Back and Hamstring Workout for a Strong Posterior Chain and Improved Men's Physique!
A strong and well-developed posterior chain is essential for maintaining proper posture and balance. It also helps increase your lower body's power, strength, and muscular endurance. A back and hamstring workout can help build the muscles that make up this area of the body, giving you a balanced physique with better aesthetics and improved performance.
Which muscle groups belong to the posterior chain?
The posterior chain refers to the muscles located at the back of the body, including the glutes (buttocks), hamstrings (back of thigh), spinal erectors, and upper back muscles. This group of muscles contributes to stability, power, and balance when performing activities such as running, jumping, lifting weights, or playing sports. It also gives you a Greek God kind of look when these muscles are well-developed. The wider your lats, the thinner your waist will look, which is perfect if you go for that beach body physique!
Important note - even if you do not care about having a beach body physique, having a weak posterior chain is not good for your overall health and posture. Picture someone with difficulty standing up straight and always rounds in their upper body, looking almost like a grandpa. Many youngsters today hold themselves exactly like my grandpa did in his 70 ties, LOL!
Should you be training your entire posterior chain in one workout?
When training frequency is low, 2-3 workouts per week, it can be beneficial to include exercises that train the entire posterior chain in one workout. This helps you to effectively target multiple muscle groups without overtraining and increase your overall strength. However, if you are working out more frequently, it is recommended to split up your training so that one day focuses more on your back and the second day focuses more on your hamstrings and glutes. This will help you to develop a balanced physique while avoiding overtraining specific muscles. Splitting the muscle groups will also allow you to train them more intensely without accumulating too much volume and losing focus mid-session.
Suppose you like high training frequency and want to target your entire posterior chain twice per week. That is also a good idea as long as you fully recover between your workouts and don't exceed your weekly volume, which you can efficiently recover from.
Remember, if your goal is muscle building and a strong posterior chain, you must give your body enough time to recover. Here are some tips to help you assess whether you are overtraining and under recovering:
Being sore more than three days after your workout
Unable to progress and even struggle to repeat the same volume and intensity you used to do
Your sleep is disrupted for two days in a row
Loss of appetite
Frequent joint tightness and prone to injury
What is the recommended weekly volume for training the posterior chain?
Beginners (0-2 years of training experience)
Back - 4-8 sets/week
Gluts - 2-4 sets/week
Hamstrings 3-6 sets/week
Intermediate (2-4 years of training experience)
Back - 6-10 sets/week
Gluts - 3-6 sets/week
Hamstrings 6-10 sets/week
Advanced (4+ years of training experience)
Back - 8-15 sets/week
Gluts - 6-10 sets/week
Hamstrings 8-12 sets/week
Important notes:
Weekly volume recommendations include only working sets (warm-up sets not accounted for)
Some compound movements train 2 or 3 muscle groups which need to be taken into consideration when calculating volume (stiff leg deadlift trains the hamstrings, glutes, and erectors at the same time)
If you have a lagging body part, you might program higher volumes for that particular muscle while programming lower volumes for other muscle groups so that overall volumes for the entire body do not become so high that you can not recover from it.
The volume will depend on your ability to recover; no one approach fits all.
Posterior chain gym workout
Warm Up
Hamstring Sliders 3x8-10
Hamstring sliders are an excellent exercise for warming up your hamstrings and glutes.
Execution:
Knees fully flexed, drive the elbows into the ground and initiate the movements by lifting the hips and squeezing the glutes while extending the legs into full extension before moving them back into starting position.
Plank 3x30"
Planks are great for activating and strengthening your core muscles which play a vital role in all compound movements.
Execution:
Drive your elbows into the ground and ensure your body is in a straight line, tummy slightly tucked in, and squeeze the glutes and abdominals.
Banded Lat activation 3x8-10
The Latissimus dorsi is the biggest back muscle and is vital in movements like rows and pull-ups, and a well-developed lat gives you that V-cut look that makes a good men's physique stand out in the crowd.
Execution:
Attack the band onto a pole slightly above your head, grab the band and drive it down past your hip. Make sure you depress your shoulder blades when pulling the band down and towards you.
The main portion of the workout
A1 Conventional Deadlift 4x6
Conventional deadlift trains the entire posterior chain (hamstring, glutes, erector muscles, and upper back musculature).
Execution:
When performing the conventional deadlift, keep a flat back throughout the movement and get into a good hip hinge position with knees slightly bent but below the level of your hips. Before lifting off the weight, inhale, drive your knees slightly outwards and depress your shoulder blades before pulling the weight up.
A1 Nordic Ham Curls
Nordic Ham Curls train the hamstring muscles and the core and are great for building powerful hamstrings.
Execution:
Kneel on a mat or bench and keep your legs locked to ensure movement stability. Place hands in the front and control the way down (hamstring extension) until you drop down. On the way up, help yourself by pushing your hands off the ground. Try to keep your spine neutral throughout the movements.
Important note - Nordic Ham Curls are a challenging exercise that might not be appropriate for beginner trainees. You might be better off replacing it with hamstring sliders or hamstring curls.
A3 Single Arm Kas Row
The single-arm Kas row trains your lats and is a great exercise that allows you to train the muscle through a full range of motion. It will let you load your muscle in its fully stretched position perfectly and then get it into a fully shortened position to maximize muscle gains!
Execution:
Find a row machine that allows you to add handles. Position your body in a way that will enable a full stretch, and ensure your core is tight and your ribcage locked in. A common mistake is that they flair their ribs and arch, which takes away from the exercise. When targeting your lats, you should avoid back extensions. Inhale and pull the handles, so your elbows end close to your hip. Also, perform a slight lean towards your hip to shorten the Latisimus Dorsi muscle fully.
A4 Wide Grip Pull Ups 3x8-10
Wide Grip Pull Ups train your forearms, biceps, and entire back with special attention to your upper body musculature like your lats, rhomboids, trapezius, posterior delt, and other minor back muscles, which are vital for a well-developed back.
Execution:
When performing the wide grip pull-ups, keep your shoulder blades depressed and get your chest as close to the bar as possible. When you reach the bottom of the movement, ensure that you fully stretch your lats before driving them up and squeezing at the top.
A5 Cable Biceps Curls 4x8-10
Imagine the feeling when the t-shirt is tight around your arms, and your biceps pop out! The cable biceps curl is great for shaping your arms and making some serious muscle gain on your hands. The position allows you to stretch the muscle fibers under load for that extra bit of hypertrophy!
Execution:
Take a step forward with your body slightly leaning forward while holding the cable handles with both hands. Please make sure you are in a position where your elbows are close to your body and that you keep them there throughout the movement. Drive up until your elbows reach shoulder level, squeeze for one second at the top, and then slowly lower down to a full stretch of the biceps muscle fibers.
Important note about tempo - do not worry too much about the tempo. Make sure you control the eccentric portion of the movements (the stretch), pause in the fully shortened position, and, depending on your preference, either control more or less the concentric phase (shortening phase of the movement). Focus on making each rep the same and train through the full range of motion!
Things to take into consideration when starting a new exercise program to increase your chances of getting great long-term results
Start slow and progress over time.
Do not introduce too many new exercises to your training program at once
The best indicator of progress is your ability to increase the intensity and successfully recover.
Feel free to remove an exercise that does not feel right
Do not expect long-term results on 5 hours of sleep.
Make sure your diet is adjusted for your specific fitness goals (you can't optimize building muscle on less than 1.6gm of protein per kg of your body weight)
Weight loss and muscle building can be done simultaneously but might often not be optimal for you.
Progress is usually much slower than what you initially thought it would be
Consistency paired with education will exponentially reduce the time needed for an amazing body transformation.
If you are looking for someone to help you on your fitness journey, check out personal training with Fortius Dubai; if you are based in the United Arab Emirates, and if you are based abroad, look at our online training options! We can help you lose weight, build muscle and get into the best shape of your life!
If you are someone who thinks that you got your training covered but need help with nutrition, check our nutrition coaching page and get a nutrition coach to help educate you and hold you accountable on your fitness journey!
If you are still determining the service that would be the best for your specific goal, you can book your free consultation today!
Don't miss the chance to learn about training and nutrition via our blog:
How to achieve a body transformation, review by personal trainer Milos T. - link
Gym workout for legs - link
Can you achieve a body transformation in 4 weeks - link
I don't eat anything; why am I not losing weight - link
How to get that Greek god physique - link
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