DON’T SKIP STRENGTHENING YOUR UPPER BACK!
Your Posture Depends On It!
Your Posture Depends On It!
We live in an age where people are slouching so much at computers and not exercising those muscles of the upper back. Strengthen your back to combat rounded shoulder and a hunched back!
An exaggerated rounding of the upper back is called kyphosis. It can occur at any age though most common in older women. Certain diseases can also cause hunching of the back. It can progress and become painful. What I am focusing on here, is a preventable type of rounding. Bad posture and weak muscles can cause changes that can lead to more severe kyphosis.
The milder form is sometimes called postural kyphosis or just rounded shoulder. This can be prevented most of the time by working your upper back and back shoulders with strength training exercises, as well as stretching the front of your shoulders and pectorals muscles (chest).
Whether you are young and your bad posture led you to this rounded upper back or older and starting to develop a humped back, you can benefit from stretching and strengthening!
I NEVER skip training back muscles with any of my clients!
My client Bill is stretching his chest and shoulder muscles in the above photo using a TRX. You can stretch these muscles in a doorway as well. Keeping these muscles lengthened by daily stretching will really help with your posture. In the other photo Bill is strengthening his upper back and back shoulder muscles using an exercise band. There are many other exercises you can do to strengthen these important muscles. Bill is doing a backward fly using the band. I also have him use free weights and the TRX to strengthen these areas. At 84 years old his posture may not be perfect but it is better then some teenagers I know!
An exaggerated rounding of the upper back is called kyphosis. It can occur at any age though most common in older women. Certain diseases can also cause hunching of the back. It can progress and become painful. What I am focusing on here, is a preventable type of rounding. Bad posture and weak muscles can cause changes that can lead to more severe kyphosis.
The milder form is sometimes called postural kyphosis or just rounded shoulder. This can be prevented most of the time by working your upper back and back shoulders with strength training exercises, as well as stretching the front of your shoulders and pectorals muscles (chest).
Whether you are young and your bad posture led you to this rounded upper back or older and starting to develop a humped back, you can benefit from stretching and strengthening!
I NEVER skip training back muscles with any of my clients!
My client Bill is stretching his chest and shoulder muscles in the above photo using a TRX. You can stretch these muscles in a doorway as well. Keeping these muscles lengthened by daily stretching will really help with your posture. In the other photo Bill is strengthening his upper back and back shoulder muscles using an exercise band. There are many other exercises you can do to strengthen these important muscles. Bill is doing a backward fly using the band. I also have him use free weights and the TRX to strengthen these areas. At 84 years old his posture may not be perfect but it is better then some teenagers I know!
Even though this rounded shoulder posture is seen primarily with older populations, more and more younger people are being affected. I have been noticing more and more younger girls with this, especially if they are not involved in any physical activity. Stretch the front and strengthen the back at all ages, your posture depends on it!
Elissa XOXO
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