By Shari Feuz — Guest Blogger
Make sure your workout doesn't ruin your posture.
Not only are rounded shoulders unsightly, they also cause neck pain and fatigue. When your posture slouches, you appear less confident. What’s more, the poor posture can zap your energy.
You may have a fancy ergonomic workstation, but the culprit for your poor posture might just be your workout routine. Yes, the very exercise regime that is supposed to make you look and feel better might be compromising your posture.
Here is your five-point checklist to make sure your rounded shoulders are not made worse by your trip to the gym.
- Do you do more “push” exercises than “pull” exercises? Pushups, chest press and chest flyes will all pull the shoulders forward unless you balance them with pulling exercises. Try the lat pulldown, seated row or dumbell row.
- Do your forearm muscles burn or fatigue before your larger muscles, like your upper middle back? You might be a”gripper.” Holding onto the handles or dumbells too tightly can waste energy and fatigue the wrong muscles. You end up missing all the back-strengthening benefits.
- Do you do a lot of abdominal crunches? Remember that you spend all day hunched over your desk; you should actually be doing back extension exercises.
- Do your shoulders hike up to your ears during your exercises? This causes excess neck fatigue. Try to relax the shoulders during each movement.
- Do you stretch the right muscles? Tight muscles need stretching, whereas long and weak muscles do not need stretching. A personal trainer can help you assess your levels of muscle tightness, so you get it right.
Shari Feuz B.A. is a fitness professional with a passion for guiding people to achieve mastery over how their body looks, feels and performs. @TrainerShari
