Sports, and life for that matter, revolve around the posterior chain and the hip hinge movement pattern. The deadlift is my favorite lift. And there’s no doubt deadlifts, reverse hypers, Glute-Ham raises, Olympic lift variations and other hip-hinge/posterior chain movements are extremely crucial for success in any strength or athletic endeavor.
Unfortunately, most people are tight, weak, undertrained, and have restricted motion in this pattern. And that’s a shame – because the ability to execute this movement properly allows for significant progress in strength, muscle, athletic performance, and quality of life (being able to move without pain!)
Last Saturday I revisited an old favorite training session I learned from Christian Thibaudeau. This is one of my favorite “hip hinge” sessions of all time. Here it is:
Complete 4-6 Rounds of this circuit
A1: Pin or Rack Pulls x 2-3
A2: Deadlifts x 3-5
A3: Hang Cleans x 3-5
A4: Band Good Mornings x 10
A5: Broad Jumps x 2
A6: Sled or Prowler work (I skipped this and added 6 sprint after all strength work was completed)
Why It Kicks Ass (Literally)
A1: Overload
A2: Strength
A3: Speed/Explosiveness
A4: Increase work capacity for speed work
A5: Jumping!
A6: More volume for leg, no eccentric with sleds/prowler = reduced muscle damage/fatigue
The entire setup adds an element of conditioning, making this a great circuit for size, strength, and fat loss (provided the diet supports your goal).
**Do 2-3 warmup sets of each movement before beginning your work sets. Start your first work around 70-80% of the heaviest weight you can use for each movement. Slowly add weight each round if you can do so safely.**
Give it a shot and let me know how it goes!