Can You Really Fix Posture?

by: Sayed Farah سايد فرح

Bad posture is a tendency so don’t believe that it can be “fixed”. You need to keep working at it indefinitely.

As it affects taller individuals more often than shorter ones, from my observations, I reckon it starts during a growth spurt. Sure bad habits play a part but let’s not get into the reasons because it’s not a productive thing.

All you need to know is that you need to keep attending to it even after you are able to statically and dynamically maintain perfect posture with ease or else it would deteriorate. The good news is it’s easy. Just be aware of it and keep on doing some basic stuff and fit them into your lifestyle. Foam rolling once a fortnight and properly executed face-pulls go a long way. Do the rubber band exercise. By the way, it’s superior to the broomstick variation, and the risk of injury is reduced to zero and you get the benefit of the tension to press your shoulder blades together as shown in the photo.³

You can also practice spreading your lats while pressing your shoulder blades together when they are depressed and pressing your middle back towards the back and raising your chest. Don’t overcomplicate it, just ”feel” it and give it time. Something you’ve been living with for years (or decades) at least give it a few months.⁴

Last but not least, I BEG trainers to not start any beginner on traditional strength training programs until the proper posture is attainable and the trainee is aware of his/her posture. For example, a traditional military shoulder press prescription for a trainee with a rounded upper back is an injury waiting to happen.