Why the Posterior Chain is Vital to your Health
Are you seriously only training half your body? Here's how to correct that
Hello anon! I hope you enjoyed the last fitness post on why shoulder health should be an obvious priority. It was very fun relearning muscular anatomy and if you are interested just go on Wikipedia then start reading the functions of muscles! Here is a link on how to take care of your shoulders if you haven’t read the post. Nothing on this post should be used as medical advice since I am not a doctor. Just a Titan looking out for your very important muscles in your body.
This is yet again another group of muscles that are neglected and will definitely lead to pain/dysfunction if you do not train it correctly and frequently. It is literally half of your body so expect a lot more detail on this one. If you enjoy it, go ahead and subscribe for more fitness/health posts!
Function of Posterior Chain
The posterior chain is a group of many muscles from the back of your head to your heels. The function of this group is to create huge amounts of force and stability to move the entire body with ease. Without a strong enough or healthy posterior chain the movements that let you live a normal life will be much more painful and impossible to do. A life of pain can not be lived to the fullest.
Luckily for you I bring solutions but you need to bring the effort.
Movements that need the posterior chain to work include :
Standing up/Sitting down
Bending over/Picking things up
Carrying heavy items
Walking/Running
Using stairs
Jumping
Twisting
These are all made possible because your posterior chain is able to pull your skeleton into place with incredible strength. In order to have healthy joints such as hips, knees, and feet the posterior chain needs to be strengthened. Imagine one of those movements was taken from you because you neglected to train the muscles for them.
Do not let it become reality.
The posterior chain specifically controls spine stability, hip extension, knee flexion and plantar flexion. An erect spine is when your spine stays in its neutral position; when you stand up with a straight back. Hip extension happens any time you stand up completely straight with your glutes tight. Knee flexion is whenever you bend your knee. Plantar flexion is when you point your feet down towards the ground or when you push your feet into the ground. That uses your calf muscles.
After reading that you should definitely understand how important it is to have a well working posterior chain.
The major muscles in the chain are :
The entire Erector Spinae
Hamstrings
Calves
The entire Trapezius
Latissimus Dorsi ( Lats )
Rotator Cuff
Gluteus Maximus, Medius, Minimus ( Glutes )
There are other muscles that are important too that will get trained when you train the major ones. I will go over how to strengthen the posterior chain below.
How to Strengthen the Posterior Chain
Habits To Correct
Habits again play a role in posterior chain health just like for shoulder health. Here are some habits you should be mindful of below:
Please straighten up when you catch yourself slouching when standing! Your glutes, erector spinae and calves should be active when you stand. But do not overly lock out your knees when you stand. Doing that will put all the pressure of standing on your knee joints instead of the muscles surrounding them, destroying your knees faster overtime.
If you have to pick up something heavy from the floor do not just bend completely over! You should squat down and grab whatever it is and push your legs into the ground until you stand up completely straight with your glutes tight. This forces your quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves to take the weight instead of your low back spine.
Spending lots of time working bent over like putting in floorboards or tiles? Push your hips back with a slight bend in your knees. This puts the pressure on your hamstrings instead of your low back. It is called the hip hinge.
When you walk or run you should feel yourself “pulling” the ground behind you as you move forward. If you feel this it means your muscles on the back of your body are working as they’re supposed to. If you have to jump first stop and feel the tension in your legs then jump. When you land try to land in a squat like form so your knee joints don’t take the pressure of you hitting the ground; but instead your quads and hamstrings do.
Exercises that combine multiple movements of the posterior chain are going to be the best since you attack everything at once. And it is more functional since the posterior chain works together as a group of muscles.
Below are some of the best exercises to strengthen the chain:
The Deadlift
For building strength in the posterior chain, the deadlift is the first exercise that comes to mind. The deadlift uses multiple functions of the posterior chain such as hip extension, an erect spine, knee extension and plantar flexion all together in a movement called the hip hinge. The hip hinge is an extremely common movement you do everyday without you knowing it. Remember what I said about exercises that use multiple functions in one motion.
This exercise is very technical and needs visuals to show exactly how to do this safely. This button takes you to the exact YouTube video I used to deadlift perfectly.
Using a barbell in this exercise is the easiest way to add weight over time because you can put on as many plates as you want. If you were to do this with dumbbells or kettlebells you will probably be limited in how heavy you could lift. This exercise forces you to push your feet into the ground and at the same time pull on the barbell until you stand up straight with an erect spine. Then to lower the weight safely to the ground it uses the posterior chain again to keep the body stable.
The Sled
If you want to get mobile and heavy then the sled is perfect for you. This movement is great for athletes as well since it trains something called Triple Extension. Triple extension is when the hips, knees and feet all extend at the same time which create huge amounts of force. Being able to strengthen the muscles for this movement means athletes move much faster and with lower risk of injury.
To do this exercise load up a sled with a challenging but doable weight. Then grab the poles and get into the position like the man is in the picture. Then to push the sled forward I want you to use your legs to push the ground away from you. This is just like running except in a lowered position and with a weight.
When you push the sled you’re going to be using multiple joints which means multiple muscles too. The hips, knees and feet all extend time at the same time in order to push the sled forward. The erector spinae muscles are active too by keeping the spine straight and stable as you push a heavy weight. There are other options below if your gym doesn’t have a sled.
The Kettlebell Swing
If you have no sled here is the solution to building explosive strength for your posterior chain. This is another great movement for athletes because during the kettlebell swing you are completely extending your hips in a very quick motion with a heavy weight. If you can’t swing it fairly fast, it’s too heavy. If it goes way above your shoulders it’s probably too light and you should focus on controlling the momentum.
Your glutes, hamstrings, calves, spine muscles and quadriceps are all being used here as either active muscles or keeping the whole body stable while you swing.
To do this exercise start with getting a little momentum with the kettlebell by just swinging it between your legs. When you feel you have enough momentum, swing it up until it is level with your shoulders and you are standing up straight with tight glutes. Here is a link to a video I used to perfect this movement if you prefer videos.
The Romanian Deadlift
This is another type of deadlift that also hits your posterior chain like a truck. In this exercise instead of lifting heavy ass weight off the ground and putting it back down, you are holding the weight the entire time. Meaning your posterior chain will be used for the entire set!
Your erector spinae, hamstrings, glutes, and calves are going to be strengthened so much because they are going to be under tension for much longer compared to a normal deadlift which is fairly quick.
To do this choose a weight that is lighter than what you normally deadlift. Then get into the normal deadlifting position and lift the bar until you are standing up straight. This is the starting position. The actual exercise comes when you lower the bar slowly to just under your knees then extend your hips until you are standing up straight. Here is another video on how to do this safely and effectively from Alan Thrall.
Subscribe to his channel if you like educational fitness content.
Bent Over Rows
This exercise is different in that it targets the muscles more on the back than the legs. But that doesn’t mean your posterior chain is completely inactive. In this exercise your posterior chain is keeping you stable in the hip hinge position while you pull weight towards the body. That builds tremendous strength in the spine, glutes, hamstrings and calves because they are under tension for so long just like in Romanian Deadlifts.
To do this exercise pick up dumbbells that are doable but challenging. Then push your hips back but keeping your back straight like in the diagram. Then you are going to pull the dumbbells towards your hips until you feel a tight contraction in your lats.
Another neglected group of muscles covered! Please like and comment if you have feedback and if you know of other great exercises that use this chain of muscles.
Always remember for all exercises focus on controlling the weight the entire time and never lift a weight too heavy for you just to fuel your ego. You won’t have any ego when you get hospitalized when your knees or spine exploding from messing with a stupidly heavy weight.
A strong posterior chain leads to a better life as it is the foundation for your everyday movements. Nothing on this post should be used as medical advice since I am not a doctor. Just a Titan looking out for your very important muscles in your body.