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Exercises

Posterior chain exercises: glutes, hamstrings and back

Published October 29, 2026

The posterior chain is the muscles along the back of your body: calves, hamstrings, glutes, lower back and upper back. The best exercises for it are hip hinges like the deadlift, Romanian deadlift and good morning; hip extension like the hip thrust, cable pull-through and kettlebell swing; hamstring curls like the Nordic and glute-ham raise; and rows for the upper back. Train it twice a week with one heavy hinge, one glute exercise and one hamstring curl per session, 3 sets each, stopping 1 to 3 reps short of failure.

  1. Romanian Deadlift Hamstrings, Glutes
  2. Barbell Deadlift Glutes, Lower Back
  3. Hip Thrust Glutes
  4. Kettlebell Swing Glutes, Hamstrings
  5. Nordic Hamstring Curl Hamstrings
  6. Good Morning Hamstrings, Glutes
  7. Single-Leg RDL Hamstrings, Glutes
  8. 45-Degree Back Extension Glutes, Hamstrings

Hip hinges

A hinge pushes the hips back with a long, flat spine and drives them forward again. It loads the hamstrings, glutes and spinal erectors together, and every posterior chain session should start with one.

Glutes, hamstrings and back, heavy hinge

Barbell Deadlift

Glutes, Lower Back

The deadlift loads the whole posterior chain from the hamstrings to the upper back with the most weight you will lift. A few heavy sets a week is the base of a strong back side.

How to do it

  1. Stand with the bar over your mid-foot and grip it just outside your legs.
  2. Drop your hips until your shins touch the bar, flatten your back, and pull the slack out.
  3. Push the floor away and stand up tall, then lower the bar the same way.

Cues

  • Bar against the legs
  • Push the floor away

Common mistakes

  • Jerking the bar off the floor: take the slack out first on every set.

Swap for: Trap Bar Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Rack Pull

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Hamstrings and glutes, stretch-focused hinge

Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

Lowering from the top with soft knees puts the hamstrings under load at their longest, which is where they grow and get stronger. It is the most useful single posterior chain lift.

How to do it

  1. Stand with a barbell at your thighs, hands just outside your legs, feet under your hips.
  2. Soften your knees and push your hips back, sliding the bar down your thighs.
  3. Stop when your hamstrings are fully stretched, usually just below the knee, with your back flat.
  4. Push your hips forward to stand up, glutes tight at the top.

Cues

  • Hips back
  • Bar stays on your legs
  • Back flat

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees into a squat: keep them soft and still.
  • Reaching for the floor: stop where your back would round.

Swap for: Weighted Back Extension

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Hamstrings and lower back, bar-on-back hinge

Good Morning

Hamstrings, Glutes

With the bar on your back, the hinge puts a long lever on the hamstrings and spinal erectors. Light weights go a long way here.

How to do it

  1. Lace your fingers behind your head and stand with your feet roughly hip width, knees slightly bent.
  2. Push your hips back and lower your chest toward the floor, keeping your back flat, until you feel a strong pull in your hamstrings.
  3. Push your hips through to stand up again.
  4. When bodyweight reps get easy, set a light bar across your upper back as for a squat and do the same hinge.

Cues

  • Hips back, not chest down
  • Back flat the whole way
  • Soft knees, fixed

Common mistakes

  • Rounding your lower back to reach further: stop each rep where your back would start to bend.
  • Turning it into a squat by bending your knees more as you go down: keep the knee bend the same throughout.

Swap for: Romanian Deadlift, Dumbbell Good Morning, 45-Degree Back Extension

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Hamstrings and glutes, one-leg hinge

Single-Leg RDL

Hamstrings, Glutes

Hinging on one leg makes the glute work to keep the hips level and shows any side-to-side difference. It also loads each side fully with only a dumbbell.

How to do it

  1. Stand on your left leg with a dumbbell in your left hand and the standing knee softly bent.
  2. Hinge forward at the left hip while your right leg extends straight behind you, keeping your hips level.
  3. Lower until your torso and back leg are close to parallel to the floor or the standing hamstring stops you.
  4. Drive the left hip forward to come back up, then finish the set before switching sides.

Cues

  • Back leg and torso move as one
  • Hips level, back toes down
  • Slow on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Opening the hip so the back leg rotates out: point the back toes at the floor the whole time.
  • Touching the free foot down between reps to rebalance: slow down and hold a wall with your free hand if needed.

Swap for: Dumbbell B-Stance RDL, Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift

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Hip extension for the glutes

Hinges are hardest at the bottom, where the hamstrings are long. These four load the glutes hardest near lockout, so they fill the gap a deadlift leaves.

Glutes, loaded hip extension

Hip Thrust

Glutes

The hip thrust loads the glutes hardest at full hip extension, the point where deadlifts get easy. It is the glute builder for anyone who hinges already.

How to do it

  1. Sit with your shoulder blades against the long side of a flat bench and roll a padded bar over your hips.
  2. Plant your feet flat about hip width apart, close enough that your shins are vertical at the top.
  3. Drive through your heels and lift your hips until your torso and thighs form a straight line.
  4. Hold the top for a second with your chin tucked, then lower your hips most of the way down and repeat.

Cues

  • Chin tucked, ribs down
  • Shins vertical at the top
  • One-second squeeze

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back to get higher: stop when your hips are level with your knees and squeeze your glutes there.
  • Feet too far out, which turns it into a hamstring exercise: bring them in until your shins are vertical at lockout.

Swap for: Dumbbell Hip Thrust, Smith Machine Hip Thrust, Glute Bridge

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Glutes, one-leg bridge

Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Glutes

A bridge on one leg doubles the load on each glute with no barbell, which makes it a good home exercise and a way to even out sides.

How to do it

  1. On your back, plant one foot flat and the other leg lifted; rest a light kettlebell on the working hip if you have one.
  2. Press the planted heel down and raise your hips until your body is straight from knee to shoulder.
  3. Lower slowly and finish the set before switching.

Cues

  • Push through the heel
  • Hips level
  • Pause at the top

Common mistakes

  • Letting one hip drop: lower the height until both stay level.

Swap for: Donkey Kick, Dumbbell Glute Bridge, Clamshell

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Glutes and hamstrings, cable hinge

Cable Pull-Through

Glutes, Hamstrings

The cable pulls you backward, so the hinge feels natural and the glutes finish each rep. It teaches the hinge to beginners and adds volume without loading the spine heavily.

How to do it

  1. Attach a rope to a low pulley, turn your back to the stack and take the rope ends between your legs.
  2. Walk forward until the stack lifts, feet a bit wider than your hips.
  3. Hinge back, letting the rope pull your hands between your thighs, back flat and knees softly bent.
  4. Drive your hips forward to stand tall and squeeze your glutes at the top.

Cues

  • Hips back, then hips through
  • Arms just hold the rope
  • Squeeze your glutes to finish

Common mistakes

  • Squatting down instead of hinging: keep your shins near vertical and move your hips back.
  • Pulling with your arms or leaning back at the top: stand tall and stop.

Swap for: Band Pull-Through, Kettlebell Swing, Romanian Deadlift

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Glutes and hamstrings, fast hip snap

Kettlebell Swing

Glutes, Hamstrings

The swing trains the hinge at speed, building power and conditioning in the hips with a single kettlebell.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet a little wider than your hips, the bell set about a foot in front of you.
  2. Hinge down, grip the handle with both hands, and hike the bell back between your thighs.
  3. Snap your hips forward to stand tall, letting the bell float up to about shoulder height on straight arms.
  4. Let it fall back between your legs as you hinge again, and go straight into the next rep.

Cues

  • Hips snap, arms just hold on
  • Stand tall at the top
  • Bell passes high between the thighs

Common mistakes

  • Squatting the swing by bending the knees deeply: push your hips back and keep the shins nearly vertical.
  • Lifting the bell with your shoulders: if your arms are working, the hips are not driving it.

Swap for: Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift, Superman

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Hamstrings and lower back

Hamstrings both extend the hip and bend the knee. The Nordic and glute-ham raise train the knee side that hinges miss, and back extensions add endurance for the lower back.

Hamstrings, bodyweight lowering

Nordic Hamstring Curl

Hamstrings

Lowering yourself slowly with your feet anchored makes the hamstrings work very hard as they lengthen. Even 3 to 5 controlled reps is plenty.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on a cushion with your ankles pinned under a couch, or held by a partner, and your body upright from knees to head.
  2. Squeeze your glutes and lower your torso forward as slowly as you can, bending only at the knees.
  3. When your hamstrings can't hold you, catch yourself with your hands on the floor.
  4. Push off the floor lightly and pull with your hamstrings to come back up to kneeling.

Cues

  • Hips stay open, no folding
  • Lower as slowly as possible
  • Hands catch, then help up

Common mistakes

  • Bending at the hips to make the lowering easier: keep a straight line from knees to shoulders.
  • Flopping to the floor after a few inches: fight it the whole way down; the slow lowering is the rep.

Swap for: Single-Leg RDL, Band Good Morning, Superman

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Hamstrings, cable-assisted Nordic

Glute Ham Raise

Hamstrings, Glutes

Kneeling on a lat pulldown seat with the bar across your shoulders, you lean forward and curl back up while the cable stack takes part of your weight. It is a Nordic you can make easier or harder by changing the stack.

How to do it

  1. Face away from a lat pulldown and kneel on its seat, calves locked under the thigh pads.
  2. Hold the pulldown bar across the back of your shoulders; a heavier stack gives you more help.
  3. Keep your hips straight and lean your body forward as one piece until it is close to level with the floor.
  4. Curl yourself back up by pulling your heels into the pads.

Cues

  • Hips locked straight
  • Lean as one piece
  • Heavier stack if form breaks

Common mistakes

  • Folding at the hips on the way up: add assistance until you can rise in one straight line.
  • Falling through the bottom: control the lowering just as much as the lift.

Swap for: Nordic Hamstring Curl, Lying Leg Curl, Stability Ball Leg Curl

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Glutes, hamstrings and lower back, back extension

45-Degree Back Extension

Glutes, Hamstrings

On a 45-degree bench you hinge with your bodyweight, which builds endurance in the lower back and glutes. Hold a plate once 15 reps feel easy.

How to do it

  1. Set the pad so it sits just below your hip bones, then hook your heels under the foot rollers.
  2. Fold your arms over your chest and stand straight in line with the bench.
  3. Bend forward at the hips until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
  4. Lift your torso back to a straight line with your legs, squeezing your glutes, and stop there.

Cues

  • Hinge at the hips
  • Stop at a straight line
  • Squeeze your glutes at the top

Common mistakes

  • Arching back past a straight line at the top: the rep ends when your body is straight.
  • Setting the pad too high so it blocks your hips: you should be able to fold freely over it.

Swap for: Back Extension, Superman, Weighted Back Extension

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Upper back

The posterior chain does not end at the waist. Rows and face pulls train the upper back and rear delts that hold your posture through every heavy hinge.

Upper back and lats, bent-over row

Barbell Row

Upper Back, Lats

The bent-over row trains the upper back while the hamstrings and lower back hold the hinge, so it is posterior chain work from top to bottom.

How to do it

  1. Hold the bar at your thighs, hinge forward until your torso is near 45 degrees, back flat.
  2. Row the bar to your lower ribs with the elbows tucked near your sides.
  3. Lower to straight arms and keep the torso angle.

Cues

  • Brace before every rep
  • Bar to the belly button

Common mistakes

  • Standing taller each rep as it gets heavier: if the hinge goes, the set is over.

Swap for: Pendlay Row, Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, T-Bar Row

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Rear delts and upper back, rope pull

Face Pull

Shoulders, Upper Back

Face pulls train the rear delts and upper back that pull the shoulders back, the top end of the posterior chain that desk days tend to neglect.

How to do it

  1. Set the pulley at or just above head height and attach a rope. Grab it with your thumbs pointing back toward you.
  2. Step back until your arms are straight and the stack lifts, then stagger your feet or sit on a bench so you can lean back slightly without swaying.
  3. Pull the middle of the rope toward your forehead by driving your elbows out and back, keeping them at shoulder height or higher.
  4. As the rope reaches your face, pull the ends apart and rotate your hands back until your fists sit beside your ears, like a double-biceps pose.
  5. Hold that position for a beat, then let your arms straighten under control until your shoulder blades slide forward again.

Cues

  • Elbows high, hands finish behind them
  • Pull the rope apart, not just back
  • Reach forward at the start of every rep

Common mistakes

  • Loading it like a row and leaning back to move the stack: drop the weight until you can hold the end position for a second without your torso rocking.
  • Letting the elbows drop below your shoulders: the pull turns into a row and your lats and biceps take the work. Raise the pulley or lighten the load.
  • Stopping when the rope touches your face: the outward rotation at the end is what the face pull adds, so finish with your fists beside your ears.

Swap for: Band Face Pull, Reverse Pec Deck, Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Posterior chain at the gym, two days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Flat Bench, Glute-Ham Bench, Adjustable Cable +1

You lift at a gym and want stronger glutes, hamstrings and back, whether for deadlifts, sport or a back side that has fallen behind your quads.

Two days of 12 sets each. Day 1 is heavy with the deadlift and glute-ham raise, Day 2 is lighter with the Romanian deadlift and back extension, so each muscle is trained twice a week without two heavy hinges.

Day 1: Heavy hinge
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Deadlift3 warm-up sets first 3 × 3–5 2 3:30 min
Hip Thrust 3 × 8–12 1 2 min
Glute Ham Raise 3 × 6–10 2 2 min
Barbell Row 3 × 6–10 2 2 min

Open Day 1: Heavy hinge in the session builder

Day 2: Stretch and volume
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Romanian Deadlift2 warm-up sets first 3 × 6–10 2 2:30 min
Cable Pull-Through 3 × 12–15 1 90 s
45-Degree Back Extension 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Face Pull 3 × 15–20 1 1 min

Open Day 2: Stretch and volume in the session builder

How to run it
Add these to your lower or full-body days, three or four days apart. If your program already has a heavy squat on Day 1, keep it and drop the barbell row.
How to progress
Double progression: add 5 to 10 lb to hinges when every set hits the top of the range at the target reps in reserve. For the glute-ham raise, add reps, then take less help from the stack. For the back extension, add reps, then hold a plate.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

At home with a kettlebell or dumbbell

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentKettlebells, Dumbbells

You train at home with one kettlebell or a pair of dumbbells and something to anchor your feet under, like a couch.

One session of 12 sets, twice a week, loads every part of the posterior chain with one weight. Single-leg work and Nordics make light weights hard enough.

Home posterior chain
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell Swing 3 × 15–20 2 90 s
Single-Leg RDLPer leg. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Single-Leg Glute BridgePer leg. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Nordic Hamstring Curl 3 × 3–6 2 2 min
How to run it
Twice a week on non-consecutive days. About 30 minutes.
How to progress
Add reps until every set reaches the top of the range, then use a heavier bell or slow the lowering to 3 seconds. On Nordics, lower a little further each week before adding reps.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Posterior chain for runners

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets22 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Barbells, Flat Bench, Hyperextension

You run three or more times a week and want stronger hamstrings and glutes without much soreness on run days.

One short session of 11 sets, twice a week. Single-leg hinges and Nordics match how running loads the back of the leg, and the volume stays low enough to run well the next day.

Runner strength
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Single-Leg RDLPer leg. 3 × 8–10 2 90 s
Hip Thrust1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Nordic Hamstring Curl 3 × 3–5 2 2 min
45-Degree Back Extension 2 × 12–15 2 1 min
How to run it
After an easy run or on a non-running day. Keep at least one day between this and your hardest run of the week.
How to progress
Add weight to the single-leg RDL and hip thrust when every set reaches the top of the range at 2 reps in reserve. Cut to one set each in race week.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What muscles are in the posterior chain?

The calves, hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors along the lower back, and the upper back muscles: lats, traps, rhomboids and rear delts.

Do squats help the posterior chain?

Yes, especially the glutes and adductors, but they load the quads most. Pair squats with a hinge and a hamstring curl to train the back of the leg fully.

What causes a weak posterior chain?

Mostly not training it. A lot of sitting and programs built on squats, presses and machines leave the hamstrings, glutes and upper back with less work than the front of the body.

What are the benefits of posterior chain exercises?

Stronger hips and hamstrings for running, jumping and lifting, a back that holds posture under load, and better balance between the front and back of the body.

Can I train the posterior chain at home?

Yes. Kettlebell swings, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, single-leg glute bridges and Nordics need only one weight and a place to anchor your feet.

How often should I train the posterior chain?

Twice a week works for most people, with one heavier hinge day and one lighter day. Two heavy deadlift days in one week is more than most need.