Here again with another installment in my “Top X”series.
I like to write these because people ask me questions all the time about what is the best exercise I can do for (insert body part or exercise of your choice here).
I wrote a log a while ago on what is the best exercise to Build Your Bench Press and it has the secret in it.
I suggest you read it.
If you don’t have time, the best exercise to build whatever lift you want is the one specific to you and your weakness.
With that said, I am giving you three very general exercise that you need to do regardless of what your weakness is BECAUSE these are three basic exercises that will build general strength that carries over to the squat and deadlift for everyone.
We should all be doing these regardless of our strength levels. They will help all lifters to improve regardless of their level?
How?
Easy.
All of these exercises can be regressed (made easier) or progressed (made harder) for each individual.
So, here are my My Top 3 Posterior Chain Exercises to Build Your Squat and Deadlift.
Wait, you don’t know what the Posterior Chain is?
Let me explain.
The Posterior Chain is the
- Glutes
- Hamstrings
- Erectors (lower back)
- and to some degree, the Gastrocnemius (calf muscle)
We need to train these exercises as a unit first and then separately second.
So now with that out of the way, My Top 3 Posterior Chain Exercises to Build Your Squat and Deadlift.
For real this time.
GHR: Glute Ham Raise
Also known as a GHD but I don’t know why someone changed a perfectly good name.
The GHR is possibly the single best posterior chain exercise that we know of. In the words of Dr. Fred Hatfield, it provides a unilateral co-contraction of the hamstrings at the origin and insertion. It is the only exercise that I know of that does this.
The GHR does this by using hip extension and knee flexion in one smooth and beautiful movement.
What makes it AWESOME is that you can scale it for whatever you want to achieve. Build strength with lower reps and added resistance, build muscle by going to near failure with or without added resistance and, the big one:
If you are unable to do one because you are too weak, you can add a band for assistance.
This makes the Glute Ham Raise my first choice for general strengthening of the posterior chain.
Watch the videos below (courtesy TPSMethod.com) for instruction on how to do them.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Watch this video to see how to use a band if you care unable of do them.
Next up on the list is the lowly Back Raise, or Hyper extension as they are also known.
Like the GHR they hit the entire posterior chain but differently.
Depending on where you put the foot plate you can change the focus of what does the most work.
This is explained in the video.
Also, like the GHR, you can load it and use various set/rep schemes for different results. For a real ass kicker add a Yoke Bar to it. Thank me later.
Watch the video below for full instruction on it.
Our last exercise on the list of My Top 3 Posterior Chain Exercises to Build Your Squat and Deadlift is the Keystone Deadlift.
This is one of my all time favorite because my friend and mentor, Dr. Fred Hatfield, credits it with building his erectors into what he called Pythons allowing him to squat over 1000lbs.
The Keystone Deadlift is very similar to a Romanian Deadlift but it doesn’t cross the knee joint.
All of the benefits and how to do it are in the video below. It’s an OLD video so pardon the shitty audio. The content is good!
Bonus: You can do this one HEAVY!
As usual, this is my current list of the Top 3. It may change in the future, but I doubt it.
Did you miss last week’s log?
Read it here, this one had a lot of feedback with some great questions.
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Vincere vel mori
C.J. Murphy
April 22, 2021
