Weighted 45 Degree Back Raise for Men - Help

[Camarija]

Howdy!

I had issues connecting with Romanian Deadlifts, especially on the contraction, so I switched to 45 Degree Back Raises

The contraction and strength curve are perfect

The problem is that if I use weight above half my body weight, my balls get crushed
So I stick to about 0.5 x BW for sets of 20-30 reps

With RDLs, I use about 1.7 x BW for sets of 12+ reps, but no good contraction

I'm using the hammer strength version of the 45 Hyper with the pad gap

If I use tighter underwear it seems to be more problematic than if I use very loose underwear

Anyone else have this problem and how did you solve it?

Going to try freeballing it next time

I know it sounds ridiculous but srs

If I can't figure it out I'm just going to switch to barbell hip thrusts

[Camarija]

This was meant for the exercise sub forum... oh well

[radrd]

The solution may be equipment-based. Many 45 hypers solve this by splitting the pad and leaving a ball gap (technical term).

Example:
Body-Solid GHYP345 2"x3" 45 Degree Back Hyper Extension https://a.co/d/9eYGT1c

Edit: I see your bench has a gap. I guess you need a ball reduction.

[Camarija]

LOL

I don't think I'm like AC/DC

I'm hoping it's just the tighter underwear I used makes it problematic

Maybe it's just not a common exercise people go heavy on

[EliKoehn]

I used to do that exercise every session when I was a teenager and think I know what you're talking about, though I would just use a 45 plate x15 or something like that, nothing heavy. When deadlifting, the bar jamming into my nuts at lockout is also unpleasant, though I can't say I can relate to this exact situation.

Does adjusting the height of the platform or widening your stance a bit help? Sometimes I would do them a bit below the waistline on purpose to avoid this problem (at much lighter weight, admittedly, but it helped).

[Camarija]

Update

Used very loose boxers, very loose shorts, problem solved

Just needed to let my balls swing free instead of bunched up

No more ball crunching

Able to go heavier no problem

I used to do that exercise every session when I was a teenager and think I know what you're talking about, though I would just use a 45 plate x15 or something like that, nothing heavy. When deadlifting, the bar jamming into my nuts at lockout is also unpleasant, though I can't say I can relate to this exact situation.

Does adjusting the height of the platform or widening your stance a bit help? Sometimes I would do them a bit below the waistline on purpose to avoid this problem (at much lighter weight, admittedly, but it helped).

I set the cushion well below my waist so I can get deep hip flexion, pushing my hips into the pads, dtiving with my glutes and pulling with my hamstrings

I tried varying stances, but close feet lets me feel the glutes and hamstrings more.

Wider stance, feet out just works my abductors (inner thighs), which ... no thank you