Imagine this - you're walking down a dark alley and in the distance you see a shadow of what looks like a creature..maybe part human, part gremlin and their hunched over a meal, ready to dig in. Oh wait. Nope, Not that at all. It's just a guy with poor posture walking down the street with his kid. How embarrassing...you almost screamed like a girl!
In an effort to rid the world of these monster like sightings, I'm going to focus this blog in our From Desk Life to Best Life series, on shoulder mobility and how to manipulate them and reinforce good posture while sitting.
LET'S DIVE IN: SHOULDERS
One of the first things that beings to happen when you sit at a desk is your shoulders slowly start to creep forward. The fascia that encapsulates the front of your shoulder starts to hammer down on your pec minor, (one of the chest muscles), causing it to shorten. Once the pec starts to shorten, your shoulders are on a one way course to meeting in front of your sternum.
To stop this, we must release the pec minor and then stimulate the muscles that pull our shoulders down and back, (rhomboids and lower traps). Don't worry if you don't know what these are, you just have to be able to do the motions.
In the video below I discuss how to use a lacrosse ball to release your pec minor and then scapular depression and retraction to activate the muscles required to keep your shoulders down and back. The third and fourth videos are fun movements that keep the shoulders moving and grooving. You can do any of these all day long no matter where your are.
Check back next time on how to attack your neck and head to eliminate the dreaded forward head posture. To check out previous blogs from the series, click here or visit my YouTube channel for additional exercises.
QUICK TIPS: Pec Minor Release
QUICK TIPS: Scapular Depression and Retraction
QUICK TIPS: Up and Overs for Shoulder Mobility
QUICK TIPS: Windmills for Shoulder Mobility
ABOUT COACH MATT PIPPIN
Matt is a Strength and Mobility Coach with over 15 years experience in his field and has coached over a thousand professional, collegiate and everyday athletes with the goal to help them move, feel and perform at their highest level. He's incredibly passionate about bringing simple and effective online mobility training programs to everyone who wants to take control of their self care and make lasting change. CLICK HERE to learn more.
Certifications:
NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Level 3: Fascial Stretch Specialist
Level 1: Institute of Motion Health Coach
Certified FRC Mobility Specialist (FRCms)
Level 1 Kinstretch Instructor
Weck Method Qualified