Desk Posture Syndrome Part 1: How it effects you in and out of the gym.
Working on your rotator cuff, hip flexors, lower traps and thoracic is not the most glamorous, but is essential in maximising your efforts in the gym to prevent injury and to move pain free.
For the majority of the day, ask yourself how long are you sedentary
-6-8 hours sleeping?
-5-9 hours working?
-1-3 hours watching tv/?online shopping?
You can see how easy it is for your muscles to seize up and not function as they should do; a 10 second quad and calf stretch simply won’t cut it.
Understandably you want to improve the way you look, but what if I said you could improve your posture and significantly reduce the following by taking your mobility regime to the next level
-back pain
-shoulder pain
-knee pain
-stiff neck pain
-hip pain
-elbow pain
Another benefit of improved mobility is increasing range of motion e.g. deeper squat, resulting in more muscle growth.
Below are some simple stretches/strengthening exercises you should be doing regularly, if not everyday, to keep on top of your mobility. It’s also worth mentioning that you should spend as much time strengthening the opposite muscle to the one that is tight as you do stretching
e.g. tight pecs = strengthening rear delta, lower traps and rhomboids
1. stretches
-couch stretch
-wall stretch
-pigeon stretch
2. strengthening exercises
-face pulls
-y raises
-clam shells
-planks
-glute bridge
In part 2 I will talk about stretches and strengthening exercises in more detail to help combat against the negative effects of prolonged sitting.
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