This program is designed as a guide and may not be

suitable for everyone. This program is designed for

healthy adults only and based upon our research and
experience. If you have any injuries or health
conditions, consult your physician to ensure this guide
is appropriate for you. This program is provided for
informational purposes only. If you engage in this
exercise or exercise program, you agree that you do so
at your own risk, are voluntarily participating, assume
all risk of injury and damage, real or perceived.

Also, please don't be a dick and claim this eBook as

your own work. We worked hard on this. Thanks.
pg. 1 INTRODUCTION

pg. 2 ABOUT THE AUTHORS

pg. 3 DEFINITIONS

POSTURE
POSTURE DEFINED
MOVEMENT VARIABILITY
pg. 4 ANTERIOR PELVIC TILT
WHAT IS AN ANTERIOR PELVIC TILT?
INVOLVED MUSCULATURE
JOINT AND MUSCLE ACTIONS
IS AN ANTERIOR PELVIC TILT BAD?
pg. 10 BREATHING
POLYVAGEL THEORY
NEUROPLASTICITY

pg. 11 TESTING
TESTING DISCLAIMER
POSTURE PHOTOS
TOE-TOUCH
SQUAT
SUPINE KNEE-TO-CHEST

pg. 15 RESULTS
TABLE DIAGRAM
ANTERIORLY COMPRESSED PELVIS
POSTERIORLY COMPRESSED PELVIS
COMMONALITIES BETWEEN BOTH CASES
pg. 19 POSTERIORLY COMPRESSED EXERCISES
HOOKLYING HAMSTRING BRIDGE
ROCKBACK OVERHEAD BREATHING
WALL SQUAT 90-DEGREE REACH WITH BALL

pg. 25 ANTERIORLY COMPRESSED EXERCISES

HOOKLYING HAMSTRING BRIDGE
90-90 SIDELYING PLANK
COUCH HIP EXTENSION

pg. 31 RE-TESTING
POSTERIORLY COMPRESSED RE-TESTING
ANTERIORLY COMPRESSED RE-TESTING

pg. 32 POSTURE PROGRAM

FREQUENCY AND DURATION

pg. 33 CONCLUSION

pg. 34 REPOSITIONING VS. STRENGTHENING

pg. 35 CITATIONS
Hey friends,

Welcome to the “No B.S. Guide to Anterior Pelvic Tilt.”

Thank you so much for downloading. It means the world
to us that you’ve taken this time to check out what we
have to say about an overly bastardized topic in the
health and wellness industry.

So what exactly is this guide? I’m glad you asked! It’s a

summation of how we tackle anterior pelvic tilt. But at
the same time, this guide is so much more. Let’s list off
some of the benefits:

1. You will learn how to utilize tests we use with clients

on a daily basis
2. You will hone in on exactly what exercises your body
needs to fix your anterior pelvic tilt
3. The exercises will help you achieve a Zone of
Apposition - an extremely beneficial skill and
morphological adaptation that will set you up for
better movement that surpasses anterior pelvic tilt
limitations (more on this later)
4. You’re going to gain a ton of hip extension (A.K.A.
glute max and hamstrings on FLEEK) and abdominal
control.

Basically, our goal is to give you as much value as

possible while not wasting your time. We could sit here
all day and bash other programs, methodologies, etc.
but you probably wouldn’t be here if those things
actually worked. So no more stretching your hip flexors
and aimlessly doing glute bridges to no avail. We’re
here to provide education and a course of action.

No bull shit.
We are Kyle Waugh and Conor Harris. We are your
guides through your 6-week posture journey.

KYLE WAUGH PTA, CSCS, CPT

Kyle has personally achieved
fantastic posture results that
stemmed from his own anterior
pelvic tilt.

He then decided to hone his

skills through trial-and-error
and countless hours of
research on how to help others
fix their postural needs.

Find out more about Kyle at his

About Me.

CONOR HARRIS CSCS, XPS, CPT, CES

Conor is a Strength &
Conditioning coach & Personal
Trainer who specializes in the
biomechanics of human
movement.

His lens is to appreciate that

the body is a singular
functioning system rather than
isolated parts. Conor takes an
evidence-based approach to
progressive methodologies.

He has worked extensively with

clientele from all backgrounds
from desk workers to All-Star
NBA players.

Find out more about Conor at

his About Me.
Alright, so here’s some groundwork before we get
started. Below are some needed definitions to set the
stage of how to attack an anterior pelvic tilt. We’re
going to cover posture, anterior pelvic tilt, and all the
muscles/movements involved. We highly recommend you
read through these definitions as they will yield the best
results. Let’s dive in!

POSTURE

Many people associate the word “posture” with how one

stands or sits. In western cultures, it has become a way
to separate someone that is athletic or fit and someone
that is unhealthy. The word is a centerpiece for many
physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists,
and personal trainers in their methodologies and
marketing. Let's define posture within a context that
matters.

Posture - "The management of the body’s center of

mass against gravity in both static and non-static
calorie sparing positions." - Kyle & Conor No B.S.

From the above definition, we can see that posture isn’t

just some rigid standing pose. Rather, it’s different
positions in space that we humans move into and out of
with the main goal of saving calories. Posture is every
phase of your walking, how you squat, crawl on the floor
with your doggo - it’s every movement we do on a
microscopic level.

Our ability to assume different postures is one of the

many reasons we’ve been successful as a species.
We’re able to manipulate our body and environment
around us to adapt to different needs for survival. For
example, imagine trying to hold an upright posture when
needing to crawl through a hole in the ground.
Impossible right? Let's move on.
ANTERIOR PELVIC TILT

Anterior Pelvic Tilt - “A short-arc anterior rotation of

the pelvis about the hip joints, with the trunk held
upright and stationary.” - Essentials of Kinesiology for
the Physical Therapist Assistant (Third Edition)

Anterior pelvic tilt (APT) is when the pelvis rotates

forward and downward toward the floor. This movement
occurs with co-contractions between the spinal extensor
and hip flexor musculature.

The APT also occurs with general relaxation and gravity

pulling down on the body. Now, to appreciate the
anterior pelvic tilt, we must also look at the opposite
motion that occurs at the pelvis. The opposite of an
anterior pelvic tilt is a posterior pelvic tilt (PPT).

This is a backward rotation

or tipping back and down
toward the floor (think your
back pockets sliding down
toward the back of the
knees). A PPT occurs via
co-contraction of the
abdominals and hip
extensor musculature. This
movement takes effort and
does not occur with
relaxation or gravity. In
Figure 1, we can identify
some of the primary
muscles that control these Figure 1 - Muscles Overview
movements at the pelvis.
ANTERIOR PELVIC TILT CONTINUED

This is a backward rotation or tipping back and down

toward the floor (think your back pockets sliding down
toward the back of the knees). A PPT occurs via co-
contraction of the abdominals and hip extensor
musculature. This movement takes effort and does not
occur with relaxation or gravity. Anterior and posterior
pelvic tilts occur in the sagittal plane. This plane makes
up the majority of motion and is where walking, running,
and general locomotive activities live. Basically, if you
didn’t have pelvic tilt abilities, you’d have some wild
and crazy movement compensations throughout the rest
of the body. These pelvic tilts and their corresponding
muscles are shown in Figure 2 on the next page.
ANTERIOR PELVIC TILT CONTINUED

Figure 2 - Pelvis Muscle Actions

Concentric (Shortening) Concentric (Shortening)
Spinal Erectors Abdominals
Quadratus Lumborum Glutes
Latissimus Dori Hamstrings
Tensor Fascia Lata Eccentric (Lengthening)
Quadriceps Spinal Erectors
Eccentric (Lengthening) Quadratus Lumborum
Abdominals Latissimus Dori
Glutes Tensor Fascia Lata
Hamstrings Quadriceps
ANTERIOR PELVIC TILT CONTINUED

Now, a lot of folks demonize the anterior pelvic tilt. But

why? Well, I’m glad you asked! Anterior pelvic tilt can
potentially be detrimental to your static standing
posture. It just doesn’t look great to our societal
standards of “good posture.”

It typically causes increased lordotic and kyphotic

curvatures up the spine as well as the gnarly forward
head and rounded shoulders that accompany.But if you
thought your static posture was bad, an anterior pelvic
tilt is probably most detrimental to our movement
capabilities. It limits the use of your glute, hamstring,
and abdominal musculature due to these muscles being
unable to find proper leverage during movement
activities like walking, running, jumping, squatting, etc.
Then you’re stuck using hip flexors, quads, and your low
back for the majority of your movement tasks. Okay, so
now that I’ve officially fear mongered you into the
potentially negative effects of anterior pelvic tilt, let’s
dial it back.

The human body is naturally biased toward an anterior

pelvic tilt. When walking, your pelvis is in an anterior
pelvic tilt ~50% of the time and a posterior pelvic tilt
~20% (Lewis, C. et al. 2017). The anterior pelvic tilt
was a key component in human evolution and our ability
to walk upright. The anterior pelvic tilt changes the
leverage capabilities of the hip
extension/hyperextension. This actually makes us more
efficient movers compared to our ape relatives far more
efficient from an energy system view (A.K.A. we burn
fewer calories making us awesome) (Pontzer, H. 2017).
ANTERIOR PELVIC TILT CONTINUED

Figure 3 - Boromir's Posture Wisdom

So, from the paraphrasing, we can see that an anterior
pelvic tilt It’s a part of our innate anatomical structure.
It’s not a bad thing unless we’re “stuck” or in
“excessive” anterior pelvic tilt. Figure 3 really sums this
concept up.

So to get out of this excessive or stuck APT, we need to

learn how to posteriorly pelvic tilt as previously talked
about. Mastering the posterior pelvic tilt helps us
achieve hip extension range of motion and achieve
control over our anterior pelvic tilt. Thus, the exercises
programmed in this guide are hyper-focused on this
movement.
ANTERIOR PELVIC TILT CONTINUED

So, just keep in mind that APT actually helps, but if you
lack control over it, you’re just going to use hip flexors,
quads, and low back muscles - and that can be
annoying. You naturally fall into anterior pelvic tilt and
that’s a good thing. It makes you efficient. I just want
you to be able to control that fall and be able to jump in
and out of that pelvic positioning depending on the task
you’re doing (e.g. running, squatting, walking,
movement in general).
BREATHING

Cool, so now that we understand posture and anterior

pelvic tilt, we think it's important to know one of the
main mechanisms that you will use to gain control over
the pelvis.

To truly change how your body is associating with its

environment and how it holds itself in space, we need to
get the brain and nervous system on our side. One way
to do this is by breathing or utilizing the respiratory
system. There’s a lot of bang for our buck here as
breathing can influence the abdominals, ribcage, spine,
and organs while also tapping into the nervous system
via the vagus nerve that passes through the diaphragm
(polyvagel theory).

Now, your scapular retractions, chin tucks, planks, and

other posture exercises are not bad. But they’re not
necessarily efficient as they do not take into account
the nervous system. You can create some
neruoplasticity by doing the exercises long enough, but
it does not guarantee that they will transfer over into a
new unconscious posture or “default.”.
POSTURE PHOTOS

The first and most important thing you can do is take

initial pictures of your posture. We are indeed using
objective tests to help you see progress along the way,
but there is only one real way to know if your Anterior
Pelvic Tilt is getting better: by visually seeing it.

Therefore, we highly recommend you take initial

pictures from the back, front, and side. This will help
you tangibly see results and help motivate you to
continue with the program. Take photos on day 1, week
3, and week 6.

Figure 4 - Posture Photo Examples

TOE-TOUCH - NOTE: ALL TITLES & PICTURES OF
TESTS & EXERCISES HAVE A LINK TO VIDEO

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and toes

pointing straight ahead.
2. Place a ball in between your knees. The ball should
be large enough to where your knees stay in line with
your toes as you hold the ball between them
3. Keep your knees fully locked out, bend over, and try
to touch your toes.

RESULTS:
+ = You can touch your toes or the floor
- = You cannot touch your toes

Figure 5 - Toe Touch Test Results

SQUAT

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and toes

pointing straight ahead.
2. Keeping your heels flat on the ground, try to squat as
low as you can without losing your balance.

RESULTS:
+ = You can squat all the way down (butt close to heels
or about 120 degrees of hip flexion)
- = You cannot squat beyond parallel (thighs parallel to
floor or 100 degrees of hip flexion)

90 Deg

Figure 6 - Squat Test Results

ACTIVE KNEE-TO-CHEST

1. Lay on your back with your feet hip-width apart and

toes pointing at the ceiling.
2. Press your low back flat on the ground and actively
push back of your thighs into the floor as much as
you are comfortable.
3. Keeping the other leg flat on the floor, pull one leg
actively to your chest as far as you are able before
you feel a restriction or a tightness in the front of
your hips. Be sure to keep the knee and leg straight
ahead.

RESULTS:
+ = You can bring your knee beyond 110 degrees
- = You cannot bring your knee beyond 110 degrees

Figure 7 - Active Knee-To-Chest Results

TABLE 1 - TESTING OUTCOMES
ANTERIORLY POSTERIORLY
TESTS
COMPRESSED COMPRESSED

TOE-
TOUCH

SQUAT

ACTIVE KNEE-
TO-CHEST

RESULTS 2/3 OR MORE 2/3 OR MORE

TABLE 2 - YOUR TESTING RESULTS

ANTERIORLY POSTERIORLY
TESTS
COMPRESSED COMPRESSED

TOE-
TOUCH

SQUAT

ACTIVE KNEE-
TO-CHEST

RESULTS 2/3 OR MORE 2/3 OR MORE

ANTERIORLY COMPRESSED (AC)

If your assessment result is anteriorly compressed, then

you are an individual who has especially tightness and
shortened muscles on the front (anterior) side of the
hips.

You are likely being “pulled forward” by tight quadriceps

and hip flexors. You might experience sensations of
tightness in these muscles throughout your day.

In order to restore your anterior pelvic tilt, we want to

take the stress off of those tight muscles by activating
and “turning on” the muscles that oppose the muscles
on the front side of the hips.The muscles we will target
that are especially underutilized in your case are the
hamstrings and obliques.

Figure 8 - Anteriorly Compressed Pelvis

POSTERIORLY COMPRESSED (PC)

If your assessment result is posteriorly compressed,

then you are an individual who has especially tightness
and shortened muscles on the back (posterior) side of
the hips.

You are likely being “pushed forward” by tight glutes

and low back muscles. You might experience sensations
of tightness in these muscles throughout your day.

In order to restore your anterior pelvic tilt, we want to

take the stress off of those tight muscles by activating
and “turning on” the muscles that oppose the muscles
on the backside of the hips. The muscles we will target
that are especially underutilized in your case are the
hamstrings and adductors.

Figure 9 - Posteriorly Compressed Pelvis

COMMONALITIES BETWEEN CASES

Both types of people are in Anterior Pelvic Tilt, but how

they got there can differ slightly. Since Anterior Pelvic
Tilt is a forward pelvic position, both of these types of
individuals will have a forward center of mass, meaning
a larger than the normal displacement of their body
weight over their forefoot & toes. Both cases would
benefit from being able to naturally place more weight
in their heels when standing.

Another commonality is likely a restriction of the

posterior (back) ribcage. When the pelvis is forward, the
spine becomes more compressed on the backside. This
is important because in order for us to consider because
when we breathe, air needs to be able to expand the
posterior mediastinal cavity.

Notice how much more potential for expansion of air

there is in the back versus the front cavity. If the
posterior cavity cannot expand, air will likely go forward
into our bellies or front ribcage, which will naturally
push us more forward onto our toes.
ROCKBACK OVERHEAD BREATHING

Instructions
1. Place a large object around 12 inches tall on the
ground.
2. Put both knees on the object and place your forearm
and hands on the floor. Your elbows should be
directly underneath your shoulders and knees under
hips.
3. Perform a posterior pelvic tilt and slightly press the
floor away from you with your forearms.
4. Hold this position as you breathe in through your
nose and out through your mouth as if you were
“fogging glass” with your breath. Pause after the
exhale for 3 seconds.
5. Repeat for 5 breaths.
ROCKBACK OVERHEAD BREATHING

Troubleshooting
Crunch with 6 pack - Relax your stomach. Feel like
you have "jelly" in your belly. Only feel obliques from
the exhale
Feeling upper shoulders tighten- Drop shoulders
away from ears
Hanging on shoulder blades - Press through elbows
HOOKLYING HAMSTRING BRIDGE WITH
BOOKS AND 45-DEGREE REACH

Instructions
1. Place two books of equal height (about 2-3 inches
thick) next to each other on the floor.
2. Assume a hooklying position as you place your feet
flat on each of the books.
3. Exhale as you feel your low back press into the
ground and heels into the books.
4. Keep pressing your low back into the ground as you
lift your hips slightly off of the ground.
5. Actively reach with your palms facing up at about a
45-degree angle.
6. Breathe in through your nose and out through your
mouth as if you were “fogging glass” with your
breath. Pause after the exhale for 3 seconds.
7. Repeat for 5 breaths.
HOOKLYING HAMSTRING BRIDGE WITH
BOOKS AND 45-DEGREE REACH

Troubleshooting
Arching low back - If you are having trouble
performing a posterior pelvic tilt without using your
low back muscles, place a small folded-up towel
underneath your low back. Actively press into it as
you perform the exercise.
Using too much abs and glutes - You are probably
pushing the floor away with feet. Pull toes back and
"pull" through heels
WALL SQUAT & 90-DEGREE REACH WITH
BALL HOLD

Instructions
1. Position your feet about one foot-length away from
the wall and place your back up against the wall.
2. Place an object between your knees wide enough so
that you can passively hold it while keeping your
knees in line with your toes. Keep your knees slightly
bent
3. As you keep your whole foot flat on the ground,
imagine you’re trying to “pull the floor up underneath
your heels” as you perform a posterior pelvic tilt.
This should engage the back of your thighs
(hamstrings)
4. Reach arms forward with thumbs to the ceiling.
5. Hold this position as you breathe in through your
nose and out through your mouth as if you were
“fogging glass” with your breath. Pause after the
exhale for 3 seconds.
6. Repeat for 5 breaths.
WALL SQUAT & 90-DEGREE REACH WITH
BALL HOLD

Troubleshooting
Can’t keep low back against wall - beltline, bra line
& everything in between touches the wall
Over crunching - tuck hips, but don’t lose any height
in the skeleton
Pushing with legs into the wall & not feeling
hamstrings - Feel "the floor come up underneath
your heels" as opposed to lowering yourself down
HOOKLYING HAMSTRING BRIDGE WITH
BOOKS 90-DEGREE REACH

Instructions
1. Place two books of equal height (about 2-3 inches
thick) next to each other on the floor.
2. Assume a hooklying position as you place one heel
on each of the books.
3. Exhale as you feel your low back press into the
ground and heels into the books. Keep pressing your
low back into the ground as you lift your hips slightly
off of the ground.
4. Actively reach for the ceiling with your palms facing
down at about a 90 degree angle. Ensure your
pectoralis (chest) muscles do not engage.
5. Breathe in through your nose and out through your
mouth until you feel your side abdominals (obliques)
engage. Pause after the exhale for 3 seconds.
6. Repeat for 5-10 breaths.
HOOKLYING HAMSTRING BRIDGE WITH
BOOKS 90-DEGREE REACH

Troubleshooting
Extending through low back - If you are having
trouble performing a posterior pelvic tilt without
using your low back muscles, place a small folded-up
towel underneath your low back. Actively press into it
as you perform the exercise.
90/90 SIDE-LYING PLANK

Instructions
1. Position yourself on the floor so that you have a 90
degree bend at both your knees and hips. Your elbow
should be directly underneath your shoulder.
2. Perform a posterior pelvic tilt and actively push the
floor away as you lift your hips off of the ground. You
should feel your bottom-side obliques engage.
3. Hold this position with your top-side hand on your
waist as you breathe in through your nose and out
through your mouth.
4. Repeat for 30 seconds each side.
90/90 SIDE-LYING PLANK

Troubleshooting
Shoulder hurts - If you feel tightness or pain in your
shoulder when you perform this exercise, place a
small towel roll underneath your third finger through
your thumb. This will help take stress off of your
shoulder.
COUCH HIP EXTENSION

Instructions
1. Comfortably position yourself on a couch so that you
feel your upper back pressing against the cushion.
Your feet should be underneath your knees.
2. Lift your toes off of the ground as you perform a
posterior pelvic tilt.
3. Press your heels into the ground and lift only as high
as you feel comfortable and able to maintain the
slightly rounded low back. You should feel the back
of your thighs (hamstrings) engage with your lower
hips (glutes).
4. Actively reach up for the ceiling with both hands and
palms down. Be sure not to engage your chest (pec)
muscles as you do so.
5. Breathe in through your nose and out through your
mouth until you feel your side abdominals (obliques)
engage. Pause after the exhale for 3 seconds.
6. Repeat for 5-10 breaths.
COUCH HIP EXTENSION

Troubleshooting
Upper shoulders tighten up - Reach lower
Can’t feel your hamstrings or glutes - You are
likely trying to reach your hips too high and arching
your low back. Try having lower hips at first and
build up from there over time.
Tension in neck - Place a small rolled-up towel
underneath your neck
Re-testing is very important to the program. If you're
not seeing improvements in your tests then you're just
wasting your time and the exercises may need to be
tweaked. Below are the specific tests that should
definitely improved based on if you're posteriorly or
anteriorly compressed.

POSTERIORLY COMPRESSED

After performing several sets (3-5) of each exercise

with proper form, re-test your toe-touch. You should see
a significant improvement. If you do not, see the
troubleshooting section for each exercise.

ANTERIORLY COMPRESSED

After performing several sets (3-5) of each exercise

with proper form, re-test your Supine Knee to Chest.
You should see a significant improvement (~15+
degrees). If you do not, see the troubleshooting section
for each exercise.
5X5 BREATHS EACH EXERCISE

The program duration is six weeks. In a perfect world,

you would perform at least five sets of five full breath
cycles on each of the three exercises per day.

Ultimately, the ball is in your court for how quickly you

see results. Some people can do upwards of ten sets
per day, but that might not be realistic for your
lifestyle. We understand and appreciate that you are a
human being with a life and obligations. Therefore, five
daily sets should be appropriate to see significant
results within six weeks.

TABLE 3 - EXERCISE SELECTION

ANTERIORLY POSTERIORLY
COMPRESSED COMPRESSED

HOOKLYING
ROCKBACK
HAMSTRING BRIDGE
OVERHEAD
WITH BOOKS 90-
BREATHING
DEGREE REACH
HOOKLYING
90-90 SIDELYING HAMSTRING BRIDGE
PLANK WITH BOOKS 45-
DEGREE REACH

WALL SQUAT & 90-

COUCH HIP
DEGREE REACH WITH
EXTENSION
BALL HOLD
LET'S WRAP IT UP

Hey friend,

Thanks again for downloading the eBook. Let's wrap this

up with some key points listed below.

Posture is dynamic
Anterior pelvic tilt is normal, but needs to be
controlled
Objective testing is crucial when addressing posture
& movement
Different body types need different exercises
Re-test to make sure things are working

Well, that should do it.

On the next page there's some pro tips as well as more

information about Kyle and Conor.

THANK YOU
REPOSITIONING VS. STRENGTHENING

The exercises provided are meant to reposition the

skeleton and joints into a more neutral position. It’s
also more important to strengthen this new
posture/positioning in order to maintain under stress
and load so that the body doesn’t default to old habits.

Check out our content and websites for strengthening

exercises that go beyond this guide.
Lewis, Cara L et al. “The Human Pelvis: Variation in
Structure and Function During Gait.” Anatomical record
(Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) vol. 300,4 (2017): 633-642.
doi:10.1002/ar.23552

Pontzer H. “Economy and Endurance in Human

Evolution.” Curr Biol. 2017 Jun 19;27(12):R613-R621.
doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.05.031. Review.