Posterior chain training

Why it matters

• Performance: hip extension is the engine of sprinting, jumping, pushing a sled and lifting heavy things. Stronger glutes and hamstrings generally mean more power.
• Injury resilience: hamstring strains are among the most common injuries in running sports, and stronger hamstrings, especially in lengthened positions, help protect against them.
• Back health: strong glutes and back muscles share the work when you bend and lift, and general strengthening is a common part of managing recurring low back pain.
• Posture and daily life: a strong upper back and hips make it easier to stand and sit tall without effort.

Many people who sit for most of the day spend very little time using these muscles hard. Mirror-focused training often makes it worse, favouring the chest, abs and quads you can see over the muscles you cannot. A strong posterior chain also makes you look more athletic from the side and from behind, if that matters to you.

Hinge-based exercises

Hinges are the backbone of posterior chain training. The hips move back while the spine stays neutral, loading the glutes and hamstrings in a stretched position.

• Deadlift and trap bar deadlift: heavy, full body hinges that load the whole chain. See how to increase your deadlift.
• Romanian deadlift: knees slightly bent, bar lowered along the thighs to just below the knee. One of the best hamstring builders there is.
• Single leg Romanian deadlift: the same pattern on one leg, adding balance and hip control.
• Kettlebell swing: a fast, ballistic hinge for posterior chain power and conditioning.
• Back extension: on a back extension bench, great for the glutes and spinal muscles with modest load.

Learn the hinge with a dowel along your back, touching your head, upper back and tailbone. If you lose one of those contact points as you bend, your back is rounding or arching instead of hinging.

Glute and hamstring specialists

Hinges do not cover everything. Two other movement types fill the gaps:

• Hip thrusts and glute bridges: hip thrusts load the glutes hardest near full hip extension, the position where hinges are easiest. Great for glute strength and size.
• Knee flexion: the hamstrings also bend the knee, and hinges train that job very little. Leg curls and Nordic curls fill the gap.

Nordic curls deserve special mention. Studies in football and other field sports have found that programmes including Nordic curls substantially reduce hamstring injury rates. They are very hard at first, so start with a small range or use a band for assistance, and expect some soreness.

Balancing the week

A simple way to organise lower body training is to include at least one knee-dominant movement, like a squat or split squat, and one hip-dominant movement, like a hinge or hip thrust, in each lower body session, plus a knee-bending hamstring exercise at least once a week.

For example: Monday squat, Romanian deadlift, split squat and leg curl; Thursday trap bar deadlift, hip thrust, step-ups and Nordic curls. That covers the whole chain twice. Posterior chain work tends to cause more soreness than quad work when you first increase it, particularly Romanian deadlifts and Nordic curls, so add volume gradually. Our guide to lower body training goes into more detail.

Do not forget the upper posterior chain. Rows, pull-ups, face pulls and carries build the upper back that holds your shoulders in position and supports heavy deadlifts.

For runners and HYROX athletes

Runners rely on the posterior chain for every stride, particularly the calves and hamstrings. HYROX adds sled pushes, sled pulls, burpee broad jumps and lunges, all of which lean heavily on strong glutes and hamstrings. For both groups, one or two posterior chain exercises in every lower body session is a sensible minimum.

Calves are part of the chain and are easily forgotten. Heavy calf raises, with both a straight and a bent knee, help runners and anyone who jumps. They take five minutes at the end of a session and pay back far more than that.

Common mistakes

• Rounding the lower back on hinges instead of pushing the hips back.
• Turning Romanian deadlifts into squats by bending the knees too much.
• Arching the lower back at the top of hip thrusts and swings rather than finishing with the glutes.
• Going too hard too soon on Nordic curls and ending up very sore.

Film a set from the side now and then. Most hinge faults are obvious on video and invisible in the mirror.

If you have a history of hamstring strains, a structured return is especially important; see our guide to hamstring strain. Lycan Strength has on-site physiotherapy, with 20% off for members, if you would like a plan built around you.