In a world dominated by technology that draws our body forward, down and around and a exercise based system that is obsessed with what we can see more than we can feel our shoulders are at a LARGE disadvantage. When it comes to our phones or computers, we have become slaves to the information that it provides us or the money it can make us so we allow our body to form a cast around what we do most. The shoulders round to capture the little machine in our hands, and the head shoots forward in order to get a better look. Then when you’re done with your day you hit the gym and as humans, we tend to love seeing our progress vs what we can feel. But what if it was one in the same?
If we add in simple, yet effective daily exercises we can not only improve our overall posture but our efficiency of our workouts! Think of it this way: if you are constantly working out the muscles in the front of the body that you can see (chest, upper trap, abdominal, and biceps) and add in to this your daily routine that is most likely dominated by sitting and rounding forward toward a computer/phone then at the end of your day your body believes the muscles on the anterior (front) of your body must stay shortened or tight because that is what you desire. Now, add in daily exercises of recruiting the antagonist musculature you have just recreated balance within your body.
The antagonist musculature to the anteriorly muscle-bound individual is the: middle trap, lower trap and shoulder external rotators. By performing these exercises a few times per week, we improve our bodies efficiency in the first few weeks of performance on how to recruit the muscles and the results of improved posture or decreased shoulder and chest tightness/pain may happen sooner than you think!
Keys to success:
1) Set a silent alarm on your phone at work for 15-20min to remind yourself to improve sitting posture or to go for occasional walks
2) Perform exercises for sets and reps for endurance (2×30 reps)
3) Adding mobility days in to your regime can expedite your results
