Reduce injury, pain, and postpartum discomforts by strengthening the posterior chain! Posterior chain exercises target the muscles of the back of the body. While most people focus on "mirror" muscles (think front of the legs and abs), having a strong posterior chain is what will give you the most performance benefits while reducing injuries.
What Are Posterior Chain Exercises?
The posterior chain is just the anatomical way of saying "back of the body". The front of the body is called the anterior chain.
This means that any exercise that target muscles along the back of the body (your back muscles, the glutes, the back of your legs) are under the umbrella of "posterior chain exercises".
Benefits Of A Strong Posterior Chain
Training the posterior chain exercises is one of the best things moms can work on.
As a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, when I write programs for clients, we perform three exercises for the back of the body for every one exercise we do for the front of the body.
The exercises for better posture are the ones you target the back of the body with. These exercises:
- help hold you upright (properly!)
- they help reduce back pain (learn more about the cause of back pain and what to do)
- having a strong posterior chain helps you carry kids easier
- they help you do the things you want to do, easier.
- reduce the risk of injury
What Causes Weak Posterior Chain Muscles?
Pregnancy aside, we spend so much of our time in a forward position. Think of sitting in cars, on the couch, carrying a kid. We even stand with our hips forward!
With this lifestyle comes a lot of back pain. In part because we're constantly rounded forward and in part because the back of our bodies is weak.
Throughout pregnancy especially, our center of gravity shifts drastically to accommodate our ever-growing bellies.
Couple that with how we compensate to hold our babies, and how we breastfeed and it's no wonder new moms are stiff and sore (though here are some great stretches to alleviate neck and shoulder pain from breastfeeding!)
Unfortunately, post-pregnancy we do a lot of squatting and push-ups. We think that's where we start (along with our core muscles) to "get fit". Those exercises are very much anterior exercises and thus, we make the problem worse without knowing it.
The Best Posterior Chain Exercises
The exercises below are geared toward strengthening the posterior chain muscles. Each one can be done with multiple variations and pieces of equipment.
Know that before you begin training the back of the body, you need to learn how to hip hinge.
This movement alone is the utter basics for training the back of the body.
Exercise #1: Glute Bridges
Glute bridges help teach engagement and without engagement, you'll accomplish little.
You cannot progress if you don't understand how to lift your hips into hyperextension with your bum muscles and not your low back. These can be done bodyweight, with dumbbells, barbells, bands or unilaterally. Check out more glute bridge variations.
Bridges (and glute training in general) are one of the best hip exercises for pregnancy and postpartum.
Exercise 2: Hip Thrust
Like the bridge, the hip thrust can be done with just bodyweight, a band, barbell, dumbbell, a single leg.. the list goes on.
Learn more about the hip thrust and how to perform it.
This posterior chain exercise allows your glutes a bit more range of motion and thus you can hit them slightly harder. Whenever you're hoping to target the glute muscles (which should be always!) I find that mini bands + weights work insanely well.
Exercise #3 Bentover Row
A great exercise to work the upper or mid-back posterior chain muscles (depending on your grip). Having a strong upper body (specifically a strong back) will help you stand more upright and remove some of the tension from your low back.
Learning to use your back muscles takes much of this strain off other areas. This is one of the best exercises you can do for better posture (all rows really).
Here are the best exercises to strengthen your back you can do at home.
Exercise #4 Romanian Deadlift/American Deadlift
This exercise truly helps protect your back once you've mastered the hip hinge.
It puts your hamstrings into a lengthened position to target them (which is something we do a lot to pick up).
It's why these hamstring exercises are so important.
By strengthening this exercise, your day-to-day tasks will be easier.
Exercise #5 Inverted Row
This can be done with a pair of TRX suspension traps (one of the best pieces of workout equipment for weight loss) or a barbell on a rack.
They require complete stability throughout the rest of your body while you're performing them.
Exercise #6: Traditional Deadlift
Deadlifts target every muscle in the back of your body (yes, even the upper body!) and is one of the best ways to boost overall strength.
Learn more about the benefits of deadlifting.
It can be done with bands, dumbbells, or other weights. Don't think you need to lift super heavy to reap the benefits of this exercise- you don't!
But learning to perform it correctly will go a long way toward better posture.
Exercise #7: Band Pull Aparts
Pull aparts are a great exercise for absolutely everyone. They're a simple upper body exercise and require only a red resistance band..
The pull-apart helps improve shoulder stability as well as movement (learn more about shoulder mobility). They also help open up the chest while targeting the back so they're an all-around win.
These make a great warm up exercise to work on "pre-habilitation".
Exercises #8: The Pull Through
The cable (or band!) pull through is an amazing back of the body exercise that of course makes use of...the hip hinge! It's low impact but requires a lot of glute activation.
If you're looking to improve your backside, this is a great option. And strong glutes mean better posture means less back pain.
Exercise #9: Standing Band Hip Thrust
This exercise is another low impact, posterior chain exercise that targets the glutes really effectively.
It does require a specific set up though.
It's an amazing glute exercise while pregnant because you're able to stand upright and even better than the hardest part of the exercise (the lockout) has the most tension.
Exercise #10 Face Pulls
These beauties work the upper back and shoulders. They definitely don't feel comfortable the first few times you do them (they do require some shoulder mobility) but they're worth it!
They are an awesome posterior chain exercise and most mamas will benefit extremely from pulling more frequently.
Side Note: Eventually you'll want to progress your workouts and some of these posterior chain exercises do require workout equipment. For cost-effective and practical options, check out my top four pieces of at-home workout equipment. Save money. Get fit.
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Other Fitness Tips To Help Your Goals
Want to make glute training a priority in your posterior chain workouts? Grab the Glute Training E-book. A 25-page book with the exact workouts I use with clients.
- Glute training 101: everything you need to know
- Low back exercises with dumbbells
- The best glute isolation exercises
- Glute training for busy moms: 5 week program
- Exercises to target the gluteus maximus
- Glute activation exercises
- Best exercises for back muscles
- Fitness tips
Having a strong posterior chain helps prevent injuries, makes day-to-day tasks easier, and helps correct posture.
They are the exercises for better posture and when strong, will help us, moms, be able to do the things we love- like keep up with kids!
Frequently Asked Questions About Posterior Chain Exercises
Any posterior chain exercise will help improve posture. While there's a bit more at play than simply strengthening these muscles (you need hip mobility, a strong anterior core, and flexibility in the hip flexors), this is where you start. Strengthening the back of the body is the first step in fixing postural issues and making the demands of motherhood easier.
Begin by learning how to hip hinge and glute bridge properly as those are the basics and most low-impact options. From there, work in some posterior chain exercises like rows, hip thrusts, and deadlifts into your training program in some variation.
The posterior chain refers to the back of the body. When training, this means exercises that target the upper, mid, and lower back muscles, the glutes, hamstrings, and calves.
When it comes to the upper body you want to focus on the upper, mid, and lower back muscles like the lats, rhomboid, the erector spinae, serratus muscles, and the rear deltoids. These are just some of the upper body muscles included.
Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona
Deadlifts and glute bridges are two of my favorite exercises to use with clients. Like you said, with so much time spent sitting throughout the day, it's important to make sure you're working the posterior chain to balance it out.
fitasamamabear
Yes! I adore deadlifts- they make me feel like a bada** haha but the same with my clients- it's so so necessary to focus on the back of the body muscles. It makes a huge difference in daily life.