POSTERIOR POWER LINE
What it tests for
You’ll get a sense of whether the muscles on the back of your body, mainly your spine and lats, are working in harmony. When you bend at the hips and pick something up off the floor or pull something towards your body (think: carrying a suitcase up the stairs), you need to stabilise through your back muscles.
If you can’t hang in this pose for very long, that signals you’re weak in one or more of these areas – and they’re definitely key for activities like walking, running and jumping.
How to do it
(a) Sit on the floor with your legs fully extended and parallel. Place your heels on the bench and rest your hips, elbows and forearms on the floor. Relax your neck and keep your ears aligned with your shoulders. Raise your left leg several inches off the bench.
(b) Raise your body off the floor, keeping your knees straight so that your entire body is supported by your right leg, and hold.
Other key moves
Bilateral and single-leg bridges.