What Are B-Stance Hip Thrusts and What Are Their Benefits?

(See 00:46 in the video above)

The B-stance hip thrust is sometimes called a “hip thrust with a kickstand,” or a “staggered-stance hip thrust,” because you use one leg for balance while the other one thrusts. Like the conventional bilateral hip thrust, you lie back on a bench (your body perpendicular to it), and raise your hips up to lockout, but in the B-stance thrust, you push with one foot while the heel of the other one stays grounded for extra support.

You see, most people start out with the regular bilateral hip thrust, where you work both glutes at the same time. Later, they try to progress to the single-leg hip thrust, which has you holding one leg up in the air while you thrust with the other one. The problem is, going from two-legged hip thrusts to single-leg thrusts is too big a leap for most people. It can be very hard to stabilize your hips and avoid twisting to one side when you’re doing true single-leg hip thrusts, and many people find that even their bodyweight alone is too difficult to control for more than a few reps.

That’s where the B-stance hip thrust comes in. It’s a nice intermediate exercise that’s more challenging than the basic two-legged hip thrust, but more stable than the single-leg hip thrust, so you can work one side at a time and build your balance without having to work too hard to keep your body aligned and on the bench.

In addition, because it’s a unilateral exercise, it allows you to isolate one glute at a time, which helps correct any imbalances you have between sides. Also, focusing on one muscle area at a time recruits more muscle in that area, which can help you add muscle size more easily. So, if you want a big, round butt, the single-leg hip thrust is a very good exercise choice.

Lastly, if you have lower-back pain, and you find that two-legged hip thrusts hurt to perform—maybe because you hyperextend your back at the top of the movement—you may find that the B-stance hip thrust is more comfortable to do. Because you’re essentially working one leg at a time, you can’t thrust as hard or as high, so it’s harder to overextend your range of motion. The single-leg hip thrust keeps the force where you want it—in your glutes—and out of your lower back.

How To Do B-Stance Hip Thrusts

(See 03:00 in the video)

The B-stance hip thrust builds off the conventional two-legged thrust. Once you’ve found a comfortable position for bilateral thrusts, it’s an easy transition to B-stance thrusts.

Step 1. Secure a bench against a wall or rack so it doesn’t slide; you can also weight it down with heavy dumbbells. Lie back on the bench, perpendicular to its length, so that the edge of the bench supports your body right under your shoulder blades.

If you’ve tried hip thrusts in the past and felt them too much in your lower back, you can try sliding your body up a little higher so the bench supports your mid-back rather than the bottom of your shoulder blades. 

Now extend your hips to get into the top position of the double-leg hip thrust, so your shoulders, hips, and knees are aligned. Adjust your feet so that they’re directly below your knees. Now when you lower your hips down, your stance should be set so that you can thrust with the greatest range of motion and good form.

Feel free to play around with your foot position, angle, and spacing a little more, and do a few practice reps, until you find a setup that’s the most comfortable and lets you feel your glutes working more than any other muscle. This will be your normal bilateral hip thrust setup.

Step 2. Now you’ll transition from the bilateral hip thrust to the B-stance. Extend one leg forward so the heel lines up with the toes on the planted foot. This partially-extended leg is called your kickstand leg. Keep the toes on your kickstand leg elevated so the weight of your leg is resting on that heel.

Step 3. Tuck your chin to your chest, and make fists with each hand, driving the back of your arms into the bench for stability. Tuck your tailbone under, and brace your core. Now drive through the foot of your planted leg to extend your hips until they’re locked out and parallel to the floor. Push both knees out a bit as you extend your hips, and keep your ribs pulled down so you don’t bend at the spine.

Your shoulders, hips, and knees should form a straight line in the top position.

According to Bret Contreras, PhD, author of Glute Lab and arguably the world’s foremost expert on glute training, the kickstand leg should only apply about 30% of the force in your B-stance thrust. Most of the work should be done by the leg that’s closest to your body. Remember, the kickstand leg is only supposed to provide some stability, so make your other leg’s glutes do the majority of the work.

Use your bodyweight alone until you’ve mastered the B-stance hip thrust technique. But when you think you’ve got it down, you can add a barbell to your lap for resistance, just as you do with the normal two-legged hip thrust. However: “I suspect that as you lift more weight,” Contreras writes in his book, “you will inevitably use your extended leg more to counterbalance the weight, which defeats the purpose of trying to load mostly one leg. So, as with the single-leg hip thrust, it’s better to keep the load light.” If you get to the point where B-stance hip thrusts for higher reps (north of, say, 10) don’t challenge you much anymore, it’s probably time to progress to the true single-leg hip thrust (with the non-working leg up in the air), which we explain in the B-Stance Hip Thrust Alternatives section below.

What Muscles Do B-Stance Hip Thrusts Work?

(See 05:40 in the video)

The B-stance hip thrust really works the gluteus maximus, which is your main butt cheek muscle, responsible for extending your hips. But it also trains the gluteus medius, which is on the side of your butt cheek, and the glute minimus, which lies under the glute medius. Both the medius and minimus work to stabilize the pelvis, so they will get trained by any variation of the hip thrust too.

While all variations of the hip thrust are fairly new exercises in the fitness world, research on them is mounting, and pointing to positive benefits both in terms of athleticism and glute muscle gains. A 2019 trial found that hip thrusting with a barbell improved subjects’ sprint performance. Meanwhile, in a landmark 2023 study, subjects were divided into two groups, with one team training the hip thrust and the other doing the barbell back squat—no other lower-body work was performed. After nine weeks, glute growth in both groups was roughly the same, indicating that the hip thrust is at least as good a glute exercise as the much beloved, age old, and tried-and-true squat.

Perhaps even more impressive, however, was another 2023 study that had two groups perform a full-body workout. One group did leg presses and stiff-legged deadlifts for their lower body in the session, while the other group did those two movements and then two sets of hip thrusts at the very end of the workout. Both groups saw gains. The non-thrusting group enjoyed a six percent increase in glute growth, but the ones who ended their workouts with thrusting grew their glutes by more than nine percent.

This gives us a little to think about. On the one hand, the subjects who hip thrusted did end up performing more work for their glutes than the other group did, which may account for their extra gains. However, you have to factor in that their hip thrusts were done dead last in the session, after they had trained both upper and lower body and accumulated a lot of fatigue. The body’s ability to recruit muscle fibers is greatly diminished for exercises that are done late in a workout—i.e., exercises done at the end of your workouts will never be as effective as those that are done at the beginning—so this suggests that the hip thrust may have outperformed the other glute exercises in the session (the leg press and stiff-legged dead), regardless of fatigue.

Note that all of the above research was done on the TWO-legged hip thrust, NOT the B-stance exercise, so it’s hard to say how B-stance thrusting compares to back squats, single-leg squats, leg presses, deadlifts, or anything else. But, until further research emerges, it’s a good bet that any hip thrust variation is going to be a solid choice for building the glutes.

How Do B-Stance Hip Thrusts Compare To Other Hip Thrusts?

The B-stance hip thrust is essentially the middle man between the bilateral thrust and the single-leg hip thrust, helping you progress from the former to the latter. It won’t allow you to train as heavy as the more stable, two-legged thrust will, but the B-stance will help you to better isolate the glutes on one leg at a time, while providing enough stability for you to train hard and safely. It’s also likely safer for the lower back than the bilateral thrust, because it lessens the risk of hyperextending the spine when you lock your hips out.

How to Stretch Before Doing B-Stance Hip Thrusts

(See 07:45 in the video)

Warm up and stretch out your glutes and hips prior to a B-stance hip thrust session with these moves, courtesy of Onnit-certified coach Eric Leija (@primal.swoledier). Do 2–4 sets each.

Pelvic Hip Circle

Reps: 3–5 reps

Stagger-Stance Hip Hinge

Reps: 5–10

Hinge Jump

Reps: 3–5

B-Stance Hip Thrust Alternatives

(See 06:12 in the video)

When you think you’ve got the B-stance hip thrust down, you can move up to the single-leg hip thrust, where you raise one leg in the air and work the other one without any support.

Single-leg Hip Thrust

Step 1. Set up as you did for the B-stance hip thrust but raise one leg off the floor entirely and bend that knee, bringing it toward your chest.

Step 2. Push your working foot into the floor and raise your hips until they’re roughly in line with your working knee and your shoulders. Remember to keep your ribs down and core braced.

Single-Leg Glute Bridge

If you want to isolate the glutes a little bit more, you can do a single-leg hip thrust motion on the floor, without a bench. This is known as a glute bridge. Bridging your hips up from the floor will decrease the range of motion some, but it will ensure that only your glutes do the work to move your hips (as opposed to the hamstrings, which do contribute a little bit to the hip thrust, while the quads kick in a little as well to extend the knee).

Luckily, we have a whole video tutorial on how to do the single-leg glute bridge in a separate article.

The post How To Do B-Stance Hip Thrusts Like An Expert appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Keep scrolling, and you’ll learn how to perform the single-leg glute bridge correctly, when to use it, and what to do instead if you find it too challenging (or too easy).

What Is The Single-Leg Glute Bridge?

In any glute bridge exercise, you lie on your back on the floor and use your glutes to extend your hips. In the single-leg version, just one leg works at a time while the other is tucked near your chest. Supporting your bodyweight on one leg is very challenging—your hips will have a tendency to tilt, and your lower back may want to take over the movement to compensate for your glutes (if they’re weak). Therefore, the single-leg glute bridge is not a beginner’s movement. If you’re new to glute training, or bridging specifically, you should start with the two-legged version (and we’ll go over it below).

The single-leg glute bridge doesn’t offer as much range of motion as other glute exercises, such as the hip thrust or Romanian deadlift. It works the glutes in a more shortened position, focusing on the lockout of your hips to extension. For this reason, it serves as a nice complement to other glute exercises. It can also be a good option for when you’re traveling, or other times that you don’t have access to heavy weights or other gym equipment. For most people, their bodyweight alone makes for a challenging workout and will only allow them a handful of reps.

How To Properly Do A Single-Leg Glute Bridge

(See 00:44 in the video above.)

Step 1. Lie on your back on the floor and set up to do a regular, two-legged glute bridge. Place your feet flat on the floor close to your butt so your shins are nearly vertical. Tuck your chin toward your chest. Bend your elbows and make fists with both hands, actively driving your arms into the floor. This will help brace your upper body. At the same time, tighten your core, pulling your ribs down.

Step 2. Push through your feet to raise your hips up to full extension and squeeze your glutes as you come up. It’s important that you don’t hyperextend your lower back at the top of the movement, so keep your abs braced (think: “ribs down”) and focus on pushing your feet hard into the floor rather than trying to drive your hips up as high as possible.

Step 3. Lower your hips back to the floor with control.

Do a few practice reps and think about how it feels. If you feel the exercise more in your hamstrings than in your glutes, move your feet in a little bit closer to your butt. If you feel it more in your quads or knees, move your feet further away from you. You may also want to experiment with where your toes point and how wide your stance is. When you find a comfortable position where you feel like you’re balanced and working mostly glutes, you’re ready to do the exercise with a single leg.

Step 4. Raise one leg off the floor and bend that knee 90 degrees. “Your single-leg glute bridge stance should look like your standard glute bridge stance,” says David Otey, CSCS, a trainer, gym consultant, and fitness book author (OteyFitness.com). Some people like to keep the non-working leg extended straight from the hip, but Otey says this makes the exercise unnecessarily harder, turning it into more of a balancing act when you really just want to focus on glute bridging. So keep the non-working leg bent.

Step 5. Drive through the foot that’s flat on the floor to raise your hips up. Your shoulders, hips, and working knee should all move in alignment. Now control the way back down.

Many coaches suggest pushing through the heel of your foot as you bridge, and sometimes even letting your toes raise off the floor, but Otey recommends thinking of your foot as a tripod and pushing through the heel, ball, and pinkie toe knuckle. “To develop the glutes, hamstrings, and the rest of the posterior chain muscles in a way that will translate to your other activities,” says Otey, “your body has to learn to push with full foot contact. That gives you the most stability and activation. When you do athletic movements, you can’t sit on your heels, so learn to press through the ground.”

Otey also suggests wearing flat-soled shoes, or no footwear at all, to facilitate stable contact with the floor. “Fluffy shoes like running shoes or other types with a big heel or padding will make it harder,” says Otey.

You’ll immediately notice how much more unstable the single-leg bridge is than the double-leg, so be extra careful to drive with your elbows and keep your core braced. Your hips shouldn’t tilt or twist.

Aim to do as many reps as you can, which may be a lot or only a few. That makes the single-leg glute bridge both a good strength exercise to do if you don’t have weights as well as a good high-rep burnout exercise for the end of a lower-body workout.

What Muscles Do Single-Leg Glute Bridges Work?

The single-leg glute bridge works (surprise!) the glutes, but Otey notes that it engages the glute medius and minimus more than most other glute drills. These muscles act as stabilizers for the pelvis and keep the head of the femur in the hip socket.

Your back extensor muscles and core have to work as well to keep your pelvis level throughout the motion, and your upper back has to engage to prevent your torso from collapsing.

Further down the chain, the hamstrings, calves, and anterior tibialis (the muscle on the front of your shin) can’t help but get involved too.

Difference Between A Single-Leg Glute Bridge and A Regular Glute Bridge?

Again, the regular glute bridge is done with two feet on the floor while the single-leg bridge uses one leg at a time. Since it’s more stable, the regular glute bridge will allow you to add more external load (such as a barbell) when you’re ready to progress it, whereas the single-leg bridge requires more balance and may be challenging enough for you with bodyweight alone. Both exercises train the glutes, but the single-leg glute bridge is a more advanced progression, and the better choice for developing the smaller glute muscles that provide stability for everyday life activities like running and jumping.

“It’s important to do single-leg movements,” says Otey. “It benefits smaller muscle groups that support a limb when it’s working on its own. When you do bilateral [two-legged] exercises, it’s like doing a group project in school: one or two kids do all the work and the others coast. But when you do single-leg stuff, every muscle has to do its job or the movement will fail. If you force the body to use weaker muscles, it will use them, and make them stronger.”

Because of its benefits to balance, Otey says the single-leg glute bridge is good for kids as well as people in their 90s who are trying to stay active. It can also improve range of motion in the hips, which is helpful for relieving or preventing lower-back pain. The more your hips can move, the less the lower back will involve itself in various exercises, and that takes pressure off the spine.

Difference Between a Glute Bridge and a Hip Thrust?

The glute bridge and hip thrust are two distinct exercises that are often confused. Glute bridges are always done with the back on the floor, and that means their range of motion is fairly short. A hip thrust is done with the upper back supported on a bench (shown in the photo above), and that allows you to sink your hips to the floor and then extend them to the height of the bench. This takes the glutes through their full range of motion, so many coaches argue that the hip thrust is a better glute exercise for glute muscle gains than a glute bridge.

However, because the hip thrust’s range of motion is so wide, it does recruit some hamstring and quad muscle as well, and can be done to bias those areas even more depending on how you set it up. For those reasons, some coaches counter that the glute bridge is a better glute exercise, as it isolates the glutes to a greater degree.

The truth is, both the glute bridge and hip thrust should be done for complete, balanced glute development, and that includes their single-leg versions.

Kas Glute Bridge vs. Hip Thrust vs. Single-Leg Glute Bridge

The Kas glute bridge is yet another glute exercise that often gets spoken of interchangeably with hip thrusts and glute bridges, but it’s really a separate exercise entirely. Named for the coach who popularized it, Kassem Hanson, founder of N1, an online training education course, the Kas bridge is a hip thrust with a shortened range of motion. (If you’ve been paying attention, you know by now that the term “bridge” implies that you do it on the floor, but this is NOT the case with the Kas glute bridge.)

You set up on a bench (usually with a barbell in your lap) and start with your hips locked out; then lower your hips about a third of the way down to the floor (or until your knees start to drift backward), and lock out again. This keeps the tension of the exercise squarely on the glutes, rather than involving the hamstrings and quads, as the basic hip thrust does.

You can perform the same movement with one leg (a single-leg Kas glute bridge), but the single-leg bridge on the floor achieves mainly the same thing.

Single-Leg Glute Bridge Alternatives

(See 02:16 in the video.)

The single-leg glute bridge is a lot harder than the two-legged glute bridge, so if you find that you can’t bridge up all the way or keep your balance, take it down a notch with a simpler exercise. One option is the B-stance glute bridge, which uses your non-working leg like a kickstand, providing a little more stability but still allowing you to work one side of the hips at a time.

B-Stance Glute Bridge

(See 02:28 in the video.)

Step 1. Set up as you did for the single-leg glute bridge and slide your non-working leg forward until the heel of that foot is even with the toes of the working foot.

Step 2. Now bridge up as you did for the single-leg glute bridge. The heel of the non-working leg shouldn’t really push into the floor—it’s just there to help your balance. Try to keep most of your weight on your working leg when you bridge.

Glute March

(See 03:00 in the video.)

Another alternative to the single-leg glute bridge that’s a little easier is the glute march. Here, you’ll bridge up with both legs and, keeping your hips elevated, raise one leg at a time like you’re marching your feet. When you master this move, you should be able to do the single-leg glute bridge with no problem.

Bret Contreras, PhD, a coach and world-renowned expert on glute training (@bretcontreras1 on Instagram) uses glute marches as his preferred regression of the single-leg glute bridge. In his textbook, Glute Lab, a comprehensive guide to glute training, he says that he often has clients do this movement as a warmup before they attempt the single-leg glute bridge, performing 2 sets of 20 reps (10 on each leg).

Two-Up, One-Down Glute Bridge

(See 03:16 in the video.)

A third option is to bridge up with both legs and then raise one leg off the floor and lower your body back down with the other leg. This will help you build control in your hips and set you up for a full-range single-leg glute bridge down the line.

Progression: Single-Leg Hip Thrust

(See 03:52 in the video.)

When you feel like you’ve mastered the single-leg glute bridge, Otey recommends you try the single-leg hip thrust, which increases the range of motion by resting your shoulders on a bench.

Step 1. Rest your upper back on a bench with your body perpendicular. The bottom of your shoulder blades should line up with the edge of the bench. Place your feet in front of you and find your comfortable stance. Bend your elbows and dig your arms into the bench for stability, making fists with your hands. Raise one leg off the floor and bend that knee, bringing it toward your chest.

Step 2. Push your working foot into the floor and raise your hips until they’re roughly in line with your working knee and your shoulders.

For more glute exercises and movements that build power and muscle on your back side, see 5 Posterior Chain Exercises for Stability and Strength.

The post How To Do The Single-Leg Glute Bridge Like A Pro appeared first on Onnit Academy.

– The posterior chain is the collective term for the muscles on the backside of the body that are the main drivers of explosive power.

– The posterior chain includes the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back, but also muscles of the upper body and core.

– Due to imbalanced training, the posterior chain is often weak in relation to muscles on the front of the body, especially the quads.

– Targeting the glutes and hamstrings with different exercises for power, strength, and muscle size will develop the posterior chain as a whole and build athleticism, as well as help to prevent injury.

5 Posterior Chain Exercises For Stability And Strength

What you can’t see can hurt you. Or, it can take your strength, muscle gains, and athletic performance to the next level.

What you can’t see, at least not without contorting in front of the mirror, are all the muscles on the backside of your body. The glutes, hamstrings, spinal erectors (lower back), lats, and a ­handful of other key movers. Collectively, these are known as the posterior chain.

Developing the pecs, abs, and biceps—aka, the “beach muscles”—might make you look good (at least from the front), but it’s the muscles on your backside that are most responsible for producing power, helping you dominate in sports and in the gym, and keeping you injury-free.

“On the front of the body are the ‘show’ muscles,” says Jim Smith, CPPS, a strength coach and owner of Diesel Strength & Conditioning (Dieselsc.com). “The posterior chain is the ‘go’ muscles.”

If you’re currently dedicating more time and intensity to your pecs and abs than your glutes and hams, it’s time to start focusing more on your rearview. This article provides a simple yet thorough guide to exactly why and how to train your posterior chain for better gains, better performance, and a better overall physique.

What is the Posterior Chain?

Some confusion exists as to what exactly constitutes the posterior chain. The glutes, hamstrings, and lower back muscles are the centerpieces, and represent the musculature most trainers are referring to when they use the term posterior chain. But it doesn’t stop there.

“There’s more back there than hamstrings and glutes,” says Jeff Jucha, owner and head coach at West Little Rock CrossFit in Arkansas (westlittlerockcrossfit.com). “The traps, lats, and other muscles along the spine are also part of the posterior chain.”

Smith adds a few more muscles to the count, including the adductors (which span from the front of the thigh to the rear), calves, and core musculature (not including the rectus abdominis, your six-pack muscle, which is obviously on your front). But basically, he says, “When you look in the mirror, [the posterior chain is] all the muscles you can’t see.”

Major Posterior Chain Muscles

– Upper, middle, and lower trapezius

– Posterior deltoids

– Latissimus dorsi

– Rhomboids

– Spinal erectors (erector spinae)

– Transverse abdominis

– Gluteus maximus, gluteus medius

– Hamstrings (biceps femoris, semimembranosis, semitendonosis)

– Calves (gastrocnemius, soleus)

The reason it’s called a “chain” is because these muscles all work together to create movement.

“The posterior chain works synergistically to propel the body forward, perform reactive agility, and initiate throwing, jumping, sprinting, acceleration, and deceleration of athletic movements,” says Smith. “The fancy term for how they work together is ‘intermuscular coordination.’”

Why is Working Out the Posterior Chain Important?

Jumping, sprinting, and all the foundational gym lifts require posterior chain action. Squats, deadlifts, lunges, and their many variations, naturally use the muscles of the core and lower body, but classic upper-body lifts like rows, presses, and chinups call on the backside muscles too. If you’re bench-pressing properly, your glutes should be clenched and your feet driving into the floor. These actions help stabilize the torso.

The posterior chain is mainly responsible for hip extension (pushing your hips to lockout, which uses the glutes and hamstrings), knee flexion (bending your knees, working the hamstrings, primarily), and plantar flexion (raising up onto your toes, performed by the calves). While the pulling and retracting motions provided by the traps, lats, rear delts, and rhomboids are part of the chain, they get worked in most back and pull day workout routines (see examples HERE and HERE), so we won’t spend more time on them here. The lower-body posterior chain muscles are more often ignored, so they’re the focus of this article.

If you’ve been paying attention, you might be wondering about the quads. They’re not part of the posterior chain, but knee extension, initiated by the quadriceps, is obviously important for sports and strength athletes as well; it makes up one-third of the all-important “triple extension” sequence—the simultaneous extension of the hips, knees, and ankles to produce explosiveness. The problem is, lifters commonly overemphasize knee extension in their training. Most gym warriors like to do squats and leg presses (it’s fun to see the legs get a big pump). The posterior chain can also get undertrained simply because the lifter doesn’t see it in the mirror, and so working it is an afterthought. In any case, the result is quads that overpower the glutes and hamstrings, and a posterior chain that’s disproportionately weak. Therefore, most athletes would do well to prioritize the posterior chain and put the quads on the back burner for a while.

“There should be a balance,” says Smith. “Many athletes and lifters become quad-dominant, and begin their squatting patterns by initiating knee flexion first, instead of sitting back into their hips to engage the glutes. When lifters can’t sit back in a squat, the glutes get even weaker, the knees push forward, and that puts even more focus on the quadriceps.” It also shifts more of the load to the lower back, which can lead to injury. “The development of the quads is important for all things, including athletics,” says Smith, “but the hamstrings, glutes, and other posterior chain musculature must also be strengthened to create a balance of forces across the ankles, knees, and hips.”

Imbalanced development due to weak hamstrings, glutes, and other posterior muscles is a recipe for not only diminished strength and athletic performance, but also injury. Lower back and knee pain, just to name a couple common issues, are the debilitating byproducts of neglecting the posterior chain. This is because of the improper squatting Smith described above, as well as a general imbalance that has a domino effect on all movements and exercises.

“A weak posterior chain, especially in relation to the rectus abdominis, quads, and hip flexors, can create an increased potential for injury,” says Brian Strump, DC, a licensed chiropractor, certified strength coach, and owner of Live Active Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. “The risk of low-back pain, hip pain, and knee pain are often greater with increasing imbalances in musculature. The body does best with similar push and pull capability of the muscles and tendons on the joints.”

Further down are five posterior chain-focused exercises to incorporate into your training to improve (or avoid) these issues, and boost your gains and performance.

How To Stretch Your Body Before and After Training

Perform the following exercises from Onnit Durability Coach Natalie Higby (TheDurableAthlete.com) before training the posterior chain. Complete each exercise in sequence. Work for 45 seconds on each move (don’t rush), and then repeat for 3 total rounds.

Sumo Squat

Step 1. Stand with feet outside shoulder width and feet turned out as far as you can. Tuck your tailbone under slightly so that your pelvis is parallel to the floor, and brace your core.

Step 2. Squat down while driving your knees out as much as you can. Keep your shoulders stacked over your hips. Note: don’t hinge at the hips as you would for a back squat movement—keep your body as vertical as possible.

Half Mountain Climber to Full Mountain Climber

Step 1. Get into a child’s pose—sitting back on your heels with both arms stretched in front of you. From there, come up to all fours, and then raise your right knee up to your chest, and plant your foot on the floor outside your right hand (your hands should be directly under your shoulders now).

Step 2. Extend your spine as much as you can, striving to create a long line from your head to your pelvis. Drive your shoulders back and down (think “proud chest”), and keep your right foot flat.

Step 3. From there, extend your left leg, raising your knee off the floor. Your torso may want to round forward, forcing you to lose your spine position. Fight it, and try to maintain extension.

Step 4. Lower your knee to the floor, return to child’s pose, and repeat the entire sequence on the opposite side.

Lying Sphinx

Step 1. Sit upright with your legs extended and rotated out 30–45 degrees.

Step 2. Twist your torso to the left, placing your hands on the floor outside your left hip and driving your shoulders back and down (“proud chest”). Keep your left leg as straight as you can, but allow your right leg to rotate inward as you turn.

Step 3. Bend your hips, trying to bring your torso closer to the floor. Feel the stretch in your left glutes. Come back up, and then twist to the opposite side and repeat.

After training, try this move from Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education, Shane Heins. Hold the position for 30 seconds, and repeat for 1–3 rounds.

Downward Dog

Step 1. Get on all fours, and push through your hands and feet to raise your knees off the floor.

Step 2. From there, push your hips back and high into the air, straightening your legs as much as you can while keeping your head, spine, and hips aligned. Don’t put your heels flat on the floor at the expense of your spine position—focus on length.

Top 5 Posterior Chain Exercises

These moves can be inserted into virtually any lower-body workout. As Smith mentioned, balance is the key—a balance between movements as well as muscles used. There’s no one-size-fits-all description for how to juggle your exercise selection, but a good rule of thumb is to include one of the below movements for every quad-dominant exercise in your program (i.e., back squat, front squat, leg press, leg extension).

If your training has been imbalanced for some time, or you consider your glutes, hamstrings, or lower back to be a major weak point, do twice as many posterior-chain exercises as you do lifts for the quads. For instance, if you want to barbell squat, you might begin the workout with cable pull-throughs and then follow the squat with Romanian deadlifts. (See more on placement of exercises below.) If you follow a body-part split, and find it hard to fit enough posterior chain moves into your leg day, you can add some of them (say, Romanian deadlifts or kettlebell swings) to your back day for some extra pulling—just space it two or more days apart from any leg day you do. Glute/hamstring/lower-back training pairs well with lat and upper back training, as both sets of muscles perform pulling motions and overlap to a degree.

1) Romanian Deadlift

Many will contend that the traditional deadlift is the “king of posterior chain exercises” (as if such a thing existed). It’s a great exercise, and it will absolutely build your posterior chain, but we’re putting the crown on the Romanian deadlift for this list. The conventional deadlift (and, really, the sumo deadlift as well), is very difficult for most people to do with good form. As a result, it’s been the cause of many back injuries. It also takes a lot of drilling to perfect the technique. The Romanian deadlift is more user-friendly, and works nearly all the same muscles (mainly the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back), so we’re giving it the edge here.

The Romanian deadlift (RDL for short) is performed with lighter loads than traditional deadlifts, and doesn’t involve pulling a barbell off the floor. You start at the top, hips locked out, and bend your hips into flexion. That means you’re less likely to round your lower back, regardless of any mobility restrictions you have in your hips. There’s also virtually no strain on the front side of the knee, because the knees remain only slightly flexed throughout the movement.

These features make RDLs a good alternative to traditional deads for those getting up in age, those who have a lot of miles on their joints already, or anyone else that’s concerned about wear and tear on the knees and lower back.

How To Do Romanian Deadlifts

Step 1. Place a barbell on a rack set to hip level. Grasp the bar with your hands at shoulder width, and pull the bar out of the rack. Step back, and set your feet at hip width; hold the bar at arms length against your thighs. Draw your shoulders back and down—think “proud chest,” and keep this upper body tension throughout the lift.

Step 2. Take a deep breath into your belly and brace your core. Begin bending your hips back. Keep your head, spine, and pelvis aligned as you slide the bar down the front of your body—keep it in contact with your legs. Allow your knees to bend slightly as you hip hinge. Continue until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. On the way back up to standing, squeeze your glutes.

For most people, the bar will end up somewhere between the knees and lower shins in the bottom position.

Exercise Variations

The RDL can also be done with one leg at a time using a barbell, one or more dumbbells, or a barbell in a landmine unit (all of which are discussed in our guide to the single-leg RDL HERE). Single-leg RDLs are a must-do for ensuring balance between the right and left legs; with the standard double-leg version, a stronger side can potentially compensate for the weaker side and further magnify strength imbalances. One good strategy is to alternate between double- and single-leg RDL variations every other time you do RDLs. 

Sets/Reps/Load

Perform 3–4 sets of 6–10 reps on heavy days, and anywhere from 12–20 reps on light days.

2) Cable Pull-Through

Like RDLs, cable pull-throughs are a great way to zero-in on the glutes and hamstrings. But that’s not to say they’re just the same exercise with different equipment. Running the cable between your legs and behind your body creates a unique line of pull. On any deadlift variation, the resistance is pulling straight down; but with a pull-through, it’s going backward.

“Pull-throughs are great for teaching the hip hinge,” says Smith—your ability to bend your hips while keeping your head, spine, and pelvis in line—“because the line of pull of the cable drives the athlete’s hips back. The exercise also teaches a powerful lockout of hip extension at the top of the rep, which is important for jumping, deadlifts, and squats.” Another benefit to pull-throughs is that they’re easy on the lower back. You’re not loading it directly as you do in a back squat, deadlift, RDL, or good morning, so you’re not likely to aggravate it. You can just concentrate on extending the hips.

Because it’s something of an isolation move done with a cable instead of free weights, the pull-through may seem like a natural finishing move for a leg workout, but Smith actually prefers to program it early, before the big lifts. “Pull-throughs create a neural drive to the glutes, and work well as a primer before a loaded lower-body strength workout with exercises like squats and deadlifts,” he says. In other words, if you start your workout with pull-throughs you may feel your glutes and hams working harder on your other exercises, as well as feel that you have better control over them.

How To Do Cable Pull-Throughs

Step 1. Stand in front of a cable column, facing away from it, with a rope handle attached to the pulley. If possible, set the pulley height to where it’s right below your crotch, which will make for the most direct line of pull. Otherwise, use the low setting.

Step 2. Straddle the cable and grasp the ends of the rope in front of your thighs so that the cable runs between your legs and behind you. Step forward to raise the weight off the stack, far enough so that it won’t touch down at the bottom of the rep. Space your feet shoulder-width part.

Step 3. Push your hips back to slowly your lower torso, keeping your back flat throughout, and your knees slightly bent. Lower until you feel a stretch in the hamstrings.

Step 4. Extend your hips, focusing on contracting your glutes and hamstrings, to return to the standing position.

Exercise Variations

Pull-throughs can also be done with a resistance band. When using a band, anchor it to a sturdy object, and step far enough away from the anchor point to create a good amount of tension. As with the cable version, there should still be tension on the band at the bottom of each rep.

Sets/Reps/Load

Perform 2–3 sets of 12–15 reps using a moderate weight. As mentioned above, you can slot pull-throughs early in a lower-body workout, before compound moves like squats or deadlifts, but they also work well done for high reps to finish out a session.

3) Medicine-Ball Throw for Height

This exercise works similar to a jump squat, but don’t let the squat fool you into thinking this is just a dynamic quad move. As Smith puts it, what you have here is a “full-body expression of explosive power, utilizing the major joints of the body and the entire posterior chain working together as a single unit.”

This version of the med-ball throw first teaches you to decelerate. You drop into the squat quickly to generate power, but you put the brakes on fast so you don’t sink too low. Then it builds your ability to change direction on a dime, as you have to come back up out of the squat fast and jump up while launching the ball overhead. The ankles, knees, and hips do this, just as they work in any other triple extension movement.

In other words, with one powerful, lightly loaded move, you’re training your ability to absorb, redirect, and explode, all the way up the backside of your body, from calves to upper traps.

How To Do the Medicine-Ball Throw for Height

Step 1. Pick up a 10- to 20-pound medicine ball and go to an open area (no people or equipment close by), either outdoors, or a room with high ceilings. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, and hold the bottom portion of the ball at arms’ length in front of you.

Step 2. Keeping your head, spine, and pelvis in a straight line, quickly bend your hips back, and squat about halfway down.

Step 3. Rebound out of the bottom of the squat explosively, extending your hips and knees to propel you upward. As you do, throw the ball straight up in the air as high as possible. The movement should be so powerful that your feet leave the floor by a few inches at the top.

Step 4. Land with soft knees, and keep an eye on the ball to make sure it doesn’t hit you on the way down. Let it fall to the floor (don’t try to catch it), and then pick it up and perform the next rep. Don’t rush between reps—settle yourself and get back into proper position.

Exercise Variations

Medicine-ball throws can be done several different ways. The ball can be thrown out in front of you for distance, or even back behind you. You can also change the exercise by holding the ball in front of your upper chest and performing an overhead pressing movement as you come up from the squat, again releasing at the top and letting the ball fall back to the floor.

Sets/Reps/Load

Perform 2–3 sets of 5–8 reps using a 10-20-pound ball. The purpose of med-ball throws in this context is to develop explosive power; it’s not about building muscle directly or even conditioning. Keep the volume low, the weight light, and recover fully between sets with 2–3-minute rest periods. Do this move early in a lower-body strength session, before loaded squats, deadlifts, and/or lunges.

4) Kettlebell Swing

Kettlebell swings have become a poster child for posterior chain development in the last couple decades, thanks in part to the popularity of CrossFit and kettlebell training. When performed correctly, swings check off several important boxes.

“Not only does the kettlebell swing work your hamstrings and glutes, it also requires explosiveness and coordination from the trunk, core muscles, and shoulders,” says Jucha. “You’ll work the posterior chain, but you’ll also practice the essential hinge movement pattern for explosive power.”

The kettlebell swing is a unique exercise in that it’s effective for developing explosiveness, but it’s also commonly done for high reps to improve conditioning (as in CrossFit WODs). If doing the latter, proper form is paramount for keeping the lower back safe.

How To Do Kettlebell Swings

Step 1: Place a kettlebell on the floor and stand about two feet behind it with feet shoulder-width apart. Draw your shoulder blades together and downward (think: “proud chest”). Draw your ribs down, and tuck your tailbone slightly to make your pelvis level with the floor. Brace your abs.

Step 2: Bend your hips backward to lower your torso and grasp the handle of the kettlebell with both hands, overhand. Keeping a long line from your head to your pelvis, and your shoulder blades pressing downward toward your back pockets, shift your weight to your heels. Bend your knees slightly and lift the kettlebell off the floor and hike it back between your legs.

Step 3: When your wrists make contact with your inner thighs, forcefully contract your hamstrings and glutes and thrust your hips forward, coming into a standing position. The momentum you generate will swing the kettlebell forward and up to about eye level. Allow the kettlebell to swing back between your legs, folding at the hips and bending your knees slightly as the kettlebell swings down and back to begin the next rep.

Do not lift the kettlebell with your upper body, as if performing a front raise shoulder exercise. The swing is an explosive movement and the glutes and hamstrings must perform almost all of the work.

Exercise Variations

Kettlebell swings can be performed holding the weight in only one hand, and they can also be done holding one kettlebell in each hand (but that’s advanced). Swings can be done with a dumbbell in place of a kettlebell (holding it in one or both hands), but a kettlebell generally offers a better grip and is more practical.

Sets/Reps/Load

Kettlebell swings are most often programmed with relatively high rep counts—anywhere from 15 up to 50+ reps per set. That said, if you’re new to the exercise, start at the low end to build good technique without fatigue setting in.

Beginners to the swing (or lifting in general) should do 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps using a light kettlebell (10–15kg, or 22–33 pounds). More experienced lifters can work up to 3–5 sets of 25–50 reps using a heavier kettlebell (up to 24kg/53 pounds, or more for very advanced individuals).

5) Hip Thrust

When you want to target one particular group of muscles, isolation exercises are best. Three of the aforementioned posterior-chain moves—RDLs, pull-throughs, and kettlebell swings—focus on the hip hinge, with the upper body moving freely in space. To better isolate the glutes, the shoulders and upper back can be locked into place with a flat bench while the feet are anchored to the floor.

The hip thrust is an exercise utilized as much by physique athletes wanting to develop their glutes as it is powerlifters looking for a relatively safe way to load up the posterior muscles with heavy weight. As with the pull-through, there’s little stress on the lower back with hip thrusts.

We’d be remiss not to reference Bret Contreras here, aka “The Glute Guy,” and arguably the leading torchbearer of the hip thrust exercise. (He even invented a special piece of equipment, The Hip Thruster, specifically for this movement.) Research performed by Contreras and others has shown greater muscular activation by the hip extensor muscles (glutes, hamstrings) during the barbell hip thrust compared to other major exercises like the front squat and traditional deadlift.

“The hip thrust is incredibly functional,” Contreras states on his website BretContreras.com. “Not only does it safeguard people from injury to the knees, hips, and low back, it also transfers quite favorably to performance. Lifters and athletes who employ the hip thrust notice improved gait function at all speeds, increased hip power, stronger squats and deadlifts, increased throwing/striking power, and more. They build glute hypertrophy [muscle growth] incredibly well, and this added glute mass does wonders for improving functional fitness.”

How To Do Hip Thrusts

Step 1. Load a barbell on the floor. Lie with your upper back resting on a bench and your legs flat on the floor in front of you. Your torso should make a roughly 45-degree angle with the floor. Roll the bar into the crease of your hips (you may want a pad or towel to cushion it), and hold it firmly on each side. Place your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart, and turn your toes out slightly.

Step 2. Tuck your tailbone so that your lower back is flat. Take a deep breath into your belly, and brace your abs. Drive through your heels to extend your hips, finishing when your torso and hips are parallel to the floor, and your shins are vertical. Hold the position for a moment.

Exercise Variations

Hip thrusts can (and should) also be done one leg at a time. When doing so, the technique and equipment is the same, only the non-working leg is lifted off the floor in front of you. You will, of course, have to use much less weight.

Single-leg hip thrusts are ideal for promoting balanced development between the right and left sides. Alternate between double-leg and single-leg versions every time you do hip thrusts.

Sets/Reps/Load

Perform 2–4 sets of 12–15 reps. Make sure you use a weight that allows you to reach full hip extension on every rep.

The post 5 Posterior Chain Exercises For Stability And Strength appeared first on Onnit Academy.

The Heavy Kettlebell Swing 10x10x10 is a quick workout, and by utilizing the Kettlebell Swing, you will hit every muscle in your entire body. Perform 10 rounds of 10 reps of work. Try and complete the entire workout in less then 10 minutes. This will require that you perform approximately 10 reps every minute.

Other Exercise Info

Tip Writer: Mark de Grasse
Demonstrator: John Wolf

The post Mach 10 Workout: Heavy Kettlebell Swing 10x10x10 appeared first on Onnit Academy.

This is a demonstration of the Forward Fold Pedal Drill Bodyweight Exercise. The Forward Fold Pedal Drill Bodyweight Exercise, is a great warmup for the glutes and hamstrings before any lower body training session.

The post Forward Fold Pedal Drill Bodyweight Exercise appeared first on Onnit Academy.

The Explosive Alt-leg Body Row is the next variation of the body row. Not only are you working your upper back and conditioning, but the lower body is working extremely dynamically. Targeting the glutes and hamstrings, while building explosive power.

The post Suspension Exercise: Explosive Alt 1-Leg Body Row appeared first on Onnit Academy.

The Battle Rope Anchored Squat Stance Traveling Row is a challenging full body movement combining a traveling squat with an upper body row. You are sure to feel a serious burn in your quads, glutes and upper back after a timed set of this brutal TUT exercise.

The post Battle Rope Exercise: Anchored Squat Stance Traveling Row appeared first on Onnit Academy.

The Sandbag High Pull is another extremely effective triple extension power developer . The high pull also hits your mid-back, rhomboids, and rear delts. And nothing will build boulder traps like high pulls! As a bonus, the high pull will hit the whole posterior chain: hamstrings, glutes, and lower back.

The post Sandbag Exercise: High Pull appeared first on Onnit Academy.

The Alternating Lunge is a fundamental bodyweight exercise increasing strength in several muscle groups including the quadriceps, gluteals, and hamstrings. By maintaining proper posture, your core will be given a great workout, as well as increasing your balance and flexibility.

Exercise Steps

Step 1: Stand up straight, slightly bending your knees.

Step 2: Step forward with one leg while maintaining your balance and squat down through your hips.

Step 3: Keep your chest and head up.

Step 4: Push yourself back to the starting position by driving through your heal.

Step 5: Repeat this movement with your other leg.

Tips & Safety: Keep your head and chest up and back straight throughout the exercise. Never allow your back to round.

The post Bodyweight Exercise: Alternating Lunge appeared first on Onnit Academy.

When done properly, the bodyweight good morning is a great move that can help strengthen the entire posterior chain (i.e. the back of the body) by building up the spinal erectors, lower back, hips, glutes, and hamstrings.

Exercise Steps

Step 1: Stand with your feet just past shoulder width apart with a slight bend at your knee, placing your hands behind the back of your head.

Step 2: Keeping your back side fixed, rotate at your hips so as to bring shoulders towards the floor. Stop when your chest is just past parallel with the floor.

Step 3: Maintaining a strong core, return back to a standing postion.

Tips & Safety: Keep your abs and back muscles tight during this exercise, do not arch your back.

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