I know you might be thinking this is just another leg workout but it is not. Yes, this is a leg routine. However, the main goal of this training session is to target the muscles of the back part of the leg. Hence the posterior chain. You see, most leg workout over work the quads (front part of the leg) and overlook the glutes and hamstrings. The problem is that most people are already quad dominant meaning that they probably don’t need more quadriceps exercises. When glutes and hamstrings are neglected, they become weaker than the quads and hip flexors which creates a muscle imbalance. This imbalance pulls the pelvic bone out of alignment and may lead to back pain.
So what’s is the difference between this workout and a regular one? Well, most of the exercises selected here are hip dominant which recruits mainly the gluteous muscles and the hamstring group. In those exercises the movement comes from the hip extension rather than the knee extension (such as squats and leg presses). The only knee dominant exercise selected was the seated leg curl which is isolates the hamstrings (knee flexion) and therefore does not recruit the quads.
Here is the workout:
- Single leg deadlift (step down) – 8 reps x 5 sets
- Stiff deadlift – 10 reps x 4 sets
- Hip thrusts – 12 reps x 3 sets
- Seated leg curls – 16 reps x 2 sets; tempo 1:4 (focus on eccentric)
WARNING: Notice the strong squeeze of the glutes during the hip dominant exercises. You should aim to feel the muscle contraction in each one of the repetitions, otherwise you will be loading your lower back instead!!!