The Tactical Athlete:
The Posterior Chain, and it’s Importance on Military Members
By Wyatt Hill
The posterior chain is the collection of muscles that run on the backside of the human body i.e. calves, hamstrings, glutes, etc. As an enlisted Marine in the 03xx field I have seen the most common issue Marines face when conducting sustained operations are knee/lower back/and upper back injuries. Many Marines lack the knowledge or training in order to prevent these common ailments. This issue often leads to career ending injuries and eventually lifelong problems. A clear solution for this is accessible education on how to build bone density with strength training, muscular endurance, and beneficial exercises for the posterior chain. With this understanding you will enhance your ability to become or remain LETHAL.
Building Bone Density through Strength Training;
There is no question that the “Tactical Athlete” is becoming more popular, but a lot of people mistake what that means. The military's capacity of work needs to be physically tactical, especially in the “deployment ready” line of work. Individuals idealize HIIT (high intensity interval training) or the militaries rebranded HITT (high intensity tactical training) as the most superior practice when it comes to shaping tactical athletes. Through personal study I have learned that is not actuality. In some cases, HIIT/HITT even increases likelihood of injury and the deterioration of the posterior chain.
HITT does not build the required bone density that is needed of a tactical athlete to conduct sustained operations. How often do we hear about military members with shin splints? Far too frequently. Another very real concern is spinal fractures. I have seen far too many Marines that go to the gym and do HITT or bodybuilding style exercises just to end up with spinal fractures. This occurs from frequently carrying a heavy load on their back, in training as well as work. To be able to meet physical requirements necessary in our line of work military members need to build bone density. These individuals should train to near maximal effort (90-100%), this will stimulate the bones to produce more bone tissue and limit fractures. In more simple terms, Max effort days are going to be a catalyst in our training programs as military members, and as leaders it is pertinent that we encourage strength training amongst our ranks. We, as a community, must make sure we are lifting with maximal loads to help build bone density.
Muscular Endurance, How is it Achieved?:
Muscular Endurance is the human body's ability to contract and relax repeatedly. This movement falls into the everyday life of our military members regardless of MOS but it is increasingly important for infantry service members out there. We can build muscular endurance
by using multiple planes of strength and increasing the working capacity of large muscles, lung capacity and your body's soft tissue.
What Are the Multiple planes?
Strength endurance, and dynamic endurance. I believe it’s a misconception amongst the military community that we can’t train heavy weights to achieve strength endurance.
Strength Endurance: On max effort days you should be working in the 80-95% ranges of intensity for top sets of 2-5 reps on main lifts. An example of this is a max set of 3 box squats that will typically fall between 90-93% of your one rep max. On dynamic effort days, we can train in the 50-75% capacity range. This would look like 5x5 at 65-75% for a three week wave. For main accessories, dependent on the main lift, this could fall to the 6-12 rep range for 4-6 sets and is going to be dependent on the intensity you strive to be at.
Dynamic Endurance: With dynamic endurance we are conducting movements that will push the body to work through fatigue. This falls into running, swimming, belted marches, AMRAP exercises etc. These exercises are low intensity in nature and should be stopped once form breakdown is achieved. These can be done after your main accessories and can also be done in mini exercises throughout the day/week. Examples of this could be 3 sets of 50 good mornings superset with a 100 m sprint, or 3 sets max KB swings.
How do we train the posterior chain?:
A simplified explanation of training the posterior chain is train heavy and push your accessories to near failure. If you skimmed through this article or didn't understand anything I previously talked about, no worries because I am about to give you the secret sauce. I will identify what I believe to be the best exercises we can do to strengthen and harden our posterior chain and why I believe so.
- Reverse Hyper Extension- This answer is a cop out, but the risk to reward ratio is unreal. The reverse hyper will provide spinal decompression and the
strengthening of the Erector Spinae, Hamstrings, and Glutes… also known as THE POSTERIOR CHAIN. This exercise should be a staple in all DOD gyms and all DOD members. The Reverse Hyper is a similar movement pattern to any high-impact lifting and hinging movements utilizing the reverse hyper will limit pain and increase strength in the low back. Low back pain is a leading cause of disability and this machine alone has the ability to keep DOD members in the fight for the long haul.
- Belt Squat Machine- the belt squat machine loads the weight at the hips and keeps stress off the Lumbar spine. This is important when we know we are in a fatigued state and don't want to risk injury but still want to train heavily. Also this mimics our main pack around our hips, and we can use this machine to do marching movements to increase our working capacity under heavier loads than we would actually put in our packs.
- GHR/Nordic Curls/Leg Curls- These exercises should absolutely be included in your DAILY training. The idea we are going for here is that you are
“bulletproofing” the hamstrings. Strengthening the tendons between your knees and glutes will decrease the rate of knee pain and even low back pain. Banded leg curls can be conducted daily from 100-200 reps a day dependent on the person.
- Pulling Sled- The sled is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment at our disposal. For the poster chain it can be used on both upper and lower days and be used as a recovery tool on active rest days. The sled will allow you to load the muscles and joints to experience resistance to increase rehabilitation as well. If you can walk, you can sled! This can be used to decrease run times and increase dynamic endurance for hikes.
- Good Mornings- when performed correctly can be done at heavy weights to load the posterior chain and build absolute strength and strength endurance in the posterior chain. It is highly recommended we keep the rep ranges to 3-5 as a main lift, or 4-8 as a main accessory. This exercise can be done in the dynamic endurance ranges as well, either under straight load or bands.
These are some super simple exercises that can help increase readiness and lethality for you or your troops. I don't want the upper back to go understated here as well. Kettlebell front rack holds while walking, sleds, or in the belt squat march are also super beneficial as it will strengthen our upper back to sustain weights on our shoulders for extended periods of times.
ENDSTATE:
With this information, the desired endstate is that we begin to shift our thinking. We, now more than ever, need to provide ourselves and our troops with the best opportunities to become as lethal as possible and stay in the fight. Not only does strength training described above provide the necessary capabilities we need as military members it will also heighten the confidence of our troops as well.
An added endstate is obviously longevity. We've all seen good military members either get medically separated or get out due to injuries that could have been prolonged or even prevented. These injuries can haunt an individual for life. Luckily for most it isn’t too late. FIND A WAY.