Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Hunchback of Notre Dame


I remember my Aunt Bobby always telling her daughter, “Stand up straight”, and then would pull her shoulders back. My teenage cousin was well-endowed and had a tendency to slouch, rounding her shoulders forward.
Today, most of us have to remind ourselves to stand and sit up straight. We commute to work and then spend an average of 8 hours in front of a computer only to drive home, slump over the sink and stove and then flop down on the couch to relax for the evening. Kids sit all day in school and then come home and do homework (sitting), socialize on the internet, play video games and watch tv. It’s a miracle we all aren’t walking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
All this sitting causes your shoulder, chest and hip muscles to shorten and tighten, resulting in weakened upper and middle back muscles. By strengthening your back muscles and stretching tight chest muscles, your chest area becomes more flexible and your shoulders will naturally pull back, improving your posture.
You may not have rounded shoulders now, but have you felt any tightness and stiffness of the back and neck. Or maybe you don’t have the same range of motion that you used too. These are symptoms of poor posture.
It is important to have a strong core so that we can perform our daily activities without pain or risk of injury.
Be sure to include a back workout into your weekly exercise routine. Good exercises to include are lat pulldowns, back extensions, and reverse flye’s.

Here are six exercises to perform to help correct posture, per Fitday

1.   Plank
2.   Superman
3.   Wall Squats
4.   Hip Bridge
5.   Crunches
6.   Reverse Crunches

I also like shoulder rolls, open chest stretch and the YTWL.

What are your favorite back exercises?


1 comment:

Unknown said...

Superman! It's kind of actually fun to do! haha.

Liz @ Southern Charm
http://www.southerncharmnola.com