Many years ago I was talking training at a weightlifting competition with a veteran coach. He shared with me his eyeball test to determine who would win each weight class that day. I thought this sounded rather odd being that he wore Coke bottles for eyewear.

Not being one to shy away from learning more, I ask pointedly, how do I learn your eyeball test? It’s simple, he stated. Watch the lifters walk away from you. It’s the lifters with wide backs, rounded glutes, and hamstrings hanging off their legs with fully developed calf muscles. As I learned that day many years ago, it is indeed a fairly accurate test. Since that day I’ve integrated a variety of direct posterior chain (p-chain) moves into my programming. Today I would like to share what I have experienced by integrating my favorite P-Chain moves into the training template.

The Posterior Chain (P-chain) Defined

The posterior chain is the group of muscles in the lower body that are important in force development for explosive movements like jumping and sprinting. The muscles that fall into the posterior chain are the hamstrings, the calves, the glutes and those in the lower back.

Experiences

Back squat variants and pulls from the deck will always be the base of any athletic development program. Variants of these moves should be included in all phases. As critical as these moves are to your athlete’s success, I still believe in a time allowance for P-chain moves.

I have observed performance enhancement ranging from better max effort lifts to improved gait mechanics. These have come from the fire breathers on the platform, combat arena, track and athletic fields, to the soccer moms lifting groceries and peat moss.

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The Moves

I like to break down the P-chain moves into four classes. For this article I will not breakdown every minute detai—there are a multitude of quality references on the internet these days.

I will qualify the list with the following guide. I believe as a coach that you should not include a movement in your pool that you cannot coach or demonstrate. Being able to perform a move as a coach only improves your coaching and makes it more authentic.

The Three Pillars: Romanian Deadlift (RDL), Glute-Ham Raise, Reverse Hyper
For my money these will give you the most bang for your buck. I admit that I have been strongly influenced by the Powerlifting community. You could actually stop here and cover the game adequately.

Naked Moves: Hip Bridge, Anterior Reach, Reaching Lunge, Reverse T-Walk
These are moves that can be done with no equipment. They are low tech and easy to implement with the novice athlete or large group. They are also easy to coach but can be made more difficult with some innovative twists.

Band Moves: Band Good Morning, Band Pull Through, DB Swings, Band Hip Bridge
All are good variants. These are moves I like for progressing towards the Three Pillar moves. The bands add a unique accommodating load and are less threatening than a bar.

Special Populations: Single Leg Contra lateral DB deadlift, Single Leg Snatch.
These are all a bit on the edge of funky functional, but I keep them for athletes who need balance work.

I don’t screen for these folks, they just appear under my tutelage from time to time. I have found these moves especially useful with young athletes who have grown rapidly. The other appropriate group is athletes in which superior single side support is required.

Programming

Through the pioneering M.E. Black Box article first published in the Performance Menu, and other articles here, I have touched on my training template preferences.

In regards to P-chain moves I strongly suggest that these be cycled and that they be placed at the end of the workout. I do not believe that any of these should be taken to failure. Emphasis is on technique. Set range of 2-3 and repetition range of 5-10.

In a three workouts per week design I would suggest a Pillar Move day 1, a Naked Move day 2, and a Band Move day 3. I would stick with the particular pillar move for 3 weeks before rotating in another exercise. The naked move and band move can be randomized to fit the demands of the particular day.