks. Recovery isn’t about avoiding movement and going for strict rest—it’s about finding ways to move that feel good, building strength along the way, and trusting in the process. With tools like the Hyper Pro and a thoughtful plan, you can get back to doing what you love with confidence and strength.
If you’re dealing with back pain and wondering what’s next, let this be your sign: keep moving. Find ways to scale movements to your current capacity, build up gradually, and trust that your body is capable of adapting. And if you’re lucky enough to have access to tools like the Hyper Pro, well… even better.
