Thread: build certain muscle to help "curved" shoulder posture

You could try working your traps/rear delts/and overall back. Try some rowing movements(pretty much all of em), reverse peck deck, shrugs, any thign along those lines. This will not eliminate the problem but it will help some. You also need to force yourself to have good posture.

Here are soem things i searched for ya:

Originally Posted by P-funk

There are a couple of things you can try:

1) strech out your chest muscles. tight chest muscles will pull your shoulders forward and round them out.

2) when exercising try and keep a 2:1 ratio of pull to push exercises. That way you are still strengthening your shest and anterior deltiods but your rear delts and rhomdiods are first priority.

3) things like planks and hyper extensions will help to strengthen your lower back

4) If you have a job were you sit for a large part of the day be aware of your posture and how you are sitting. Most people, when they figure out that they are slouching, try and change to much to fast. They sit up straight and try and stay that way for as long as they can and this ussualy makes their lower backs sore. So try small increments first. About every 2 hours just try and take a little break and sit up straigh in your chair and hold that posture for about 15sec, rest and then repeat about 5 or six more times, then go about your business uintil the next two hours are up. Do this for about 2 weeks and then up the interval to about 20-25sec of proper posture. Progress until you find that you don't keed to do it anymore. You will see that your body will start to naturally adjust to the small intervals every two hours and you posture will straighten itself out.

People tend to believe this means your chest overpowers your rear delts.

i've heard that if you slouch forward ... ur rear delts are weak ... streghthen them

Thanks for the responses guys

Most people, when they figure out that they are slouching, try and change to much to fast. They sit up straight and try and stay that way for as long as they can and this ussualy makes their lower backs sore.

bang on, done that so many times, i look after gardens during the morning (love being outside) and the rest of the day i'm a web designer, so i sit alot.

I'll give my rear delts a go then

while i'm here, do you guys know of any sites that have good descriptive pictures for certain exercises because "bent-over lateral raise" is gibberish to me, i haven't a clue what that means , and the last question is i do crunches on my bed (carpet is thin and hurts), i ahve my hands just touching the side of my head not holding, but sometimes i feel my lower back aching a bit (or just getting a workout too) but is that normal?

thanks again

Also, to add to that. Try and work more of your scapluar stabalizers with exercises like horizontal retraction (sit at a cable rowing machine. extend your arms out and don't bend your elbos but hold the cable and simply work on squeezing your shoulder blades together). You could also try T,Y, I's to strength then the stabalizers (rhomboids, traps, lower traps, etc..)

i have rubbish posture too, shoulders slouch, arse is out, abs not tense, tendency to lean when i walk instead of moving my legs in a smooth motion. i've been trying to crack it for about 6 months now but i ALWAYS return to the same natural posture, seems like unless a mirror is infront of me i can't keep good posture, i need some help! i've tried keeping up straight when on my computer that seems to help but its so much hard effort it hurts my back, so i've tried a weights belt too but i still slouch when not wearing it

i am tall so that prob don't help, i have to bend over to do everything and i think that is the core of this problem, like to see if anyone else has been able to correct bad posture and how they did it?

Originally Posted by leo0

while i'm here, do you guys know of any sites that have good descriptive pictures for certain exercises because "bent-over lateral raise" is gibberish to me, i haven't a clue what that means , and the last question is i do crunches on my bed (carpet is thin and hurts), i ahve my hands just touching the side of my head not holding, but sometimes i feel my lower back aching a bit (or just getting a workout too) but is that normal?

thanks again

Here is a link to some descriptive pictures/movies of many excercises.
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

As for crunches I'd recomend trying them on the floor. On the bed it may be causing your back to bend in awkward positions. Also try not to bend your spine as much, keep it aligned and focus on just squeezing your abs rather then making your head touch your knees.

Originally Posted by DeadBolt

Here is a link to some descriptive pictures/movies of many excercises.
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

As for crunches I'd recomend trying them on the floor. On the bed it may be causing your back to bend in awkward positions. Also try not to bend your spine as much, keep it aligned and focus on just squeezing your abs rather then making your head touch your knees.

brilliant link, just what i was looking for ! thanks !!


see what you mean, i may go and buy a camping/sleeping mat.

i think height does figure with the posture, i'm 6'2" and everything in my house, having short family, i have to duck down/bend over for, like with the mirror in the bathroom, if i stand up straight all i see is my neck lol

I'm 6'2" and I know the feeling, it would suck to be any taller.

yeah i can't imagine what it's like for people at 6'5" , or more

Annoying, damn annoying is what it would be.