Don't Look Like a Slacker

   
As I work with people and observe others around me I notice that the number one issue people seem to have is poor posture and the pains that go along with it. It seems every day people are spending more time at computers, driving, or watching t.v.. These daily tasks which are becoming more prevalent in today's society wreak havoc on your posture. This breakdown of posture can cause shoulder, lower back, and neck pain. If you are suffering from any of these pains that afflict over 80% of the American population I may have the solution for you.



First we need to understand why these activities do the harm they do. These activities deteriorate posture by shortening the anterior muscles or the muscles of the front of the body and over lengthening the posterior muscles or the muscles of the backside of the body. There are a few things you can do that will improve these muscular dysfunctions.



Stretching is the number one addition to your lifestyle to improve fitness. Flexibility is the most quickly improved aspect of a person's health. In addition to being the easiest to improve, it’s like money it is hard to have too much of. The muscles you will want to focus on stretching are the muscles of the chest and shoulders.



To begin I want you to stand next to a wall raise your arm out to your side with your elbow at a 90 degree angle. Once you are in position place your forearm against the wall and turn away from the wall (as shown in the picture below). You should feel a moderate stretch in your chest, now hold this position for 20-30 seconds and repeat two more times. An easy way to save time on this stretch is to do it in a corner and stretch both sides at the same time.

The next stretch we are going to talk about is called a shoulder dislocation. Relax; you are not actually going to dislocate your shoulder. What you will need for this stretch is a broom handle, pvc pipe, or some sort of dowel. You will grab the stick out towards the end while in front of you and then raise the stick up over your head and lower it back down behind you. The more narrow the spacing of your hands the harder this will be. If unable to do this with your original hand spacing just take a hold a little further out. As your flexibility improves gradually shift your hands in closer each time you do this. These stretches are going to help lengthen the overly tight muscles which are main culprits behind poor posture.

So now that we have covered some stretches for the muscles of the chest and shoulders we should talk a little about strengthening the muscles of the back in order to improve your posture and decrease the risk of injury. I will just be giving a few examples of exercises which can be performed to strengthen these muscles without going into great detail on how to perform them. The muscle I want to first address is your rhomboids this muscle is right between your shoulder blades and can be strengthened through a number of exercises but the number one exercise for this muscle will be a bent over row. You’ll want to make sure you are focusing on pulling your shoulders back like you are pinching someone’s hand between your shoulder blades. A few other great exercises are the front squat, the deadlift, as well as the reverse fly. I hope this article gave you a little insight on how you can improve your posture and potentially eliminate the source of those nagging aches.