The posterior chain consists of the muscles running down the back of the body. These muscles generate much of your power and strength for athletic and strength movements.
The kettlebell swing is a key exercise for learning and developing the all-important "hip hinge" movement...because basically, it IS the definition of a hip hinge movement. This swing is going to be done with two kettlebells, but just swinging one up at a time, alternating with each swing.
This squat variation is actually a very "functional" movement for athletes in that (like the name says), it's done in an athletic stance.
This is a great combination exercise that will hit every major muscle group (and most of the minor ones) in your entire lower body. It's a two-part single-leg movement that works both legs in sequence.
This is a KILLER exercise for your glutes and legs...but especially your glutes. And yes, this one LOOKS absolutely insane but don't let that stop you from trying it. If you think your glutes have seen it all, prepare for a shock...
This is a phenomenal conditioning exercise targeting your entire lower body. It uses very targeted explosive, "mild" plyometrics to involve multiple types of muscles fibers while doing a walking lunge pattern. Because of that, this exercise is surprisingly tough and incredibly effective for metabolic conditioning.
If you're a gorilla, this is how you might look swinging a couple of kettlebells. And it's a killer hamstring, glute and core exercise, using a unique movement pattern to get cross-loading on the entire body.
This version of the kettlebell swing uses dynamic changes in movement path (switching sides on every rep) to work the hips and core very effectively, in addition the posterior chain.
If you want to build functional core and hip strength, you need to move heavy weight around and on your body. That's just the bottom line. This exercise uses a heavy dumbbell to train the hips and core for strength and power.
Flipping tires is a fantastic total-body power builder...but what do you do if you don't have a tire? You do THIS exercise...using a landmine/barbell setup to perform a nearly identical movement.
When you're doing a fat-loss workout, you want to burn as MANY calories as possible as FAST as possible. To do that, you need to work your big muscle groups like your quads, hamstrings, glutes, back and chest. So...what if you could work ALL of those muscles in ONE exercise.
The Zercher Squat is a great exercise for hitting almost every muscle in your body. This version uses just one single dumbbell rather than a barbell to do Zerchers, hammering your legs, core and upper back (and biceps!) strongly.
Target the entire lower body (and most of the upper body) and posterior chain with this combination movement, moving from a swing into a reverse lunge on every rep.
This exercise targets the hips and lower back strongly and in a very specific way that's incredibly useful for deadlifting. You'll use directional resistance to activate those big, strong muscles to make them even bigger and stronger.
This is a killer combination of resistance-cardio and lateral movement training. It's an incredible exercise for athletes looking to improve their side-to-side strength and power, as well as their conditioning.
This barbell setup allows you to push your legs to the limit. It functions as a sort of machine, stabilizing the bar enough to let you focus on just making the muscles work while still giving you some freedom of movement.
If you don't have access to a Reverse Hyper machine for posterior chain strengthening, this is a great improvised setup for accomplishing the same movement pattern using an Ab Chair bench. You can use a band for extra resistance and for pulling more traction into your lower back on the bottom.
What really sets an athlete apart is the ability to make fast, powerful movements in a lateral direction (sideways). Developing power forward and backward is one thing but moving with power sideways is a gamechanger.
This exercise setup targets the spinal erectors of the lower back with direct work so effectively that you'll actually get a pump in the area. It's a fantastic way to strengthen the lower back.
This barbell setup allows you to push your single leg training to the limit. It takes balance out of the equation so that you can focus on pushing your legs to the absolute maximum without worrying about stabilizing yourself on a single leg exercise.
It's like the 12 Days of Christmas with AWESOME training instead of birds...
Flying in the face of conventional wisdom, he’s known around the world as the "Mad Scientist of Muscle” for a reason.
An expert in kinesiology, physiology and anatomy, Nick helps people just like YOU create the body you want, especially when nothing else seems to do the trick.
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