– Coach Chris
We sit when we eat. We sit when we drive. We drive to places to sit. All of this sitting can lead to our “backsides” forgetting how to work!
We get tight hips from sitting, causing our biggest muscle – our glutes – to forget how to work, leaving smaller muscles to pick up the slack as the primary movers. The posterior chain includes our back (spinal erectors), glutes, hamstrings, and calves.
This is why posterior chain training is so important. Posterior chain training can help to improve athletic performance, and also help alleviate lower back, hip, and knee pain.
Why? Because improvements in posterior strength builds balance in our bodies’ musculature, which can lead to glutes and hamstrings generating larger amounts of force (hip extension!) and spinal erector muscles keeping us upright under loads (neutral spine!).
Where to begin?
Here are some examples of movements you can incorporate into your Warm Ups or do as accessory work to add volume. After selecting a couple of these movements to do at a time, aim for 3-5 sets and 10-20 reps each set.
- Glute Bridges
- Back Extensions
- Glute-Ham Raises
- Band Pull Throughs
- Heavy Kettlebell Swings
- Reverse Hypers
As always, if you have any questions or need some extra guidance, grab a coach! We’re here to help!
