Bad posture

Yo,

I have very bad posture. How do I correct it? Can anyone recommend a) specific gym exercises b) a yoga routine with all the hippy nonsense removed? My office chair is shit and I do the occasional 12 hour day and it's really not helping at the moment, has anyone tried the orthopaedic straps that you can get that force you into correct posture? Worth seeing a chiropractor/osteopath?

Thanks,

kaka

sit and drink pennyroyal tea?

I've read that swearing a lot and being rude to nice people does that to you in the long run.

Are you tall? One of the best things, or so I've heard, is to have your monitor and desk elevated.

I'm 6'4 or so and, even if I adjust my chair, my desk will never be the right height for elbows to rest, causing me to slouch forwards. So then I'll lower my chair in order for my body to rest properly, but as I can't put my feet flat I'll end-up splayed all over the place with a numb arse, slouching backwards.

It's hell. I kind of want a standing-desk.

  On 11/25/2013 at 3:40 PM, triachus said:

sex baby sex

breath deeply. tension in your diaphragm and abs is what makes it difficult to have good posture, and that tension is directly linked to shallow breathing. your health and mental well-being will benefit from deep breathing as well as your posture.

also having a strong back helps, so you could look into back exercises, or just do pull ups.

lol Madame

Kill yourself you corporate hack. It's the only way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4DFgoJ1p1o

Headbutt strangers on the streets, it with exercise your neck and upper back posture. FACT.

get one of those things batman sleeps in upside down.

  On 11/25/2013 at 3:24 PM, Gary C said:

Are you tall? One of the best things, or so I've heard, is to have your monitor and desk elevated.

 

I'm 6'4 or so and, even if I adjust my chair, my desk will never be the right height for elbows to rest, causing me to slouch forwards. So then I'll lower my chair in order for my body to rest properly, but as I can't put my feet flat I'll end-up splayed all over the place with a numb arse, slouching backwards.

 

It's hell. I kind of want a standing-desk.

5'11", my desk is actually at the right height, it's years of bad habits. I would love a standing desk at work, but I regularly see clients at my office and it would be a bit weird.

  On 11/25/2013 at 8:57 PM, chenGOD said:

Kill yourself you corporate hack. It's the only way.

I work for a not for profit and do 10 hours of pro bono work each week. I'm actually a wonderful person, I just like swearing at losers on the internet.

edit: also, stop promoting bono - his head's big enough as it is.

Thanks for the tips everyone, has anybody tried the lying on a rolled up towel behind shoulders and dropped head back?

I do p90x yoga (it's fucking hardcore, and it helps my back pain) and it is the only exercise I do. I also have slowly begun to focus on my posture over the last 6 months or so. The best thing you can do is the yoga. When you start strengthening all those muscles it becomes much easier to correct the posture. Before it was a chore and almost felt impossible. Now if I'm not sitting correctly I will notice and adjust. It is still a constant battle but it is much easier, and I feel better for it. A foam roller can also be helpful in use as therapy of all your fucked up muscles.

  On 11/25/2013 at 10:29 PM, Keith said:

 

  On 11/25/2013 at 3:24 PM, Gary C said:

Are you tall? One of the best things, or so I've heard, is to have your monitor and desk elevated.

 

I'm 6'4 or so and, even if I adjust my chair, my desk will never be the right height for elbows to rest, causing me to slouch forwards. So then I'll lower my chair in order for my body to rest properly, but as I can't put my feet flat I'll end-up splayed all over the place with a numb arse, slouching backwards.

 

It's hell. I kind of want a standing-desk.

5'11", my desk is actually at the right height, it's years of bad habits. I would love a standing desk at work, but I regularly see clients at my office and it would be a bit weird.

 

Well with that beard of yours you could deliver enthusiastic speeches at it

Apologies, but I'll be sensible with my reply.... my posture isn't great... to use a local term, it's pish. growing up, my parents were always on at me for slouching and it's always felt unnatural to sit straight up. Note, I'm not like some freaky resident of Notre Dame - just slightly off what you'd call a normal posture. I can stand straight when I focus on it no problem but as soon as I'm thinking of something else there is a wee stoop.

It never cause me problems until in the last 5 years when I reached my early 30s. I went through a fair amount of tests at the hospital for intermittent back pain and they didn't find anything mechanically wrong with my spine just a few slightly disshaped vertebre my lower back that makes that section overly straight which in turn makes the top section stoop/slouch a bit. Turns out that was likely cause either pre or just sort of post-birth when the bones were still malleable so no much I could do about it. Pains eases off and I ignore it. As won't be surprising, pain came back a few years later. This time, I was referred onto a physiotherapist who gave me a whole bunch of exercises to develop my core muscles within my trunk that would support my back a bit better and also loosened up some of the stiffened verterbre. Touch wood, that's resolved the pain and made my posture a bit better though I know it'll never be perfect.

So, I could've avoided all that rambling and suggested speaking with the medical professionals who'll be best placed to figure out your specific issues and give you an approach to best resolve.

Right, I'm off to the Recent Pictures Thread to post a picture of Joseph Merrick to cement myself as the WATMM outsider.....

last place i worked at we had these fit balls to sit on. it was really fun for like, a day. then it quickly became extremely annoying.

just sit up as straight as you can with your shoulders back, there's no quick fix you just have to change an old bad habit.

Make sure you tuck in your chin when getting your back straight, this is a fantastic video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4DFgoJ1p1o

Everyday, start the day by doing:

20+ squats

30+ sit ups (laying on your back with your legs straight up in the air, heaving your chest and shoulders up towards you knees)

If you're able to do pull ups at home, do as many of these as you can. You might want to just hang for a while too if you need "straightening out".

Nothing heavy but it will help make your body feel more agile and not as stiff, thus helping your towards a better posture.

Pullups. Yah, pullups. Pullups workout your back and core. "Bad posture" is a really generic term, but most of the time, it implies a pulling-in of the chest, a lowered-chin, and during sitting, sqeezing of abs. A lot of bad posture is not only weak back and bad walking form, but also conscious muscle tension curling oneself forward into a ball.

So a lot of bad posture can be resolved by learning how to stand (lotta online resources), as well as consciously learning how to pull one's shoulder's back. Stand tall, head high! Use your neck to pull yourself up into the sky. Fixes a lot.

Godspeed on not being an IDM hunchback.

  On 11/26/2013 at 1:23 PM, AJW said:

Everyday, start the day by doing:

 

20+ squats

30+ sit ups

lol

How to sit in a chair:

http://www.wikihow.com/Sit

It's what I do and I've had bad posture all my life until very recently. Setting up your arm rests to keep your arms relaxed is key.

I tried a kneeling chair a few times (http://www.backinaction.co.uk/kneeling) and it was nice other than my shins slightly hurting after 4 or 5 hours.

Combination of hot yoga and massage does it for me. It's always a fight, but it feels much better than it did before.