Are you familiar with the posterior chain? Do you know how it can help your performance as an athlete?
The posterior chain refers to all the muscles on the backside of the body from the back of your head all the way down to your heels. The main muscles that make up the Posterior Chain are the calf muscles, hamstrings, gluteals, latissimus dorsi and the erector spinae muscles.
The muscles in the posterior chain play a vital role in everyday activities, such as picking something up off the ground, sitting down and standing back up, or jumping.
Perhaps most importantly, a strong posterior chain helps reduce your chance of injury and protects your knees and back.
In our sitting society of today we work our anterior chain regularly and so it can become dominant leading to muscle imbalance. Exercises like running, boxing and walking also promote your anterior chain so I want to help you rebalance your body, improve your posture and over all health and wellbeing.
Why a strong posterior chain matters:
- Improver your posture – A weak posterior chain can lead to slouching
- Reduce the risk of injury – over worked and tight muscles as well as weak muscle caused by imbalance can be corrected
- Run faster – Stronger hamstrings and glutes equal more powerful legs
- Lift heavier and safer – Whether you’re an Olympic weightlifter or a CrossFitter, or just love hitting the weights section at the gym, having a strong posterior chain can help improve all your lifts.
- Give your metabolism a boost – The posterior chain comprises of large muscle groups, like your hamstrings for example. Your muscle mass has a big part to play in the number of calories your need and burn, therefore building up these muscles can improve your metabolic rate
