Modern living is wreaking havoc on our posture – increasing numbers suffer “tech neck” from staring at phones and devices, and 80 per cent of office workers spending between four and nine hours at their desks each day.
Slouching, leaning back in chairs, and carrying heavy loads can, over time, result in the muscles in the back stretching while the muscles in the front tighten, curving your spine forward. Along with our sedentary lifestyles, this means many of us start to slump by middle age.
Hunching – curvature of the spine – can have impacts beyond making you “look older”: it can also affect breathing, digestion, mobility, compression of the internal organs and cause pain in the head and neck.
But the good news is it is not inevitable. You can both prevent it and reduce it. We asked expert personal trainers and pilates instructors for their guidance on the best exercises to avoid or reduce hunching and slouching in old age. Remember if you’re new to these exercises, start gently, listen to your body – and always warm up and cool down before a workout.
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You don’t need a gym to work on your posture and mobility – be mindful of your posture throughout the day, says Michael Baah, celebrity personal trainer. “It is not only about exercises but daily reinforcement. Practising postural checkpoints such as standing tall against a wall, engaging the shoulder blades down and back while brushing teeth, or carrying shopping bags evenly makes correct posture a habit, not a workout.”
It’s also vital to simply move the body frequently throughout the day – take breaks from the desk and the sofa, stand up for phone calls or conversations, and take part in any exercise you enjoy.
Strengthen “anti-hunch” muscles in your shoulders and back
“The muscles across the upper back and rear shoulders often weaken with age,” explains Baah. These “anti-hunch” muscles include the trapeze muscle (the large diamond shaped muscle in the upper back and neck), the rhomboids (connecting the shoulder blade to the spine) and the rear deltoid.
There are several, simple exercises you can do, he adds “to help restore balance against the forward pull of gravity, screens, and daily habits.”
Personal trainer Emma McCaffrey recommends wall angels: “they are great for shoulder mobility and engaging the upper back”.
To do them, stand with your back against a wall and slide your arms up and down like you’re making a snow angel, keeping your back and arms pressed against the wall.
Rows, either seated or bent over, are also great to add if you have access to either a resistance band or dumbbells. “This is a fundamental exercise for strengthening the upper back, pulling your shoulders back and down,” she says. To perform a row, stand with your feet directly below your hips, knees slightly bent. Bend forward, keeping your back straight and your core active. With the weights or a taut resistance band in your hand, row your arm and elbow back, keeping your back straight. “You should squeeze your shoulder blades together with each repetition,” Emma adds. Alternatively, you can use a seated row machine in a gym.
Get strong shoulders with pull downs
Ben Simpkins, head personal trainer at London Fitness Mamas recommends adding pull downs to your workout routine.
Use a resistance band hooked over the top of an open door while you face the bolt/latch. “Extend the arms up straight, take hold of the band as high as you can, then lock the shoulders down, keeping tension in the shoulder blades,” he explains, then “focus on driving the elbows down, rather than just pulling, and try to squeeze your shoulder blades down the back as far as possible. Your hands should only reach the top of your chest.”
To do a reverse fly, compress your shoulder blades down while standing, with the resistant band looped around your hands with your arms stretched out in front of you.
“Pull the hands out to the side and away from each other,” he says. “Focus on squeezing the shoulder blades to the spine and ensure the band stays in line with your chest.”
Try planking and the “superman” move for a strong core
Good posture also requires core strength . “A strong core and mobile hips stop the pelvis from tilting forward, which otherwise drags the upper spine into a hunch,” Michael explains.
A plank needs no equipment and just a small floor space. Start by lying on your front with your palms on the floor and aligned with your shoulders. Then, push yourself up onto either your knees and elbows, on feet and elbows, or hands and feet.
Louise Humphries, qualified pilates teacher and personal trainer, recommends the “superman” – “This is an exercise that builds strength in back muscles, shoulders and glutes as well as the core, which is important to keep us upright”. This also starts with lying on your front on the ground, but instead of pushing your body up, you engage your back muscles to lift both your arms and legs off the ground.
She also recommends the shoulder bridge. “They do so much,” Louise says, “strengthening and stretching the spine as well as mobilising it. It opens up the chest, which is important for posture as well as core and [works on] glutes strength to ensure pelvis stability and keeping you upright.”
Combat a tight “tech neck” by stretching
You must also stretch out the muscles that have been tightened over time to avoid a hunched back. “One of the main issues we have is a tight chest, this is from years of leaning forwards,” Ben explains. “The pectoral muscles can get shortened through constantly slouching forward so the starting point is trying to loosen them up as much as possible. This will enable more range of motion when it comes to strengthening exercises.”
He recommends a doorway stretch for your chest and shoulders: place your forearms against the frame of a door and take small steps forward until you feel a gentle pull.
Michael advises targeting stiffness further down in the mid back as that contributes directly to rounded shoulders.
“Gentle thoracic extensions over a rolled up towel, cat cow stretches, and open book rotations free up movement and improve posture. Just five minutes daily can make a visible difference.”
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