"I love chair."No. Bad Brick.
It's the return of quick fixes! Yes yes, I know you're ecstatic like myself but calm yourself so we can proceed.
Odd choice, huh? Out of everything to choose, chairs? It would make sense since in the last quick fix, I mentioned how we do a ton of stuff while sitting.
And what do we like to do most while sitting? Sit comfortably. I know I do and if it's really comfortable, I'll fall asleep in class. (not really, I'll fall asleep even if I'm uncomfortable)
The lower-body's glutes become inactive and we get tight hips. That's been covered, so now all that remains is the upper-body.
What happens is we hunch over, protrude our necks excessively forward, and the worst part is we do it for extended periods of time. This causes our body to keep these negative postures outside of the environments where we originally had them.
Just like the lower-body, our plan will be to:
For stretching, it's specifically the pecs which can be done against a wall.
Odd choice, huh? Out of everything to choose, chairs? It would make sense since in the last quick fix, I mentioned how we do a ton of stuff while sitting.
And what do we like to do most while sitting? Sit comfortably. I know I do and if it's really comfortable, I'll fall asleep in class. (not really, I'll fall asleep even if I'm uncomfortable)
The lower-body's glutes become inactive and we get tight hips. That's been covered, so now all that remains is the upper-body.
What happens is we hunch over, protrude our necks excessively forward, and the worst part is we do it for extended periods of time. This causes our body to keep these negative postures outside of the environments where we originally had them.
Just like the lower-body, our plan will be to:
- Stretch
- Activate/regain mobility
- Strengthen
- Not sleep in class
For stretching, it's specifically the pecs which can be done against a wall.
While pulling your shoulder blades back and down, simply push forward then twist to the opposite side to deepen the stretch. Start out with short durations - 10 seconds - and then either increase time or do multiple sets.
In mobility, our goal is to get movement in thoracic spine - the upper back with all the trap muscles - to get that stiffness out from all the hunched leaning. I've posted t-spine movements here and there before (or not, I can't remember), but here's a list of some good ones to use:
As for strengthening: deadlifts, overhead barbell shrugs, face pulls, any type of row, lat-pulldown, and pull/chin-ups go a long way. Not much to it, right?
I left out foam rolling because I figure most of my readers don't do it but if any do have a roller, then foam roll and stretch after.
Since the posts in this series are to be short and packed with the basics, for those interested in learning more specifically about posture, check out this article at Rearick Strength. For those who are really serious about improving their posture, the Neanderthal No More series (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5) is just for you.
With lower-body and upper-body now covered, you should be able to stand tall like a fine statue. Now all that's left is to go do it.
In mobility, our goal is to get movement in thoracic spine - the upper back with all the trap muscles - to get that stiffness out from all the hunched leaning. I've posted t-spine movements here and there before (or not, I can't remember), but here's a list of some good ones to use:
- Wall slides
- Reach, roll, & lift
- Side lying windmill
- Bent-over rotations
- Seated thoracic extensions
- Side lying extension-rotation
- Quadruped extension rotation
- Half kneeling flexion-extension
- Exercise named differently by every other strength coach
- *EDIT: Forgot this one by Mike Boyle. (added 8/4/10)
As for strengthening: deadlifts, overhead barbell shrugs, face pulls, any type of row, lat-pulldown, and pull/chin-ups go a long way. Not much to it, right?
I left out foam rolling because I figure most of my readers don't do it but if any do have a roller, then foam roll and stretch after.
Since the posts in this series are to be short and packed with the basics, for those interested in learning more specifically about posture, check out this article at Rearick Strength. For those who are really serious about improving their posture, the Neanderthal No More series (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5) is just for you.
With lower-body and upper-body now covered, you should be able to stand tall like a fine statue. Now all that's left is to go do it.
awesome t-spine movements gonna try some of those... and thanks for the plug!
ReplyDeleteNo problem! It's less writing for me, haha.
ReplyDelete