The posterior chain, one of the biggest talking points in the world of therapy, health and fitness. The common belief is that the stronger the posterior chain, the stronger the athlete. The same can be said about the flexibility/movement capacity of the posterior chain. If you find your deadlift is not restricted by stiff hamstrings, or that your shoulders do not prevent you from completing efficient overhead work, then you should be able to train pretty much restriction free. However this is very rare for our everyday athletes, they usually have a movement discretion in their posterior chain. In this three part series, we will discuss and target how the posterior chain's movement capacity can be improved for the better to aid functional performance.
Firstly, lets address the key term here, "Posterior Chain". Different practitioners have different definitions for it, however at NRG we believe that:
"The Posterior Chain is the whole musculature of the back, stemming from below the Achilles tendon, all the way up the body to the base of the skull."
This series will break down the posterior chain in certain areas, this article is going to target the hamstrings. This can be an area of discomfort, pain and weakness for a large portion of the population. Many people complain that their hamstrings are the reason for all the problems they have in their training, for some people that may be true. However hamstring stiffness can be addressed and ultimately improved by patience and determination.
The hamstring is made up of three muscles, Biceps Femoris, Semimembranosus and Semitendinosus, these muscles main movement is knee flexion (bending), but they also play a part in both squatting and deadlifting. Everyone has a different range of movement in their hamstrings, more so than other muscle groups. For one person touching their toes may be remedial for another it may be a near impossible task. A good test for hamstring tightness is hip hinging. This is where with your legs straight, you hinge your upper body to 90 from your legs, keep your back straight, chest up not bending from the spine. If you can keep your legs straight and get your chest to at least perpendicular to your hips, then you have good range; if your knees start to bend or you feel pain in the area, then your range isn't quite as good.
One of the easiest and lowest risk exercises for hamstring stretching is a doorway stretch. This is a simple exercise which only needs a doorway to complete, easy to do at home. Simply sit down as close to the doorway as you can, have one leg straight out of the doorway and the other leg as high as you can up the doorway. This is where it gets interesting... If the leg up the doorway is straight, you will be stretching the lower hamstring/popliteus/upper calf. If the leg is bent, then you be stretching more the middle portion of the hamstring. Give both a try and see which one feels more suited for you. Your resting leg should be straight and not bent, to help stretch the adductor/groin area. Make sure you are spending at least two minutes on each stretch as this allows enough time to get some tissue lengthening in the muscles. This should be slightly uncomfortable not unbearable.
This next exercise is slightly higher risk than the first exercise, if you suffer from lower back pain then I suggest you be very careful when completing this movement. This time you are seated on the floor with your legs out straight ahead of you. Some of you will find your legs straight is too much so may bend your knees slightly. If so, do your best to straighten the knees. From here you are going to lean your upper body forward keeping your chest up. This is important as it stops the spine from bending too much which can cause pain. When you have got as far as you can, place your hands on your legs and hold this position. Everyone will have a different range, as long as you can feel the slight discomfort of a stretch, it is perfect for you. Depending on how intense you feel this stretch, depends on how long you hold it for. Ideally two minutes is the optimal length of time to hold the stretch, however if this is too much then 60-90 seconds will do.
You should complete this exercises in the evening, they can be done before bed as a good way to relax the body and stretch the musculature before you go to bed.
Keys To Remember:
- Breath!! Relax!! This is meant to be aiding you, use it as a pre bed time ritual to help the body relax before sleep
- Keep the feet and knees straight! Don't allow your body to rotate excessively in different directions
- This will be slightly uncomfortable, so get use to it. It won't be long so grin and bear it!
I hope you enjoyed the first part of our posterior chain series, keep an eye out for part two where the relationship between lower back and hips will be reviewed.
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