Have you ever seen a picture of yourself from behind and wondered “wow THAT is what my hair looks like from the back?” Due to our limited perspective, our backside gets neglected in many ways. You can stare in the mirror and flex those abs and biceps all day, but what about the posterior chain? The Posterior Chain is the group of muscles which includes your lower back, glutes, and hamstrings and is the key to a stronger you in the gym and in life.
Not only are these muscles involved in the majority of your compound lifts, but they also help drive your legs through the range of motion when walking, running, jumping, and being active in general. If you’re like most people, you have a job where you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk … perhaps hunched over a computer or stacks of paperwork. This is not good for the posterior chain. When sitting for prolonged periods of time, the lower back stiffens up, the hamstrings shorten, and your glutes remain inactive resulting in “droopy glute” syndrome. The combination of these things also can result in a lot of tightness that can be annoying and painful. So what can you do to strengthen your posterior chain? Three things: stretch, foam roll, and engage in strength training!
Stretch these muscles and foam roll on a daily basis for maximum results. Muscles contract when you exercise meaning they shorten and often develop knots. Stretching and foam rolling will help prevent and alleviate those little buggers. Try the exercises below for the posterior chain. Enjoy!
Barbell Hip Thrusts or Hip Bridge
Stability Ball Hamstring Curls
