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World Cup 2014 coverage: Yahoo Sports expert predictions -

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4 Exercises to Fix Bad

Posture and Help You
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If strength is the foundation for athleticism, then movement quality

is the mortar that holds the bricks together. Strength coaches
everywhere have come to appreciate that it takes more than
Squats, Presses and Cleans to build superior athletes, and that
teaching excellent movement patterns is perhaps the most
important part of their jobs.
Excellent movement begins with proper posture, which puts the

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many muscles of the body in the safest and most efficient

positions to produce force. Bad posture, on the other hand, leads

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Bradley's
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play
00:30

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to a loss of strength and power when it matters most and can

predispose an athlete to injury.
Bad posture has many causes, including overuse of certain
muscles, poor exercise choices and lack of attention to how we sit
and stand. Fortunately, most postural flaws can be fixed with the
right exercises and improved body awareness. Here are four
exercises to fix bad posture:
RELATED: How to Fix a Forward Head Posture

Problem: Kyphosis
(Hunchback)
If you look like Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Max Scherzer
pitches first
career complete
game, outduels
01:33

LeBron James
takes bathroom
break during
Game 4 of
01:41

when you sit or stand, you probably have kyphosisexcessive

rounding of the upper back, which leads to terrible mobility in the
thoracic spine. Composed of 12 vertebrae that run from the base
of the neck to the top of the lower back, the t-spine needs plenty of
mobility to properly position the shoulders and core during highvelocity movements like throwing and swinging. If you lack thoracic

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extension (think "chest up" during a Squat), your lumbar spine

often makes up the difference, which is a quick recipe for lowerback pain.

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Solution: Foam Roller T-Spine

Extension
If you have hopes of ever doing Deadlifts, Squats and Cleans with

World Cup group

stage - Mexico vs.
Cameroon

good form, you're going to need solid thoracic extension. Improve

your t-spine mobility with Foam Roller T-Spine Extensions, which
fit perfectly into a warm-up.

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workers still
scrambling to
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How to:
Lie with your knees bent and your heels and butt flat on the floor.
Position a foam roller across the back of your shoulders.
With your hands behind your head and elbows together, arch your

Shakira and
Gerard Pique
share family
photos of their
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upper back around the foam roller, trying to touch your head to the
ground behind you.
Keep your chin tucked, butt on the ground and abs tight to avoid
wrenching your neck or lower back.
Bonvecstrength.com - Foam Roller T-Spine Extens...

-18%

-16%

329

-54%

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0:00 / 0:21

RELATED: The 10-Minute Workout You Should Do Every Day

Problem: Internally Rotated

Shoulders
If kyphosis is the Bonnie of bad posture, internally rotated
shoulders are the Clyde. They're almost always together and
always up to no good.
The shoulder is a complex joint with many muscles, bones,
nerves and connective tissues fighting for space. If your shoulders
are excessively internally rotated (i.e., rounded forward), you
narrow that already-tight space, increasing the chance of pain and

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restricted mobility. A slouched upper back makes matters even

worse.
How do you know if you have internally-rotated shoulders? Try the
pencil test. Stand up with your hands at your sides and a pencil in
each hand. Let your shoulders relax and your arms hang. In which
direction are the pencils pointing? If they're straight ahead,

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prepared to match
any potential offer
sheets for Ryan
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Closing Time: Is
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Josh Rutledge?

congratulationsyou have good posture. If the pencils face toward

each other, your shoulders are internally rotated, and your posture
needs work.
Rounded shoulders often result from tight pecs and a weak upper
back. Ever notice how the dude at the gym who does nothing but
Bench Press walks around dragging his knuckles like a gorilla?
Don't be like that guythat is, if you want mobile, pain-free
shoulders.

Solution: Band Pull-Aparts

Fix your posture by strengthening your upper back with Band PullAparts. Don't be afraid to do lots of high-rep sets. It takes a lot of
volume to undo the postural damage caused by too much
slouching and heavy benching.

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How to:
Hold a light band at arm's length with your palms down and hands
shoulder-width apart.
With your chin tucked and abs tight, pull your hands away from
each other until the band hits your chest, squeezing your shoulder
blades together.
Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

Problem: Anterior Pelvic Tilt

(Over-Arched Lower Back)
Extension at the upper back is good for posture, but poor posture
isn't limited to the upper body. Too much extension at the lower
back is a common problem for many athletes who have to extend
their spines when they run, jump, lift or throw.
An over-arched lower back dumps the pelvis forward into a
position called anterior pelvic tilt, which can lead to lower-back
pain, hamstring strains, a weak core and even disruptions in
breathing. It puts excessive stretch on the hamstrings, making
them feel tight, all while shutting off the abs and glutes, drastically
reducing your ability to control your core. Perhaps most
importantly, it limits the function of the diaphragm and makes
breathing inefficient, leaving you gasping for air while your
opponents leave you in the dust.

Solution: Med Ball Deadbugs

Learn to control your core and protect your lower back with Med
Ball Deadbugs. Normal Deadbugs require you to move your
opposite arm and leg, but reaching overhead can be a challenge if
you have poor posture. Holding the medicine ball makes it easier

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to keep your abs tight and is a good regression for someone with
lousy shoulder mobility.
How to:
Lie face up on the ground with your hips and knees bent, holding a
medicine ball at arm's length above you.
Turn on your abs by pulling your ribs down, pressing your lower
back into the floor and squeezing the medicine ball as if you were
trying to pop it.
With your feet pointed toward your shins, slowly lower one leg
toward the floor, reaching with your heel until the leg is completely
straight.
Keep your abs tight and resist the urge to let your lower back arch.
Return the leg to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
RELATED: Anterior Pelvic Tilt-A Hockey Epidemic

Problem: All of the Above

Solution: Deadlifts
Besides being an exercise of overall awesomeness, Deadlifts, if
done, correctly, are a fantastic way to fix bad posture. Few
exercises require the ability to organize all your body parts into
proper alignment like the Deadlift.
Think about itto execute a good Deadlift, you have to:
Puff your chest out and pull your shoulders back.
Tuck your chin.
Hinge at your hips without rounding your back.
Brace your abs to keep your lower back neutral.
Do all this with a heavy bar in your hands.
If you can learn to do all of that with a couple hundred pounds,
chances are you're going to fix your bad posture! But be careful
Deadlifts with bad form can make lousy posture even worse. Get a
qualified coach to instruct you on good technique so you can build
strength and improve posture at the same time.

Sample Workout to Fix Your

Posture
The first three exercises fit together nicely as part of a warm-up for
a strength workout that centers around the Deadlift. You can even
repeat some of the warm-up drills with heavier weight and higher
reps during the workout to build muscle and strength. Give this a
try.

Warm-Up
Foam Rolling (Upper back, lats, glutes) x 20 each
Foam Roller T-Spine Extensions x 10 at each position
Med Ball Deadbugs x 8 each side
Squat-to-Stand x 8
Band Pull-Aparts x 20
Walking Spiderman with Overhead Reach x 5 each side

Workout
A1. Deadlift from Blocks 5x5 (use a weight you can lift 7 times)
A2. Box Jumps 5x3
B1. Glute-Ham Raises 3x8
B2. Dumbbell Rows 3x8 each arm
C1. Medicine Ball Deadbugs 3x10 each side
C2. Band Pull-Aparts 3x20
This article originally appeared on STACK.com: 4 Exercises to Fix
Bad Posture and Help You Move Better

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