So, how do you fix poor upper body posture?
This article is going to focus solely on static upper body postural distortions.
Reset Your Posture
As discussed in PART 1 of this series, most of you are and have spent far too much time sitting with a flexed upper back. Gravity, time, poor ergonomics, and poor exercise selection all contribute to poor posture.
Poor upper body posture will always result in muscle imbalances from back to front. Muscles on the back of the body tend to get long and weak, while muscles on the front tend to become short and tight as well as weak.
Tight and Shortened Muscles
- Pec major and minor (chest muscles)
- Upper trapezius and Levator Scapula (shoulder and neck muscles)
- Lats and Sternocleidomastoid (back and neck)
Long and Weak Muscles
- Serratus Anerior (rib cage muscles)
- Deep Neck Flexors and Lower Trapezius (neck and mid-back muscles)
The Results
- An increase in the first rib angle
- Rounded shoulders
- Forward head posture (the head weighs approximately 8% of your total body weight, and every inch forward from optimal, that weight is doubled)
- Altered shoulder girdle position
- Stress on your diaphragm (your primary respiratory muscle)
The Solution
Step 1-Release Tight/Dense Tissue
Self Myofascial Release *generically called Foam Rolling, hydrates dense tissue and relaxes the nervous system, giving you a window of opportunity to stretch that same tissue.
*Rad Roller makes the massage tools you see above.
Step 2-Restore Tissue Length (stretching)
Static and fascial stretching can help restore the fascia to its optimal state.
Every mammal on the planet stretches every day. So should you.
Reset
To reset your posture, we will now need to strengthen the long-weak muscles on the opposite side of the joint.
Exercises like these strengthen the body’s extensor chain, help maintain an upright spine, and strengthen and stabilize the shoulders.
The connection of your shoulder blade to your rib cage is as essential to a golfer as the bolts that hold a wing to an airplane.
This is what keeps your arm from flying off your body as you swing the club as fast as you can. The more stable this connection is, the faster you can swing the club.
This is a physics principle known as centripetal force or centripetal acceleration. See it in action below.
Brett’s Bottom Line:
As I mentioned in PART 1, posture isn’t something you can just think about and expect to change. To reset your poor posture, you need to follow these 4 steps:
- You need an awareness of what good posture is and how it should look.
- You need to release tight, dense tissue.
- You need to restore the length of the tissue with static or fascial stretching.
- You need to reset the tone of the opposing muscles to help to maintaing optimal positioning of the musculoskeletal system.
In PART 3, we will explore how poor upper body posture negatively impacts your golf swing and the first steps I take in correcting that without ever touching the upper body.
See you on the next page.