Rant - There Are No Shortcuts

I’m going to ruffle some feathers. If your feathers are perfectly how you want them do not continue.

Every day that I have gone to the office for the last 9 years, I have heard either a comment or a question about “posture”.

“I have horrible posture” 

“I have been told I have bad posture” 

“What can I do for bad posture” 

“I bought a shirt for my bad posture” 

“I bought _________ that is supposed to help with my bad posture” 

“I know, I have terrible posture”

Are you ready for the “fix”? 

First there may be no “fix”, it may just be the way you are. I have seen dozens of people over the past almost decade that are just rounded and are most likely just built like that.

Even if you are built like that all you need to do is think about it and lift weights (or use bands if no weights)

I can pop your back, I can do myofascial work to your muscles, I can needle, I can scrape, my amazing wife can massage, my colleagues can give you a Chiropractic adjustment, and granted all these things may help and may even feel like they fix your issue, and if they do that is great! But, if there is an issue, and it keeps coming back, try something for me. Start thinking about your position more often, think about the way you stand, the way you sit, the way you drive, the way you sleep, the way you dance, the way you carry, the way you lift. Don’t obsess about it, just think about those positions and if you can improve any of them do it. You can also get on the floor on your back and put a foam roller from your head down to your tail bone underneath you and just be there for 3-5 minutes, that can also help, actually a whole lot.

Then, lift weights or pull bands. A lot of people work too much on the “mirror muscles”, chest or pecs, biceps, quads, abs, etc. I always recommend working the muscles on the backside 2 or 3 times more than the front muscles. So traps, lats, triceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, etc. So if you go barbell bench press 3 sets of 10, then I want you to go low row 3 sets of 10, tricep pull down 3 sets of 10, and then glute bridge 3 sets of 10 just to balance it out.

The next thing is actually fairly new to me. Think about the muscle group that you are using during these exercises. Actually squeeze the muscle, contract it hard, and concentrate on the full range of motion. Don’t just go through the movement, be deliberate and intentional with every repetition. If you only have access to bands or even if you have weights and want to also use bands, try holding in the contracted phase for a few seconds. I usually prescribe 10 second holds for 10 reps for certain exercises and call it “isometric” training. That will make you feel it, build it, and remember it. Just try it. Give it 3-6 months. There are no short cuts.

Brian Watters, DC