Hi!, I’m a guy that has a bad posture and I am trying to correct it with exercises. I really want to do something about my shoulders.
I think I got this way by not doing any sports for years. The last couple of months I’ve done exercise 5 times a week at a gym and I’ve tried to do exercises that are good for the posture, but I am not sure if I do the correct ones.
Can you guys please look at the three pictures of my shoulders and suggest which kind of exercises I should do?(also reps and how many times a week I should do them please).
I’ve gone with my shoulders pulled back, but that just hurt after a while.
Also, I’ve heard stretching the chest might help. But I am not sure how to stretch it the best. I’ve tried some exercises, but it has only worked on my right side. Could you look at my pictures and suggest stretch exercises that you might think work for me, or maybe give me some good links:).
[quote]funkhauser wrote:
Search for the 'Neanderthal no more" series. Eric Cressey gives a sweet 5 part article on the whys and hows of posture problems.[/quote]
Seconding this suggestion, they are great articles. Another source to look at is the book “The Egoscue Method” by Pete Egoscue, which goes into posture issues and exercises to fix them.
Also, I’ve found that many of my posture problems have gone away as I have been lifting heavy. I used to have one shoulder lower than the other because of a broken collar-bone. I noticed a few weeks ago that both shoulders are even now.
I haven’t been doing anything different except for putting on muscle and lifting heavy (starting strength + Bill Starr 5x5 intermediate). Putting some muscle on your chest and back with rows and benches will probably not hurt your posture.
In addition, muscle soreness tends to increase my awareness of body positioning throughout the day, so I am more conscious of posture.
