Conor Harris treats anterior pelvic tilt as a position to control, not just tight hips to stretch. Here's how to turn that into a correction you can run across your roster.
"Just stretch your hip flexors" is the answer most clients arrive with - and it's why their anterior pelvic tilt never sticks. Harris's biomechanics take reframes APT as a positional and control problem: teach posterior pelvic control, stack the rib cage over the pelvis, exhale fully, then reinforce it with loaded work. This breakdown covers his argument in our own words, draws the line between movement coaching and medical treatment, and shows how to deliver a repeatable positional-control correction without rebuilding it for every client.
By Markus Evers · September 2026 · a Coachway video breakdown
the short version
Harris's video argues that anterior pelvic tilt is best treated as a positional and control problem, not just tight hip flexors to stretch - so you teach posterior pelvic control, stack the rib cage over the pelvis, use a full exhale to find the position, and reinforce it with targeted exercise. The one thing a coach should take from it: deliver APT work as a short, cued, progressed drill block for cleared clients - not a one-off stretch tip - and keep the line clean, because posture isn't automatically the cause of pain and anyone in pain gets screened and referred, not diagnosed or treated.
Conor Harris - Top 3 Exercises To Fix Anterior Pelvic Tilt For Good
Source: Conor Harris on YouTube - "Top 3 Exercises To Fix Anterior Pelvic Tilt For Good". Watch on YouTube. We embed the public video and summarise it in our own words; the video, title and channel belong to Conor Harris, and nothing here implies his endorsement of Coachway. This page is general movement-coaching education, not medical advice.
Who is Conor Harris, and why coaches watch
Conor Harris is a movement and biomechanics coach who has become one of the most recognised names in the movement-quality niche, known for translating positional and breathing mechanics into drills regular people can run. His anterior pelvic tilt content is some of his most-watched, because "how do I fix APT" is one of the biggest evergreen posture searches on the internet - and it's a question clients bring to coaches constantly. For coaches he's effectively a default reference for posture and positional work: if a client has ever sent you a clip about "ribs down" or "posterior tilt" and asked whether they should be doing it, there's a good chance it traced back to him. That's the lens this page is written for: not "should I copy his APT drills," but "what does his positional-control approach mean for how I handle posture questions across a whole roster - and where does my scope end and a clinician's begin."
What Harris actually argues (our summary)
This is our summary of the ideas in the video, in our own words - not a transcript. Watch the original for his exact demonstrations and cueing.
- 1
APT is a position and a control problem, not just tight hips. The reframe is the whole point: treat anterior pelvic tilt as a pelvis position you can learn to control, rather than a mobility deficit you only stretch away.
- 2
Teach posterior pelvic control first. Before loading anything, the client learns to actively tilt the pelvis back and feel the abs and hamstrings do their job - that's the missing skill that stretching alone never builds.
- 3
Stack the rib cage over the pelvis, and exhale fully. A full exhale helps bring the rib cage down and over the pelvis, which is what lets the position change - breathing is a lever here, not an afterthought.
- 4
Reinforce the position with targeted exercise. Once the client can find the stacked position, you load it - carrying "ribs down, don't arch" into real movements - so the new position survives outside the drill.
- 5
Posture isn't automatically the cause of pain. He's explicit that APT isn't inherently "bad" and isn't automatically why something hurts - so the goal is more control and more options, not fixing an imaginary defect.
Coachway's take
We're fully on board with the core reframe, and it's the one most coaches need: stop answering "how do I fix my APT" with "stretch your hip flexors" and start treating it as a control skill. Posture questions are one of the most common things a general roster throws at you, and the stretch-only answer almost never sticks - because a client can gain range in a stretch and then lose the position the second they stand up and load it. Teaching posterior pelvic control and rib-over-pelvis stacking gives them something they can actually own.
Where we'd add the most important nuance for a coaching business: draw a hard line between movement coaching and medical treatment. Harris is careful to say posture isn't automatically the cause of pain, and we'd hold that line even harder as coaches. For a cleared, generally healthy client with no red flags, coaching a better position is squarely inside your scope. The moment there is pain - especially pain that's sharp, persistent, tied to a recent injury, or not improving - your job is to screen and refer to a physio or physician, not to keep "correcting posture" and hope. This is general movement education, not a fix for an injury.
The other coaching-specific point: an APT correction only works if it's small and it actually happens. A three-drill block a client does daily beats a ten-exercise "posture routine" they attempt twice and abandon. So don't over-prescribe. Pick the few precise drills that teach the position, coach the one cue that matters, and let consistency do the work over weeks. And resist selling it as "fixing bad posture" - frame it to the client as gaining control and options, which is both more accurate and more motivating.
So our version of his advice is: deliver APT work as a short, cued, progressed drill block for cleared clients, reinforce the position under load, and track adherence and how it feels over weeks rather than handing over a one-off stretch tip. Then - and this is the part that saves your evenings - build that correction once as a template and reuse it, instead of hand-writing a new posture plan for every client from scratch.
Deliver the correction as a program, not a one-off tip
A positional-control correction is only useful if you can deliver it without rebuilding a program for every client. That's what the Coachway stack is for: add a quick movement-and-symptom question to your intake with forms so every new client is screened before they start, then build the three-drill APT block once in the workout builder - with a demo video and the "ribs down, exhale fully, don't arch" cue on each move - and assign it in seconds instead of starting blank. Clients log each session, and you watch adherence and how the position feels move over weeks through progress tracking and check-ins, so a one-off stretch tip becomes a coached correction you can actually progress. If a client's screen surfaces pain, that same intake is your prompt to refer out rather than program around it.
If you want the surrounding context, our guide to what corrective exercise actually is frames the screen-and-correct approach, programming around client injuries covers where movement coaching stops and referral begins, and the companion breakdown on Kelly Starrett's mobility screening covers the test-retest habit behind durable movement work. Ready to build it? Start your 14-day free trial and template your first correction.
Anterior pelvic tilt - client correction mini-plan
A three-move daily block you can copy for any cleared client, built on Harris's positional-control approach: teach posterior pelvic control, stack the rib cage over the pelvis, exhale fully, then carry that position into loaded movement. Coach the one cue that matters and progress it over weeks. This is general movement-coaching education for clients without pain - if pain shows up, screen and refer rather than pushing through.
APT correction mini-plan
The three moves (do daily)
| Move | Dose | Coaching focus | Teaches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90/90 hip lift with full exhale | 5 breaths x 3 | Push low back into floor, blow all air out, feel abs and hamstrings engage | Posterior pelvic control |
| Deadbug (slow) | 8 / side | Keep ribs down and low back flat the entire time | Anti-extension core control |
| Half-kneeling hip-flexor + reach stretch | 30s / side | Exhale, posterior tilt, reach overhead (loaded stretch) | Length in the new position |
The cue that matters most
"Ribs down, exhale fully, don't arch." Then carry that stacked position into squats and hinges so it survives real training. Note for the client: posture itself isn't automatically "bad" or the cause of pain - this is about control and options, not fixing a defect.
How to use it: assign as a short daily block for cleared clients, coach the single cue, and reinforce the position under load once they can find it. Progress by adding light load or carrying the position into more of their program - not by adding more drills. If any move provokes pain, stop and screen-and-refer; this is movement education, not treatment.
ANTERIOR PELVIC TILT - CLIENT CORRECTION MINI-PLAN (via Coachway) - 3 moves, do daily General movement-coaching education for cleared clients without pain. If pain shows up, screen and refer - don't push through. THE THREE MOVES 1) 90/90 hip lift with full exhale - 5 breaths x 3: push low back into floor, blow all air out, feel abs and hamstrings engage (teaches posterior pelvic control) 2) Deadbug - 8/side slow: keep ribs down and low back flat the entire time 3) Half-kneeling hip-flexor + reach loaded stretch - 30s/side: exhale + posterior tilt, reach overhead THE CUE THAT MATTERS MOST: "ribs down, exhale fully, don't arch." Then carry that stacked position into squats/hinges. NOTE FOR CLIENT: posture itself isn't automatically "bad" or the cause of pain - this is about control and options, not fixing a defect.
Anterior pelvic tilt for clients - FAQ
What is anterior pelvic tilt, and is it bad?
Anterior pelvic tilt (APT) is when the top of the pelvis rotates forward, which tends to arch the low back and push the rib cage up and out. Conor Harris's framing is that it's a position - not automatically a defect or an injury. That last point matters for coaches: posture is not automatically the cause of pain, and plenty of people live and lift comfortably in some degree of APT. So the coaching goal isn't to declare a client 'broken' and chase a perfect neutral spine; it's to give them more control and more options in how they position the pelvis, especially under load.
How do you fix anterior pelvic tilt?
In Harris's biomechanics take, you don't 'fix' it by only stretching tight hip flexors - you retrain a position. The approach is to teach posterior pelvic control, stack the rib cage over the pelvis, and use a full exhale to help reposition the pelvis, then reinforce that position with targeted exercise so it holds under load. For a coach that means a short, precise drill set - a controlled-breathing hip lift, an anti-extension core drill like a deadbug done with the ribs down, and a loaded hip-flexor stretch - coached with one clear cue and progressed over weeks, rather than a single stretch handed over once and forgotten.
Can a coach fix a client's anterior pelvic tilt?
A coach can absolutely help a cleared, generally healthy client move and position better - screen how they stand and brace, teach posterior pelvic control and rib-over-pelvis stacking, and assign a short daily drill block as general movement education. What a coach cannot do is diagnose or treat. If a client has pain - especially pain that is sharp, persistent, tied to a recent injury, or not improving - the honest move is to screen and refer to a physio or physician, not to keep 'correcting posture.' Harris's content is educational biomechanics, not medical treatment, and that's exactly the line a coach should hold.
Do you just need to stretch tight hip flexors for anterior pelvic tilt?
That's the usual answer clients arrive with, and it's why the problem rarely sticks. Harris frames APT as a positional and control issue, not just a flexibility one - so stretching alone often gives a brief change that disappears the moment the client stands up and loads the pattern again. The version that holds is teaching the client to own posterior pelvic control and rib-cage stacking, cueing a full exhale to find the position, and then reinforcing it with loaded movement so the new position survives real training. Stretching can be one ingredient, but on its own it's treating a control problem as a mobility problem.
More movement-coaching breakdowns
- · Kelly Starrett on mobility screening - the test-retest habit behind durable movement work.
- · Squat University on knee pain - the screen-and-refer line every movement-focused coach needs.
- · The full roundup: fitness YouTubers coaches should study.
Keep dialing in movement coaching
all guidesWhat Is Corrective Exercise? A Coach's Guide (2026)
Corrective exercise is movement-quality coaching for healthy clients, not treatment. What it honestly looks like in practice, the fair critique of the corrective industry, and the refer-out line every coach holds.
Read the guideKelly Starrett on Mobility: The Couch Stretch Test (Coach Breakdown)
Kelly Starrett's couch stretch mobilization test, broken down for coaches: why test-retest beats a generic stretch routine, and how to add mobility screening to a client roster without overstepping into treatment.
Read the guideSquat University on Knee Pain: Screen, Correct, Retest (Coach Breakdown)
Squat University's approach to squatting with knee pain, broken down for coaches: the 'test, don't guess' screen-correct-retest loop, and the hard line between coaching education and medical treatment.
Read the guideFree tools for this: Protein Calculator · Weekly Training Volume Calculator · Calorie Deficit Calculator
Deliver the correction once, reuse it across every client
A posture correction only pays off if you can deliver it without rebuilding a program per client. Coachway lets you screen clients at intake, template your APT drill block with a demo video and the one cue that matters, assign it in seconds, and track adherence and how it feels through check-ins - so a one-off stretch tip becomes a coached correction you can progress. Start your 14-day free trial and build your first movement correction from one screen.
