posture?

[astral37]

not sure if this is the right place to be posting this but...what would be some good ways/exercises to improve ones posture, particularly in your back? from years of abusing my body i have developed a slight stoop in my shoulders and i am trying to correct this problem. any advice? thanks

james

 

[y2gt]

they make a brace that you can wear. It pulls your shoulders back which makes you straighten up giving you good posture.....Don't know how effective it is though.

Here is two different types:
http://www.save2much.com/buy/search/POSTURE_BRACE

http://www.comfortchannel.com/prod.itml/icOid/141

....Check them out, hope this helps! Also, it's a good habit to sit back in your chair and sit up straight at your computer. I finally broke that habit of slouching at the computer.

 

[slowpain]

I would say sleeping on a harder surface would help out alot. Like the floor, it is actually good for the muscles in your back IMO.

 

[P-funk]

So you want to correst the rounded shoulders ehh??? Well you may not like what I am going to say because it can be a real ego buster but here it goes anyway:

The problem of rounded shoulders is a common one these days due to the fact that most people sit all day at a desl and type on a computer, making their chest, shoulder and internal rotator muscles overly active and tight and their back, lats and rhomboids extremely lengthend and weak. The name of the problem is upper cross syndrome and as a personal trainer I see it everyday. So here is what I do with my clients that suffer from upper cross syndrome. First things first, and I know you will hate this, STOP BENCH PRESSING!!!! If your chest and internal rotators are tight and overly active then you shoould not try and make them stronger, this will only increase your poor posture. Instead work on stretching them out so that you can lengthen them and get get you shoulders more upright. You should do very minimal front press exercises for about 6 weeks, things like bench, flyes, millitary press etc.... Instead you need to strengthen your back muscles. Lots of rows, wide and close grip, pull downs and reverse peck deck exercises will do the trick. Ypur workouts should be a 3:1, back to chest ratio for exercises, you still want to do a little chest work but not to much. I don;t know what yuor split is like but you may want to do total body workouts or pair your chest and back together so that you can hit this ratio and correct the problem over then next 6 weeks. Also what you can do just while you are walking around is kist be aware of your posture. Try and stand/walk and think about having a balloon attached right at the bottom of your sternum and that ballon is just pulling your chest up as it rises. This will almost automatically help you stand up straight.

I know this is probably not the stuff you want to hear but it really works and if you are serius about your posture you should give it a shot.

Hope that helps

peace,
Patrcik

 

[guy]

When I was recovering from a shoulder injury I had a couple exercises designed to improve my posture.
These are weight-free and a good starting point depending on your current situation.

Lie on your stomach and squeeze your shoulder blades together holding for a 5-10 seconds and repeat this 10 times.

Another one you can practice a bunch during the day at work without looking ridiculous.

Basically stand up with your shoulders in the correct position--Try to squeeze your shoulder blades together without having having your shoulders popup. Hold this for 5 secs and repeat a number of times. This is tougher than it seems.

Another option is to spend a couple bucks and have a session or two with a physical therapist that can go over some exercises.