Increase the weight for resistance over time, to increase strength and muscle hypertrophy.Squeeze the posterior chain muscle, especially the glutes, as you raise back to standing.Keeping the knees straight but not locked, slide the bar down your legs, keeping the back straight until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.Standing with the feet hip-width apart, hold a barbell across your thighs.
Equipment: Barbell, weight plates Muscles Worked: Hamstrings, glutes Instructions: This move is a great stretch for the hamstrings, as well as being useful for injury prevention. Romanian deadlifts are a deadlift variation in which you keep the knees straight to work on your hip extension range without as much recruitment of the large quadriceps muscles. Slowly lower back down, and repeat for 10-20 repetitions depending on the weight.Keeping a neutral spine through the lumbar spine, squeeze your glutes and push your hips up as high as possible.For increased range, have your shoulders across a flat exercise bench instead.Lying on your back on a stable surface, have the knees bent with the feet shoulder-width apart.Equipment: None (Barbell for weighted) Muscles Worked: Glutes, hamstrings Instructions: This can be a bodyweight-only exercise or progress to using heavyweight as you strengthen your glutes and hamstrings. Use isometric control to hold at the top of the movement, then slowly lower back down.Ä«ridges are a great entry-level movement for posterior chain exercise.From a prone hanging position with arms crossed over the chest, work up through spinal extension, lifting the body up and back.Place your feet between the pads, with the feet hip-width apart.Equipment: GHD machine Muscles Worked: Erector spinae, glutes, hamstrings Instructions: Although not every gym will have one, they are definitely worth taking advantage of if you have access to one. You can induce a little more effort from the Erector Spinae if you hold your upper body at the top position of the Hyperextension exercise for two or three seconds in each repetition.
The glute ham developer is a great machine for glute exercise, as well as prone extension exercise. When coming back up to Hyperextension’s starting position do not arch your back beyond a straight line.