Have you ever considered how important is to maintain a good posterior chain? Well... the first article of our health blog will provide the answer.
What is the Posterior Chain?
The posterior chain is the group of muscles on the backside (posterior) of your body. These muscles include hamstrings, back muscles, calves, and glutes amongst others.
Unlike the anterior muscles (pectorals, quadriceps, biceps, anterior delts) these muscles are often neglected because most exercises we do, and natural motions we do, work in the anterior direction.
Why Is It important?
Plain and simple it is all about balance. Avoiding such a large part of the musculoskeletal system can lead to muscle and joint imbalances, which can negatively affect posture and range of movement. Now more than ever our habit of looking frontward and down at screens and slumping forward into seated and laying positions has increased and this anterior (frontside of the body) emphasis can result in:
1. Overworked deltoids (shoulders)
2. Shortened pectoral muscles
3. Overstretched back and neck muscles
What to do?
Bringing in posterior-focused exercises can help counteract this issue and provides us with more natural, healthy posture and overall physical potential. By combining a mix of push and pull movements into any resistance training routine will help lead to the desired outcome. It should be noted that many of our lower body and even pushing exercises can activate areas of the backside of the body.
The musculoskeletal system is one interconnected chain, with movement in one area affecting a range of others. Performing dedicated exercises to work the back and biceps will unveil the full benefits of whole-body movement training and contribute more greatly to our overall health and wellbeing.
Check out our blog post next week for the"must to do" exercises 😊