Posterior Power 12 week Program for 

Glutes, Hamstrings, and Calves 

  
Program Goal-Hypertrophy through the Glutes, Hamstrings, and Calves 
  
Duration-12 Weeks 
  
Training Plan-5 Days weekly 
 
Your GLUTES are a major determinant for how your spinal muscles and 
spine and core all function. And if you have "low back pain" I can almost 
guarantee you have a flat ass and underdeveloped posterior chain.  

What the Ancient Greeks very clearly understood is that your glutes are 
the muscles that produce, absorb, and create force, and if they are 
strong and function as they should, then your low back function as a 
stabilizer and conductor of force through the other muscles of the back. 
And your body and posture and movement will be "athletic" by way of 
downstream effect.  

Your center of gravity when you are standing upright is right around 
your second sacral vertebra. This corresponds to your ass crack, to be 
really blunt. Your center of gravity, the point at which the mass of the 
body is perfectly balanced and where gravity acts upon, that center is 
supported by your GLUTES.  

A Primer on Posterior Chain Training 

Relative to the modern world, most people's glute muscles are 
"amnesiac". Do you know how to voluntarily flex your glutes? Probably 
not. 

They are underdeveloped, are "under innervated", meaning the 

neurological output to them is low, and subsequently, your glutes 
cannot support your spine as they should, and its function is impaired 
as a result.  

Your body compensates for this by "stiffening" your low back; creating 
tension through these muscles so that your body can stabilize. Your ass 
would normally do this, but your glutes aren't working, so your lowback 
takes over.  

When I receive feedback from people that squats hurt their lowback, 
deadlifts hurt their lowback, bent over movements hurt their low back, 
so many things hurt their low back, 9 times out of 10, those people 
have flat asses. 

I'm being completely serious. It's very uncommon to see a person with 
developed glute muscles and low back pain. I can think of cases of 
female powerlifters I know who developed sacral issues from their 
spinal muscles being disproportionate to their ass muscle (butt was 
overdeveloped and back muscles underdeveloped), but that's an outlier 
situation. Or of hard training bodybuilders and powerlifters that 
deadlift and squat extremely heavy, but again, exceptions. 

The difference between a hip dominant versus knee dominant 

workout 

Hip dominant and knee dominant are two terms taken from the 
collegiate strength and conditioning industry. Their definition is 
straightforward 
Hip/Glute or hamstring dominant=​A workout or program that 
emphasizes the glutes and hamstrings 

Knee/Quad dominant=​A workout or program that emphasizes the 

quads 

How do you determine what is dominant? Its determined by what 

muscle is doing the most work, or what muscle is actively lengthening 
and contracting versus stabilizing.  

A deadlift, your glutes and hamstrings are doing the work. But your 
quad is being worked somewhat due to stabilizing (but deadlifts are 
certainly not a quad exercise) 

A leg press, your quads do a lot of the work, and because of the 
position, the hamstrings and glutes dont get worked so much, but they 
are still contributing. 

DO NOT mistake this concept for meaning that exercises are mutually 
exclusive and ONLY work one muscle. Rather, its a question of what is 
being directly targeted and emphasized, and what is secondary. 

Relative to how most people train, they never train their glutes directly. 
A typical workout for legs is something like that 

1. Leg extensions=quad dominant 

2. Leg curls=hamstring dominant 

3. Leg press=quad dominant 

4. Squats=Possible glute dominant 

5. Lunges=Knee/quad dominant 
Now, this is not a "bad" workout perse, but if I examine these 
movements, the glutes are not actually be emphasized in any of them. 
Again though, does not mean its a bad workout. But if you are MOST 
people, you could do this workout, make some progress, but still end 
up with chronically strained hamstrings, knee issues (SUPER COMMON 
TO HAVE KNEE PROBLEMS AND A WEAK ASS), low back strains, and you 
would not know why. 

What do you do? 

You train glutes directly, with posterior emphasis movements  

The Top 12 Posterior Chain Movements 

● These muscle are all collectively referred to as the posterior chain. 

They are two major functions; hip extension, and knee knee 
flexion. Hip extension is the more important of the two. 
 
● Glute development can often come from deadlifts, but the 
deadlifts need to be done for REPS. Only doing low rep deadlifts 
will not be enough. 
 
● For full hamstring development, you will need to do leg curls of 
some kind. Knee flexion is its own function and should be trained 
by itself. Strengthening your knee flexion will immensely improve 
overall knee health. 
 
● All rep ranges can work and should be experimented with. 
 
● Glute development can be stubborn in some people, but if you 
are squatting and deadlifting with proper technique and effective 
movements, it shouldn't be hard to come by. 
 
● Some people train glutes entirely separately, but as the 
hamstrings and glutes work as a unit, I prefer that they be trained 
together. 
 
● How do you know your glutes are working? You can FEEL them. 
This is a distinct feeling and not questionable at all as to if the 
muscle is working 
 
   
1.  Hip  Thrust-  ​For  glute  development,  this  has  to  be  number  one. 
However,  how  it  is  performed  is  of  critical  importance.  Depending your 
spinal  structure  and  pelvic  structure,  you  MAY  be  able  to  perform  it 
effectively  for  very  heavy  reps  in  the  5-8  range,  or  that  may  be 
completely  pointless  and  it  should  only  be  done  for  high  reps  only.  I’ve 
found  the  best  results  doing  multiple  sets  of  moderate  to  High  reps 
with  people  in  the  10-20  rep  range,  and  using BANDS as the resistance, 
versus  the  barbell.  How  to  determine  what  to  do?  Simple:  does  the 
trainee  “naturally”  have  a  butt?  Or  said  another  way,  do  they  naturally 
have  a  big  booty,  even  without  training?  If  the  client  has  a  natural 
lordotic  curve  and  big  butt,  they  probably  can  do  this  very  heavy.  If the 
client  has  no  lordotic  curve  and  has  a  “flat  ass”,  they’ll be benefit far far 
more  from  doing  it  for  high  reps.  The  actual  ROM  of  hip  thrust  is  quite 
small,  and  the two major cues to remember are thrusting into posterior 
tilt  on  every  rep,  and  keeping  the  chin  tucked  and  the  thoraic  spine 
slightly rounded.  
 
2.  Stiff  Leg  Deadlift  -  This  is  not  a  conventional  deadlift.  A  stiff  leg 
deadlift  is  done  with  the  legs  ALMOST  completely  straight,  and  it 
stretches  the  hell  out  the  hamstrings.  This  is  a  tried  and  proven 
movement  and has built many a backside over the decades. The barbell 
version  is  one  that  I’ve  found  almost  everyone  can  do  once  they  learn 
proper mechanics. 2-5 sets of 5-10 reps  
 
3.  Romanian  Deadlift  ​-  This  exercise  is  very  similar  to  stiff  legged 
deadlifts,  but  instead of locking out your knees, you stick your butt back 
as  far  as  you  can,  and  have  a  slight  bend  in  your  knees.  Lower  the  bar 
to  mid-shin  and  violently  extend  the  hips  in  a  thrusting  manner.  This  is 
a great glute developer. Do 2-5 sets of 6-12 reps.  
 
4.  DB  Stiff  Leg  and  Romanian  Deadlift  -  I’m  grouping  these  both 
together.  Occasionally  people  will  have  trouble  with  the  barbell 
versions  of  these  exercises  and  find  them  aggravating  on  the  low  back, 
and  then  try  the  DB  version  and  be  shocked  at  how  much  more 
effective  they  are.  Because  you  do  not  have  to  adapt  your  body  to  the 
barbell,  you  can  use  a  more  natural  line  of  movement  with  DBs  than 
with the barbell. Higher reps work better with DBs, 2-5 sets of 8-15 reps 
 
5.  Glute/Ham  45  degree  Hyperextension  ​-  This  is  a  45​° 
hyperextension  with  the  emphasis  placed  on  the  glutes  and  the 
hamstrings.  You  use  the  45  degree  hyperextension,  and  position 
yourself  with  feet  turned  out  (externally  rotated).  On  each  rep,  you 
stretch  and lengthen the hams and glutes, and then squeeze them hard 
to  pull  your  torso  back  up  into  extension.  You  can  do  these  weighted 
also.  Holding  the  DB  in  front  of  you  works  the  hams  and  glute/ham  tie 
in,  while  holding  a  weight  across  the  shoulders  works  the  upper  glutes 
and spinal erectors more. Try 2-5 sets of 10-20 reps 
 
6.  Lying Leg Curls - It is hard to have great leg development or strength 
without  good  hamstrings,  and  the  lying  leg  curl  isolates  your 
hamstrings  better  than  any  other  exercise.  You  should  follow  a  similar 
rep  scheme  as  the  leg  extension,  5  sets  of  15-20  reps,  with  short  rest 
periods  and  progressive  weight  increases.  You  can  also  occasionally  go 
heavier,  working  in  the  8-12  rep  range.  Try  4  sets  of  8  reps,  all  with  a  3 
second eccentric 
 
**​Seated  Leg  Curl  -  Similar  to  lying  leg  curl,  except  you  are  sitting 
down.  These  work very well and are joint friendly for just about anyone. 
Make  sure  you  adjust  the  machine  so  you  can  get  a  full contraction  on 
each rep. 2-5 sets of 8-12 reps 
 
7.  Nordic  Leg  Curl  -  Be  wary  of  these.  I’ve  had  clients  perform  these 
and  they  cramp  up  after  ONE  rep.  These  are  done  by  hooking  your 
ankles  underneath  something  sturdy,  padding,  your  knees,  and  then 
falling  forward,  trying  to  fight  to  slow  the  descent  of  your  body  by 
eccentrically  contracting  your  hamstrings.  You  then  perform  a  pushup 
and  curl  yourself  back  up,  using  both  hams  and  glutes.  I  warn  you, 
these  are  HARD,  very  very  hard.  But  they  also  strengthen  the 
hamstrings  amazingly  well  and  have  been  proven for injury prevention. 
2-5 sets, 5-10 reps.  
 
8.  Glute  Ham  Raise  -  Despite  the  name,  it works the hamstrings far far 
more  than  the  glutes.  That  said,  the  glute/ham  raise  is  an  awesome 
movement  for  strengthening  the  hamstrings  and  powerlifters  have 
noticed  for  decades  that  its  extremely  beneficial  to  building  both  the 
squat  and  deadlift.  About  4  sets  of  10-12  reps  should  be  performed  in 
this  exercise.  Once  you  are  strong  enough,  you  can  add  resistance  by 
using bands or holding plates.  
 
9.  Sumo  DB  Squats  -  These  are  done  with  by  holding  a  DB  with  the 
hands  between  the  legs,  angling  the  hips  into  extension,  and  then 
descending  down and up. It can be very effective to perform these from 
a  deficit.  These  are  a  great  movement  for  the  glute/ham  tie  in,  gluteus 
maximus,  and  the  adductors  (inner  thighs),  which  are  stubborn  areas 
for  many  women.  Try  5  sets  of  10  reps.  These  can  be  done  up  to  20 
reps also.  
 
10.  Barbell  Back  Squats  -  For  some people, a moderate to wide stance 
barbell  back  squat  will  be  literally  all  they  need  to  build  full  and 
powerful  glutes.  Some  will  argue  that  this  should  have  been  first,  I’ll 
professionally  disagree.  Back  squats  are  a  great  all-around  leg 
movement  and  they  build  tremendous  strength,  but  when  it  comes  to 
Glute  and  hamstring  specific  hypertrophy,  they  are  not  be  all  end  all, 
and  sometimes  they  flat  out  don’t  work  well  for people. Additionally, as 
people  get  older  the  direct  spinal  compression and the pressure on the 
shoulders  can  start  to  wreak  havoc,  and  the  exercise  becomes 
counterproductive.  Not  everyone  has  the  genetics  and  structure  to 
make  heavy  back  squats  a  go  to  movement.  Perform  these  in  a 
powerlifting  style,  by  emphasizing  the  hip  extension  first.  Keep  the 
shins  near  vertical  as  possible,  and  “sit  back”,  loading  your  glutes  with 
as much tension as possible. 
When  you  hit  at least parallel, explode back up. These are best done for 
low to moderate reps with heavy weights. Try 2-5 sets of 5-10 reps.  
 
11.  Donkey  Calf  Raise  ​-  It  is  very  uncommon  to find these machines in 
gyms  anymore,  but  they  are  by  far  the  most  effective  calf  builder 
exercise  in  existence.  If  your  gym  has  one,  make  use  of  it.  Donkey  Calf 
raises  are  best  done  to  failure,  for  moderate  to  high  reps.  Try  6  sets  of 
20, 16, 12, 10, 8, and 6 reps. Increase weight each set 
 
12.  Standing  and  Seated Calf Raise ​- Both of these should be done for 
complete  calf  development.  The  seated  calf  raise  works  the  soleus 
more,  while  the  standing  calf  raise  emphasizes  the  gastroc.  These  can 
be  done  together  or  separate.  Always  work  calves  to  failure,  and  get  a 
stretch  on  every  rep. Calves take a lot of stimulation to grow. Calf raises 
can  help  immensely  with  ankle  strength  and  stability,  and  even  foot 
strength.  They  are  worth  doing.  Bodyweight  calf  raises  can  be  done 
also,  these  should be done for VERY high reps and taken to total failure. 
Do 4-8 sets of 10-20 reps. 
 
 
  
Program design and focus-​This program is expressly written for 
posterior chain development development. Glutes and Hams will be 
trained twice weekly, and quads trained 4 times weekly. You will cycle 
through three phases of training. In week 1, the focus will be compound 
movement, and relatively heavy loads. In week 2, higher reps will be 
used. In week 3, metabolic stress from ultra high rep and explosive 
sets. 
 
You will Repeat Phase 1 four times, Phase 2 four times, and Phase 3 
four times. Week 1, 4, 7, and 10 will be Phase 1. Weeks 2,5,8, and 11 will 
be phase 2. Weeks 3,6,9, and 12 will be phase 3 
 
Italics=Superset​. There are only a few superset days through this 
program, but when you do see italics with movements spaced right 
above and below each other, this denotes a superset, and switching 
back and forth between the exercises.  
  
Rest Periods-Limit rest period to 60 seconds approximate. This does 
not need to be timed with a stop watch, rather this is the suggested 
cap. I would strongly suggest minimizing rest periods between sets, 
BUT, take more time if needed between exercises. Typically a rest 
period might resemble something like; 
 
Do set 1, rest a minute, do set 2, rest 45 seconds, do set 3, rest 2 
minutes while setting up for next exercise. To note, this program is NOT 
meant to be “cardio”, but your heart rate should be elevated while 
training.  
 
Program Basic Requirements and Understanding​-This program is 
intended for experienced trainees that have previous lifting experience 
of at least 2-3 years, are fully comfortable utilizing a full range of 
training implements (barbells, dumbbells, machines, bodyweight, etc), 
and are familiar with broad range of exercises. 
  
This program is intended for male (and female) trainees who want an 
overall increase in posterior chain mass and strength 
  
 
Some of the workouts are high volume, and will likely take about 75 
minutes to complete. Others are shorter, and will be completed in less 
than 1 hour. 
  
The Program stays with 4 days weekly of training. While the entire body 
is trained, lower body is obviously given priority over upper body. 
 
Glute warmup to be performed before EVERY lowerbody workout 

First things first, you have to get the glute muscles engaged. And for 
that I have a sequence I discovered recently that works REALLY well, 
better than I what I used prior. ​Its devised by Chad Waterbury,​ a 
personal trainer with a doctorate in neurophysiology. He is smart, and 
he made a video 

Watch the video 

To perform it, you willl need some ​exercise bands​. I went with the ones 
that Mr. Waterbury suggested, they work well. 

 
The Posterior Power Program 
 
 
Phase 1, Weeks 1-4 
 
Day 1-Glutes and Hamstrings 
1. 45 degree glute emphasis hyper extension 3x10-20 (if bodyweight is 
easy, add weight by holding a plate across your chest) 

2. 1 leg bodyweight hip thrust w/ upper body elevated 3x15 each side 

3. Stiff leg DB deadlift 4x10-15 

4. DB Sumo Squat 4x10 

5. Leg press 3x20 

6. Seated Calf Raises 4x15-25 

 
Day 2-Chest and Back 
1. Seated Moderate Grip Cable Row 5x10-12 
 
2. Incline Barbell Press 5x4-6 
 
3. Low Incline DB Press 4x8-10 
 
4. Cable Facepul l4x10-15 
 
5. Dips (assisted if necessary) 3xAMAP 
 
6. Pulldowns, wide grip 3x15-20 
 
Day 3-Arms 
 

1. Dumbbell Concentration Curls 3 10-12 

2. EZ Bar Barbell Curls 3x10-12 

3. DB Overhead Extension 4x15,12,10,8 

4. Two-Arm Dumbbell Extensions 3x10-12 

5. Cambered-Bar Reverse Curls 3x12-18 

6. Alternate Dumbbell Hammer Curls 3x12-18 

Day 4-Glutes and Hams 

 
1. Lying Leg curls 5x10 
 
2. Bodyweight Hip Thrust w/ feet elevated 3x15-20 
 
3. Romanian Barbell Deadlifts 6x6 
 
4. Seated Adductor Machine 3x12-15 
 
5. Standing weighted Calf Raises (calf machine) 4x15-25 
 
Day 5-Shoulders 
 
 1. Reverse-grip Pulldown 3x10 
 
2. Prone DB Trap Raise (Y Raise) 4x8 
 
3. Machine Side Lateral Raises 3x15 
 
4. Barbell Wide grip overhead Press 4x8 
 
5. Heavy DB Lateral Swing 1x60 
 
Phase 2-Weeks 5-8 
 
Day 1-Glutes Hamstrings Quads 

1. Seated or Lying Leg Curls 4x10-15 

2. 45 degree Glute Focused Hyperextension 4x15-20 

3. DB Sumo Squat 4x10-15 

4. Reverse DB Lunge 3x8-12 each leg 

Day 2-Chest, Shoulders, Triceps 

1. Flat DB Chest Press 4x8-10 

2. Incline DB Chest Press 4x8-10 

3. Seated DB lateral Raise 3x15,12,10 

4. DB Rear Delt Raise 3x15 

5. Tricep Pushdowns 3x10-12 

6. Bodyweight Dips 3xAs Many As Possible 

Day 3-Glutes, Hamstrings, Quads 

1. Seated Leg Curls 4x10-15 

2. DB Stiff Leg Deadlift 4x8-10  

3. Forward Walking Lunges with DBs 4x8-10 

4. DB Split Squat 4x1-10 each leg 

1-legged foot elevated glute bridge 3x10 

Day 4-Back 

Chinups 2x6-10 

Neutral Grip Pullup 2x6-10 

Wide grip pullup 2x6-10 

Seated Rows 4x8-10 

1-Arm DB Row 4x10-12 

45 degree Back Extension with weight 4x15 

Day 5-Glutes, Hamstrings, Quads 

Waterbury Warmup Sequence, 2 times through 

Stability Ball Leg Curls 4x10-15 

Bulgarian Split squat 3x12-15 

Snatch Grip Deadlift 4x6 

Shoulders Elevated Hip Thrust with Band Around knees 4x20-25 

Phase 3-Weeks 9-12 

 
Day 1-Glutes, Hamstrings, Quads  

1. DB Sumo Squat 5x10 

2. Barbell Sumo Deadlift 5x5 

3. 45 Degree bodyweight hyperextension 4x10-15 

4. Calf Raises-100 total of any kind of variation of your choosing 

Day 2-Chest, Shoulders, Triceps  

1. Flat DB Chest Press 4x6-8 

2. Incline Barbell Chest Press 3x6 

3. Seated DB lateral Raise 3x15,12,10 

4. Machine Lateral Raise 3x30 

5. Seated DB Shoulder press 4x8-10  

6. Tricep Pushdowns 4x10-12 

Day 3-Glutes, Hamstrings 

1. Seated Leg Curl 3x12-15 

2. Lying Leg Curl 3x10-12 

3. Stability Ball Leg Curls 3x8-10 

4. Barbell Romanian Deadlifts 5x5-8 

Day 4-Back and Biceps 

1. Seated Neutral Grip Cable Row 4x15,12,10,8,6 (increase weight each 
set)  

2. 1-Arm DB Row 3x10-12 

3. Deadlift 1x6-10, 1x3-6, same weight both sets  

4. Standing or Seated DB Hammer Curls 5x6-8 reps  

5. Alternating DB Supinated Curls 3x10-12 reps 

Day 5-Glutes, Hamstrings, Quads 

1A. Bulgarian Split squat 4x10-15 

Superset with 

1B. DB Goblet Squat 4x10-15 

2. Reverse Alternating Lunges with DBs 4x18-10 

3. Leg Press (any kind that is comfortable for you) 4x10-15 

4. Calf Raises-100 total reps of any kind of variation of your choosing 

  
Program Q&As READ FIRST 
  
How long does this program last? 
  
-12 Weeks. There are 3 phases of training-Phase 1 which is 1-4 weeks, 
Phase 2 which is weeks 5-8, Phase 3 which is weeks 9-12 
 
Is this just one set of workouts? 
  
-No, there are 3 phases of workouts, each phase last 4 weeks. In total, 
this program comprises 12 unique, individual workouts. 
  
-During each phase, you MUST perform all the listed workouts over the 
course of the week. 
  
Do I have to use the workouts in the exact order given? 
  
-YES. While it could be possible to change the order, it has been 
ordered this way for a reason. Follow the program as written 
 
How long do the workouts take?  
 
-The workouts should reasonably take approximately 60 minutes to 
complete. It may be a little more or a little less depending on how much 
rest you take 
 
How long should I rest for?  
 
-I would suggest capping rest periods at a minute between sets. If its 75 
seconds, not a big deal, but when you get past the 2 minute mark, you 
are wasting your time and focus 
  
Do the sets and reps include warmups? 
  
-All sets and reps listed are working sets. Meaning that warmup sets are 
of your choosing. I would suggest the following warmup protocol be 
used for most movement 
  
1 set of 20 reps, with very light weight, 
  
followed by a 2nd set of 15 reps, slightly heavier than the first set. 
  
Then proceed into the working sets 
  
-How much weight should you use? 
  
I-Reverse Pyramid-Start at the low end of the rep ranges with heavy 
weight, and as you fatigue, lighten the weight and move into the higher 
rep ranges 
  
II-Traditional Pyramid-Or, you could start on the high end of the rep 
ranges, and over the sets, drop the reps down while increasing the 
weight. 
  
III-Same weight, sets across-this means simply using the same weight 
for ALL sets. This is the most simple and easy to record. Pick a weight 
and number of reps, and repeat for the required number of sets 
  
I see ranges for the reps, what does that mean? 
 
-That means you can elect to do lower reps, or the higher reps in the 
range. Of you could start high, and go lower, or start lower, and go 
higher. Rep ranges are exactly that, a RANGE in which you flexibility 
decide what works best for you to use on that given day. If you see 
10-15 reps, make a decision whether go heavier and lower rep feels 
better, or going lighter rep and higher weight. 
  
How do I make progress if there are rep ranges?  
 
You make progress by either doing more reps with the same weight 
(until you hit the top of the rep range), or by increasing the weight after 
youve maxed out the given number of reps you can do.  
  
Can this program be done with just bodyweight? Or just machines? 
  
-NO. You should ideally have barbells, dumbbells, machines, and 
cables available to you. 
  
-If a particular piece of equipment is not available to you, substitute 
with as close as an equivalent as you can find. If you are entirely 
uncertain as to how you should modify, please contact me through my 
email list