Kyphosis?
Kyphosis - rounding of the upper back or "hump" - is a very common problem both among people who spend most of their time at the office bent over the computer… and among those who go to the gym and follow a typical bodybuilding workout.
It may seem hard to believe that an active and muscular person can have these problems, but the bodybuilding training that 95% of people who go to the gym follow (with more or less success) focuses on the aesthetic muscles, ignoring the muscles. Stations.
Thus, when you go to the gym and train your chest, shoulders and big back as a priority, you become much better at turning the shoulders internally and bringing them forward. In addition, as a result of development, the resting length of these muscles will shorten and they will pull you more and more into this excessive kyphosis.
The shoulders rotated inwards, the back rounded and the head forward are all interconnected elements of the kyphosis, which apart from the unattractive postural aspect, can cause a lot of discomfort such as:
Shoulder pain
Muscle tensions in the neck and neck
Headache
Muscle pain between the shoulder blades
Deformities of the intervertebral discs and pressures on different nerves
The best solution is not to wait until the signs of the problem are already painfully obvious (as I did 2-3 years ago)…
If you know you have a lifestyle that makes you prone to these problems - if you work in the office, if you train your chest much more than the muscles between your shoulder blades or if you sit bent over in front of your laptop - take action now!
Don't wait until your shortened muscles and postural habits change your spine. Don't wait until the pain and muscle tension send you to the doctor. Start with small steps and improve your posture until it is much harder for you.
YTWL - Postural Exercise to Get Rid of Hunchback
A simple exercise to restore muscle balance and eliminate excessive kyphosis (hump) is called YTWL.
Its benefits include:
prevention and treatment of shoulder pain
restoring healthy and attractive posture
elimination of pain between the shoulder blades
relaxation of the upper trapezius and neck muscles
creating a solid base to be able to push more weight and build bigger muscles
The YTWL exercise is actually a circuit composed of 4 different movements (Y, T, W and L) whose name comes from the shape of the letters that the trunk and hands create during the execution.
All movements can be performed:
sitting with your abdomen on an exercise ball,
standing with the trunk at 45 degrees
or from a bank - as in the video below:
Y During the execution of the Y, the thumbs should be up and the hands at about 45 degrees to the head. Thus, they will be oriented in the direct continuation of the lower trapezius, recruiting as efficiently as possible its muscle fibers. Because the lower trapezius has a rather stabilizing role, it should not be trained in the same way as a muscle responsible for movement. The weight used will be very small, the number of repetitions between 5 and 10, and the maximum tension position maintained for 3-5 seconds. T The main muscles that work during T are the rhomboids and the middle trapezius. To perform this exercise correctly you must try to bring your shoulders and shoulder blades closer to your spine. Imagine that someone pulls your arms out and you try to oppose. W Seen from above, the hands form a W. To make the exercise more valuable, try to rotate your palms outward. IT The arms remain fixed at 90 degrees to the torso, but rotate externally bringing the forearms in the same plane as the torso. Thus, this last movement in the YTWL circuit activates the muscles responsible for the external rotation of the arms (posterior deltoid, infraspinatus and teres minor). Depending on the stage of kyphosis, you can add 2-3 YTWL circuits every day in addition to chest mobility exercises and chest, shoulder or big back exercises. If you go to the gym and have shoulder pain or you want to correct your posture, you can add 2 circuits at the beginning and 2 at the end of each workout. This way you will give at least as much importance to the postural muscles as you give to the chest, shoulders and other visually impressive muscles. And, if you want to get rid of kyphosis completely, you must pay attention to the lower back and hips. Because lordosis and kyphosis go hand in hand, you can't completely get rid of the executive curvature at the top until you get rid of the one at the bottom. Read the article "Get rid of Hunchback" and follow the tips there to attack the problem from all sides and make sure you get rid of kyphosis, avoid pain and muscle tension and get a healthy and attractive posture.