Most of us spend many hours sitting behind a computer or hunched over our phones. This causes havoc to our neck, shoulders and back. Pain, weakness and tightness are all very common when sitting all day.
A lack of movement causes our joints to become stiff and muscles to lose strength. I’m going to show you the best exercises and stretches to improve mobility and flexibility. You’ll learn how to fix your posture, find relief from pain and correct movement dysfunction.
There is no perfect posture, there is no poor posture, there is no bad posture, the problem is we don’t move enough!
5 Best Posture Stretches:
1- Passive Extension
Performing thoracic extension over a roller is a great place to start. Passive mobility is going to open up the tight joints in the upper part of the spine. Keep the abs braced as when doing a plank and arch backwards to localise the motion. Having the arms overhead forces the thoracic spine to open up for a more aggressive stretch.
2 – Butchers Block
This exercise is going to further open up the mid back and also stretch the back, shoulders and arms. If the triceps and latisimuss dorsi have poor flexibility, overhead range of motion is usually limited. Correct technique involves rocking backwards, keeping the core braced and breathing deeply.
3 – Wall Slide
We’re now ready to strengthen the weak muscles in the back and shoulders to permanently fix posture. Keep the lower back in contact with the wall and slide the arms from a W position to an overhead Y.
4 – Extension and Rotation
This one is tough but highly effective due to the strict position. Kneeling forces the lumbar spine into flexion, making the upper back do all the work. Create as much movement through the upper body and trunk first, finish by extending the arm. This is going to build strength in the postural muscles and core for lasting posture improvement.
10 Minute Posture Fix Workout:
If you’re serious about fixing posture forever, do this workout everyday to avoid the dreaded forward head and slumped shoulders problem!
