Good posture..........

[StoryOfTheYear]

How are you guys? I was wondering if anyone had any tips or had any good reads on good posture? Sitting or standing posture. My lower back seriously kills me sometimes, and my job once I graduate from school involves a lot of sitting!! So anyone have any tips or information from anywhere? Thanks! -StOrY

 

[whiteknucks]

do u normally workout your lower back? if not then start out with light weight deadlifts. that will help your posture more than anything.

 

[Fa Seeshus]

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online...ing_performance/pushups_face_pulls_and_shrugs

 

[Muay Thai]

workout your core bro

strengthen your lower back hips abdominals groin etc

 

[yankee14]

The only way to fix your posture is to constantly think about it and correct it..... make sure your not rolling your shoulders foward, and try to keep your head positioned directly over your shoulders and not leaning forward. Posture is the biggest factor in people getting carpal tunnel. As far as lifting goes... strengthing your back and core will help. Lift with good posture as well.... don't arch your lower back..... It won't happen over night it'll take you monthes of constantly thinking about it... I have the same problem as you.... it's getting better but there's always room for improvement.... another thing that helps a lot is massage.

 

[flexmaster]

it could be multiple things. poorly funtioning glutes, tight hip flexors, tight hamstrings, lack of strength in your lower traps ect. it is probably a combination of these things actually. just because you have pain in an area does not mean that that is the problem area...it could be that your real problem manifests itself in your back. knowing that you are in school, i would bet you sit a lot right now right?
the problem with lots of sitting (now and in the future in your career) is that your hip flexors will become tight (and even shortened), and your glutes will not function very well from lack of activation.

can you take a picture of yourself shirtless from the side, front and back. make sure it's from the knees up. that would help a lot.

right off the bat i would suggest doing this before your workouts:
foam roll your hip flexors, IT Band, glutes, hamstrings (you can use a medicine ball or tennis ball instead if you dont have access to one)
30 second hip flexor stretch on right leg, then 30 sec on left leg, followed by 10 glute bridge ups (squeezing your glutes and pause at the top of the ROM)
3-4 sets of each.
also2x/wk 2 sets of 15 reps each direction of lateral band walks: ( http://www.ronjones.org/Coach&Train/BodyXerciseLibrary/Alternative/Bands-LateralWalk.html )

 

[StoryOfTheYear]

it could be multiple things. poorly funtioning glutes, tight hip flexors, tight hamstrings, lack of strength in your lower traps ect. it is probably a combination of these things actually. just because you have pain in an area does not mean that that is the problem area...it could be that your real problem manifests itself in your back. knowing that you are in school, i would bet you sit a lot right now right?
the problem with lots of sitting (now and in the future in your career) is that your hip flexors will become tight (and even shortened), and your glutes will not function very well from lack of activation.

can you take a picture of yourself shirtless from the side, front and back. make sure it's from the knees up. that would help a lot.

right off the bat i would suggest doing this before your workouts:
foam roll your hip flexors, IT Band, glutes, hamstrings (you can use a medicine ball or tennis ball instead if you dont have access to one)
30 second hip flexor stretch on right leg, then 30 sec on left leg, followed by 10 glute bridge ups (squeezing your glutes and pause at the top of the ROM)
3-4 sets of each.
also2x/wk 2 sets of 15 reps each direction of lateral band walks: ( http://www.ronjones.org/Coach&Train/BodyXerciseLibrary/Alternative/Bands-LateralWalk.html )

It feels like my lower back right around my spine. I notice that when my back starts to ache right around that area I start to slouch. Then I have a problem where I try and over-correct and sit up too straight and that also causes some aching also. It's hard for me to find that perfect medium I guess! Yeah, I do sit a lot!!!! And I kind of have to lean forward just a little also. I'll post those pics when I get a chance today or tomorrow! Thanks for the help. -StOrY

 

[StoryOfTheYear]

Oh, and I have recently started to train rear delts and do hyperextensions also because I read that could be beneficial. I'm in a calorie deficit right now ( I'm trying to get very lean) so would that affect me in trying to strengthen any of those muscles right now? Thanks guys -StOrY

 

[Big Bapper]

My physio has me sitting on a exercise ball a few times a day for 10 minutes a time.

 

[StoryOfTheYear]

My physio has me sitting on a exercise ball a few times a day for 10 minutes a time.

That seems like a simple but effective idea! Sorta forcing you to correct you posture to stay on the ball. I think I might try that out! Thanks

 

[flexmaster]

It feels like my lower back right around my spine. I notice that when my back starts to ache right around that area I start to slouch. Then I have a problem where I try and over-correct and sit up too straight and that also causes some aching also. It's hard for me to find that perfect medium I guess! Yeah, I do sit a lot!!!! And I kind of have to lean forward just a little also. I'll post those pics when I get a chance today or tomorrow! Thanks for the help. -StOrY

thats exactly what kyphosis (hunchback) is, poor posture manifested in the upper back as a result of other problems. think about it like this...your whole spine is connected right? so even a small change in one area can result in a BIG change in another area causing pain or discomfort. do the hip flexor stretches and glute activation stuff i said. you can also try doing some Y-T-W-L exercises (youtube it if you dont know for sure what it is) to strengthen your middle and lower traps. also, www.t-nation.com has a good article up today that will clarify some things for you about postural muscles its called "making gains with pain" i believe.

 

[alteredbeast]

flexmaster, is there anything else you would recommend specifically for kyphosis?