Your posterior chain encompasses all the muscles that make up the entire back of your body – from your upper traps to your calves. Whether you are swinging a golf club, running, skiing, lifting weights, swinging kettle bells or simply getting in and out of a chair, strengthening and activating your posterior chain enhances overall movement and athletic performance. Glute and back training are widely recognised as the foundation of moving well and avoiding injury.

The posterior chain is often ignored in training because we are so dominated in focusing on the front of our bodies. In actuality, the posterior chain is designed to propel us forward, keep us upright and help decelerate our bodies. Additionally, they are often the forgotten muscles mostly attributed to the slumping and lounging postures we have developed. These postures have literally moved the origin and insertion points of our muscles – in fact deactivating them when we need them to turn on.

“Glute amnesia” – lack of firing of the glutes often occurs due to the hip joint being externally rotated away from the femur, causing the glutes to sit in a shortened position. Over time, the glutes stop functioning in the way they were intended to do.

The only way to correct this problem is to address the biomechanical imbalances by performing sequential muscle activation exercises. The goal is to improve the body’s overall posture, improve center of gravity, move more efficiently.

In addition, you will increase space between your spinal vertebrae, which leads to less wear on your nerves. You will also notice that you can actually unlock and discover more power, force and efficiency.

The posterior, much like the anterior chain, is built like an integrated communication highway. Certain movements activate a neuro-muscular pattern that turns on or off muscles.

Vital to this process is understanding how to breathe properly. “Decompression breathing” involves connecting your mind and breath to the muscles in focus. For example: With each inhale, you breathe deeply into your rib cage to actively lift and widen it in all directions. Then visualise your vertebrae moving away from each other as you lengthen Your spine. With each exhale, try to maintain this feeling of “vertebral separation.”

To get more info on this topic email me and I can walk you through a series of exercises that will help you activate your posterior chain so you can start to move better and more efficiently and stay free of injury.