How to improve extremely poor posture

speedy2007

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone knows of any exercises that would help with improving posture. Ive recently become aware of just how poor my posture is. I dont feel any discomfort, although as I get older that might change if I dont improve things. (im 30 at the mo)

At work, I always sit at my desk hunched over in front of the computer. It was only recently when someone took photos at work that I noticed just how bad i do hunch over...i seriously looked like a hunchback. Ive since become more conscious of it now and I find that even sitting at the table eating, i tend to hunch over. Sitting up straight just doesnt feel as comfortable.

When out walking, i tend to drop my head too, looking more at the ground than in front of me...again something i never really notice im doing until i see my reflection in a shop window.

Ive been doing kettlebells, so that should help strengthen my back...but i havent seen improvements in my posture yet.

Anyone have any advise....apart from the problems i imagine it will cause in future, it really does look bloody awful:(

boomtown84

Figure out which guy you look like and this article should help you out. The second guy in is overly pronounced (for illustrative purposes) but many with this condition can also suffer from hunched shoulders. If you are like him you have anterior pelvic tilt. if you're like the middle guy it's posterior pelvic tilt. The article gives a list of exercises and stretches for both.

You really need to concentrate on stretching the upper back/shoulders for now...not strengthening.


http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/hips_dont_lie_fixing_your_force_couples

dragonkin

speedy2007 wrote: »

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone knows of any exercises that would help with improving posture. Ive recently become aware of just how poor my posture is. I dont feel any discomfort, although as I get older that might change if I dont improve things. (im 30 at the mo)

At work, I always sit at my desk hunched over in front of the computer. It was only recently when someone took photos at work that I noticed just how bad i do hunch over...i seriously looked like a hunchback. Ive since become more conscious of it now and I find that even sitting at the table eating, i tend to hunch over. Sitting up straight just doesnt feel as comfortable.

When out walking, i tend to drop my head too, looking more at the ground than in front of me...again something i never really notice im doing until i see my reflection in a shop window.

Ive been doing kettlebells, so that should help strengthen my back...but i havent seen improvements in my posture yet.

Anyone have any advise....apart from the problems i imagine it will cause in future, it really does look bloody awful:(

There are a couple of key things that determine posture in my experience.
First how much work are you willing to put in? I've found it to be very difficult and I'm still working on it, however I'll go through some of the things I learned. This is only my experience however so just preface everything below with that expression and maybe a professional would be of more assistance..

The reason I realised good posture is so important is due to one muscle the diaphragm, located at the bottom of the rib cage have a look at www.zygotebody.com to see it. If you are stuck with a rounded spine this muscle which is the most important breathing muscle doesn't work properly and you end up using the muscles in your upper chest to breath. This is not good for your body (or your mental health).

Initially I tried to find the right way to sit but over time I've come to the conclusion that sitting in a chair for an extended period of time is simply something that the human body is not evolved to do. Have a look here for a nice description of the reasoning. So I've recently gone through something of a paradigm shift, instead of trying to find the perfect sitting posture just try to avoid sitting at all costs. I've bought a standing desk as a result.

mobilitywod.com is the best site I have found I recommend going through the first 15 videos and you will have a good idea of what needs to be done in reagrds to basic mobility. Before looking at mobilitywod.com it might be a good idea to take out a subscription to journal.crossfit.com ($25) and watch all of Kelly Starretts videos as he has some really good introductory videos there and he explains things well as some of the mwods can be confusing. Also have a look at his google talk and get the bands, a rumble roller and some hockey balls. If you watch the first 15 episodes you will know a lot to get started with.

I think the best exercise to work the key muscles involved with spinal stabilisation is the hollow rock, first work on hollow body and then move onto hollow rock. But in order to do this you need to have sufficient mobility. Squats and deadlifts obviously help a lot too.

How are your glutes? They are the largest/strongest muscle in the body and extremely important in determining pelvic positon. However in many people especially those that sit at a desk they don't work properly. I think wearing shoes is largely responsible for this.

Initially I had no idea what good posture felt like and it felt really awkward and unnatural when I tried to 'stand up straight'. Currently I have come to the follow definition you have have good posture when you can put your glutes on full, engage all the core muscles involved with the hollow body (basicly stick your lower spine back) and have sufficient thoracic mobility that you don't feel hunched over. This is 'the position' that KStar describes well in his journal.crossfit.com videos. You should be able to run the length of your spine with your finger and not have feel anything but smooth vertebrate inside an indentation.

Kelly uses bands a lot initially I had no idea what they were about watch this to understand

I'll go through the problems that I had with my posture and the solutions

I do PNF (contract and release) style stretches always, this means that during the two minutes I contract all the muscles around the area I'm stretching for 5 seconds and then relax for a second or two to try and push harder into the stretch. Generally repeat for two minutes.

1) Quads:
I had very tight quads, so I did a lot of couch stretch (mwod 2) and sampson stretch with bands. Painful.

2) Hamstrings: The key to good hamstring stretching is core stabilisation make sure you have core engaged and do a lot of the stretch described at the end of this. Squat a lot.

3) Glutes: I got barefoot shoes

4) Thoracic spine, as mwod described 1)two hockey balls taped together and 2) back over rumble roller contract and release

5) I realised that my shoulders were sitting forward in the socket, due to hunching over the computer. This one has taken a long time and currently my left shoulder is still forward. Shoulder is a complex joint but it is crucial for the upper thoracic spine. A lot of stuff needs to change here in order to bring it back into the socket. I use the simple five way shoulder it works but I'm still working on it. Also hockey ball all around scap and pecs. When doing shoulder stretches the rotation is crucial and should be pronounced otherwise you're not really stretching anything, see this video

Now in my case at least everything worked but it takes a while to see any result, in fact sometimes it feels almost like an act of faith. A painful one. So you need to pay good attention to your body and try to find out which bits aren't right so you're not wasting time. If you can afford it I'd say a specialist would be good.

I'd also suggest reading Eric Cressy's stuff in particular Neanderthal No More.