Shoulders slumped, upper back rounded, neck tight… yes we
have all been told to stand up straighter, but it’s not always that simple.
Sitting too much, whether at a computer or on the couch, destroys posture. The
muscles of the chest get tight and short. The upper traps and neck are just
knots. Reaching the arm directly overhead is a challenge. These are the visible
changes. The unseen are how the shoulder blades drift upwards because the
muscles that attach them to the rib cage and mid-back are overstretched and so
weak they can’t possibly resist the tightness of the traps and chest.
With the tightness in the neck, headaches are more common.
The movement of the ribs and vertebrae are diminished making breathing harder. And the strength imbalance between the chest
and upper back leads to shoulder problems such as lack of range of motion or
even tearing a rotator cuff playing softball for the company team.
We need the tight muscles to relax and to strengthen the
weak muscles. This part is obvious, but how? Strain into good posture. There are two factors to consider, volume
and intensity. Now, because the shoulder and neck muscles are always tight, we
can’t match the volume, but we can use an intensity that brings the shoulders
back.
Let’s define those terms. Volume is the total amount of work
done in a specified period of time. Intensity is the percentage of the maximum
force possible. Because those tight muscles are always on and creep into most
movements, the volume of work they do is very large. However the intensity is
relatively low.
This is why we “strain into good posture.” When the long and
weak muscle start to get stronger they are better at providing a balancing force
against the constant pull of the tight muscles. The exercises that we choose
will depend on what caused the chronic tightness. But the general idea is to
pull back and down.
Pulldowns can be great for this purpose. First we are
working on overhead range of motion. The bottom position is sitting tall with shoulders
down. However, often people try to go too low with the bar turning the last
couple inches into a strange ab crunch movement. The exercise should end when
the shoulders are down and elbows are resting at the side. Usually there will
be an inch between the bar and chest at this point. This is ok.
Horizontal pulling movements are very powerful at improving
posture. The upper back gets stronger and the chest gets opened up. If coached
to sit tall with a line of action perpendicular to the torso, the upper traps
can be limited, allowing for the mid back to be effectively trained. Many
people carry a lot of tension in their shoulders and neck, teaching them to put
the strain of the exercise in the opposing muscles can help reduce that.
Horizontal pulling works across multiple joints which makes
it more complicated. The elbows need to close, the upper arms are pulled to the
body, and the shoulder blades are pulled to the spine. Often the arms are better
developed than the rest of the system. It is visually noticeable when the arms
are over-powering the movement and the upper back is not being used. The hands
will be pulled towards the center of the chest.
So what does this look like as part of an exercise program?
- · Foam Roll or Lacrosse Ball on the upper back and chest – This will take some of the tension from the muscles of the shoulder girdle. Getting these to relax will allow for better performance in pulling exercises. It may also break up scar tissue or adhesion that are holding the shoulders forward and up.
- · Warm-ups that teach pulling the shoulder blades back and down. Often those with desk posture loose this ability. Performing simple holds or light movements are necessary to recover this ability.
- · Select the right pulling exercise. When things are very tight overhead movements such as pulldowns might be more than what the shoulder joint can handle. Being that range of motion may be nowhere close to overhead. If this is the case, using horizontal pulling exercises is a good starting point.
- · Increase volume before intensity. The lower traps and rhomboids are underdeveloped muscles and will get stronger from any new stress. Each workout add more reps, sets, and eventually weight. Even small increases will develop a lot of new strength.
- · Do more pulling than pushing. Exercises such as bench press often will maintain the tightness that is already there. Doing double the work with pulling exercises will be effective at counteracting this. Try doing pulldowns and cable rows in the same workout.
- · Don’t strain into bad posture. If already hunched over doing endless sets of crunches will exacerbate the situation.
If you need help with this please give us a call.
Chris Squires
Owner, Cascade Peak Performance
