Developing good posture

Will good posture come with getting stronger? Or is it something you need to concentrate on when standing?

I’ve noticed that I can make my posture look better by either sticking out my chest, pulling my shoulders back, or pushing up with my abs. However, when I do all three, I look way too stiff and like I’m trying too hard.

How do you handle good posture?

Replies

  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    A problem. Yoga helps. Trainer is helping by showing me exercises to help me with my particular problems.
  • litoria
    litoria Posts: 239 Member
    I've always been a slouch, my yoga teacher suggested just being aware of engaging my abdominal muscles when I'm walking as a start, and I've really noticed an improvement
  • happysquatter
    happysquatter Posts: 91 Member
    It’s a tricky one. Obviously we all have natural tendencies and breaking a habit of slouching is a mental task in itself. I won’t address that but it is something to work on.

    On the physical side, your traps, upper back, rear delts and mid back can aid considerably in pulling your body straighter as those muscles become stronger and grow.

    From personal experience, I tend to have at least a 3:1 ratio of back to front programming; less bench pressing, more rowing/deadlifting.

    That has made it easier for me to stand up straighter. I still occasionally fight old habits to slouch. But It’s much much better

    Hope this helps
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    It’s a tricky one. Obviously we all have natural tendencies and breaking a habit of slouching is a mental task in itself. I won’t address that but it is something to work on.

    On the physical side, your traps, upper back, rear delts and mid back can aid considerably in pulling your body straighter as those muscles become stronger and grow.

    From personal experience, I tend to have at least a 3:1 ratio of back to front programming; less bench pressing, more rowing/deadlifting.

    That has made it easier for me to stand up straighter. I still occasionally fight old habits to slouch. But It’s much much better

    Hope this helps

    Agree with higher ratio of back to front programming.

    Farmer's walks can effectively address the bolded.

    https://www.stack.com/a/farmers-walks
  • MarcyMavin
    MarcyMavin Posts: 142 Member
    Check out the Face Pull videos by Athlean X on you tube. I found it quite helpful.
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    So build the muscles and let the correction happen as you get stronger Is the best way? How do people that don’t lift gain good posture?
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    MarcyMavin wrote: »
    Check out the Face Pull videos by Athlean X on you tube. I found it quite helpful.

    I find the athlete X guy to be a bit on the outer edge. He seems to always be looking for the funky oddball exercise that he wished he found soon. He’s like the Indiana Jones of weight lifting, always looking for the hidden gems...
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    allother94 wrote: »
    MarcyMavin wrote: »
    Check out the Face Pull videos by Athlean X on you tube. I found it quite helpful.

    I find the athlete X guy to be a bit on the outer edge. He seems to always be looking for the funky oddball exercise that he wished he found soon. He’s like the Indiana Jones of weight lifting, always looking for the hidden gems...

    He is actually a Doctor of Physical Therapy. I've worked in person with a therapist who is regarded as one of the best in the country. They share a lot of the "oddball" exercises.
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    edited December 2019
    Not saying he is not right, just feels like he tailors his videos to get views. Saying the same basic stuff everyone else is saying doesn’t get clicks. It feels like the business of YouTube forces him to focus more on the non tradition exercises more than the basic, which causes me to lose a little trust. But that is just me.

    My go-to is broscience. That guy is a true professional!
  • MarcyMavin
    MarcyMavin Posts: 142 Member
    allother94 wrote: »
    Not saying he is not right, just feels like he tailors his videos to get views. Saying the same basic stuff everyone else is saying doesn’t get clicks. It feels like the business of YouTube forces him to focus more on the non tradition exercises more than the basic, which causes me to lose a little trust. But that is just me.

    My go-to is broscience. That guy is a true professional!



    And I’m not saying he’s the be-all end-all, just saying I’ve found his corrective Face Pull method to really help with my posture. I don’t care if he gets a million likes or five, I like him because what he has suggested has helped me this far.

    But maybe let’s get back on task to the posture suggestions😊
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    Actually, the strength of your core is probably the most important muscular factor in maintaining good posture.

    Otherwise, what your parent or teacher told you is all that really matters (unless you have a specific muscular-skeletal deficiency, genetic or otherwise):

    Stand up straight w/your shoulders back.

    If you've got a sufficiently strong core, this is easy to do w/o thinking about it, after you've practiced doing it if you haven't done it b4.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    allother94 wrote: »
    Not saying he is not right, just feels like he tailors his videos to get views. Saying the same basic stuff everyone else is saying doesn’t get clicks. It feels like the business of YouTube forces him to focus more on the non tradition exercises more than the basic, which causes me to lose a little trust. But that is just me.

    My go-to is broscience. That guy is a true professional!

    Link?
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    allother94 wrote: »
    Not saying he is not right, just feels like he tailors his videos to get views. Saying the same basic stuff everyone else is saying doesn’t get clicks. It feels like the business of YouTube forces him to focus more on the non tradition exercises more than the basic, which causes me to lose a little trust. But that is just me.

    My go-to is broscience. That guy is a true professional!

    Link?

    https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=you+tube+broscience+alpha+biceps&view=detail&mid=B3C83EBC409447BF79FBB3C83EBC409447BF79FB&FORM=VIRE
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    allother94 wrote: »
    I’ve noticed that I can make my posture look better by either sticking out my chest, pulling my shoulders back, or pushing up with my abs. However, when I do all three, I look way too stiff and like I’m trying too hard.

    Try easing up just a bit. Your shoulders don't need to be fully retracted, just in a neutral position. Assess yourself with a mirror or with video, not just by how it feels, since good posture can feel weird at first. If you're unsure, ask someone to give you feedback.
    allother94 wrote: »
    So build the muscles and let the correction happen as you get stronger Is the best way?

    No, i disagree. Posture is essentially an endurance activity and is mainly the job of your Type 1 muscle fibers, which are endurance fibers (used in walking, etc). While strength training (mainly Type 2 fibers) can somewhat increase the tonicity (neutral tension) of your Type 1 fibers, it doesn't do it as well as practicing good posture throughout the day. If you forget to do a posture check every 5 minutes, try using a reminder app or posture app.

    I would follow a standard strength program, without doubling or tripling up on the # of back sets, as is sometimes suggested. In my experience, people with postural issues don't usually have a large strength deficit with their back relative to chest, they just lack conscious activation of the posture muscles (plus the opposing muscles are overly tight sometimes). Feel free to add a couple sets of face pulls, but doing tons of back sets could potentially cause overtraining issues (tendonitis, etc).
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    allother94 wrote: »
    Not saying he is not right, just feels like he tailors his videos to get views. Saying the same basic stuff everyone else is saying doesn’t get clicks. It feels like the business of YouTube forces him to focus more on the non tradition exercises more than the basic, which causes me to lose a little trust. But that is just me.

    My go-to is broscience. That guy is a true professional!

    So a self described comcal take on gym life culture is a better source of training information than someone who is an actual Doctor of Physical Therapy and has been a Physical Therapist and strength and conditioning coach in MLB?

    Each to his own but I know what source i would be looking at for information.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    MarcyMavin wrote: »
    Check out the Face Pull videos by Athlean X on you tube. I found it quite helpful.

    I can never find two free triceps ropes, so I do his more “open” version of the face pull unilaterally. But having done (and tried to teach) a number of different versions of face pulls, I like his the best.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    allother94 wrote: »
    Not saying he is not right, just feels like he tailors his videos to get views. Saying the same basic stuff everyone else is saying doesn’t get clicks. It feels like the business of YouTube forces him to focus more on the non tradition exercises more than the basic, which causes me to lose a little trust. But that is just me.

    My go-to is broscience. That guy is a true professional!

    That’s a parody site, right?
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    MarcyMavin wrote: »
    Check out the Face Pull videos by Athlean X on you tube. I found it quite helpful.

    I can never find two free triceps ropes, so I do his more “open” version of the face pull unilaterally. But having done (and tried to teach) a number of different versions of face pulls, I like his the best.

    I gave up and bought my own that i take to the gym.
  • MarcyMavin
    MarcyMavin Posts: 142 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    MarcyMavin wrote: »
    Check out the Face Pull videos by Athlean X on you tube. I found it quite helpful.

    I can never find two free triceps ropes, so I do his more “open” version of the face pull unilaterally. But having done (and tried to teach) a number of different versions of face pulls, I like his the best.


    From what I’ve read in the commments section of his video, that seems to be common. I don’t use a public gym, and I have no tricep ropes myself. I use a resistance band instead ( I pretty sure he said it’s an okay substitution if you have to) and it’s worked pretty well for me. It was hard to find one with just the right amount of resistance. I’d love to have the ropes though.
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    edited December 2019
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    allother94 wrote: »
    Not saying he is not right, just feels like he tailors his videos to get views. Saying the same basic stuff everyone else is saying doesn’t get clicks. It feels like the business of YouTube forces him to focus more on the non tradition exercises more than the basic, which causes me to lose a little trust. But that is just me.

    My go-to is broscience. That guy is a true professional!

    So a self described comcal take on gym life culture is a better source of training information than someone who is an actual Doctor of Physical Therapy and has been a Physical Therapist and strength and conditioning coach in MLB?

    Each to his own but I know what source i would be looking at for information.

    Lighten up, buttercup.
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    edited December 2019
    Azdak wrote: »
    allother94 wrote: »
    Not saying he is not right, just feels like he tailors his videos to get views. Saying the same basic stuff everyone else is saying doesn’t get clicks. It feels like the business of YouTube forces him to focus more on the non tradition exercises more than the basic, which causes me to lose a little trust. But that is just me.

    My go-to is broscience. That guy is a true professional!

    That’s a parody site, right?

    No. Even though the guy is a little rough in his presentation, everything in the videos is 100% backed by science... broscience.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    Azdak wrote: »
    MarcyMavin wrote: »
    Check out the Face Pull videos by Athlean X on you tube. I found it quite helpful.

    I can never find two free triceps ropes, so I do his more “open” version of the face pull unilaterally. But having done (and tried to teach) a number of different versions of face pulls, I like his the best.

    I gave up and bought my own that i take to the gym.

    I have my own bag of bands, TRX straps and hip circle band. Thinking of buying a lat pull down bar because the ones at my gym suck so badly, but thought that might be overkill. Maybe I’ll just try to talk them into buying another one.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    MarcyMavin wrote: »
    Azdak wrote: »
    MarcyMavin wrote: »
    Check out the Face Pull videos by Athlean X on you tube. I found it quite helpful.

    I can never find two free triceps ropes, so I do his more “open” version of the face pull unilaterally. But having done (and tried to teach) a number of different versions of face pulls, I like his the best.


    From what I’ve read in the commments section of his video, that seems to be common. I don’t use a public gym, and I have no tricep ropes myself. I use a resistance band instead ( I pretty sure he said it’s an okay substitution if you have to) and it’s worked pretty well for me. It was hard to find one with just the right amount of resistance. I’d love to have the ropes though.

    Calibrating the resistance is one of the challenges of working with bands.

    It’s also tricky because you want complete control, actually a brief iso-hold, at the end of the range of motion, and of course, that is where the resistance is strongest (and where your force development is at its weakest) and wants to pull your arm forward.

    You probably have figured this out already, but the key is to pick the resistance for the END of the movement, not the beginning. I you are doing the pulls with the bands, the main place you will feel any resistance at all should be the last 20 degrees or so, with a short iso-hold at the end where you press the scapula down. If a person gets the resistance right, then the bands can be a valuable tool because they apply increasing resistance in way that free weights and cables can’t.