ALL LEVELS / posterior-chain workout / 20 minutes
Equipment: Barbell, dumbbells, cable machine & hip thrust machine
We recently brought you a front-chain workout, so it’s only fair that we balance things out with the other part of the equation: the posterior chain. While the front chain powers your push, the posterior chain drives your pull. It works your glutes, hamstrings, back, and shoulders, improving your strength, posture, and performance.
That’s what this posterior-chain workout will help you achieve. It includes 6 exercises (2 of which are unilateral), with 12 reps each for 3 sets, and 1 minute of rest between rounds. In total, this workout should take you around 20 minutes to complete.
- Good morning
- Single-leg Romanian deadlift (right side)
- Single-leg Romanian deadlift (left side)
- Single-arm cable row (right side)
- Single-arm cable row (left side)
- Hip thrust
Posterior power: let’s build it!
WORKOUT SETUP
- 6 exercises (2 unilateral)
- 12 reps
- 3 sets
- 1 minute rest between rounds
- 20 minutes
- Equipment: Barbell, dumbbells, cable machine & hip thrust machine
WORKOUT EXERCISE LIST
3 sets
1 – GOOD MORNING
12 reps
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a barbell or weight across your upper back.
- Make sure it’s not on your neck.
- Keep a slight bend in your knees and engage your core.
- Hinge at the hips to lower your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor, keeping your back flat.
- Drive your hips forward to return to a standing position, squeezing your glutes at the top.
- Repeat.
2 – SINGLE-LEG ROMANIAN DEADLIFT (RIGHT SIDE)
12 reps
- Hold a dumbbell with your right hand.
- Shift your weight onto your right leg and keep a soft bend in the knee.
- Hinge at the hips, extending your left leg straight behind you as you lower the weight towards the floor.
- Keep your torso and back leg aligned, then drive through your heel to return to a standing position.
- Repeat.
3 – SINGLE-LEG ROMANIAN DEADLIFT (LEFT SIDE)
12 reps
- Same as exercise 2, but on the left side.
4 – SINGLE-ARM CABLE ROW (RIGHT SIDE)
12 reps
- Sit on a cable machine and grasp the handle with your right hand.
- Keep your torso still and your core engaged.
- Pull the handle towards your waist, squeezing your shoulder blade at the end of the movement.
- Slowly extend your arm to return to the starting position.
- Repeat.
5 – SINGLE-ARM CABLE ROW (LEFT SIDE)
12 reps
- Same as exercise 4, but with the left arm.
6 – HIP THRUST MACHINE
12 reps
- Sit on the hip thrust machine and position the pad across your hips.
- Place your feet flat on the platform, shoulder-width apart, with knees bent.
- Brace your core and press through your heels to lift your hips.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top without overextending your back.
- Lower your hips slowly until just above the starting position, then repeat.
Posterior-chain workout? Done! Find your next one below:
- 15-min AMRAP barbell workout
- 30-min back strength workout
- 20-min EMOM dumbbell workout
- 15-min cardio workout
- 25-min full-body Halloween workout
- 15-min ladder challenge for strength
- 24-min AMRAP strength workout
- 15-min front-chain strength workout
- 25-min gluteus medius strength workout
- 12-min metabolic strength workout
- 20-min lat workout for strength
- 30-min chest and triceps workout
