A 15 minutes bodyweight routine for posture and strength imbalances correction - No equipment required

[coconut23]

Introduction​

Sitting in a chair in front of a computer for several hours on a daily basis has a negative impact on posture and on strength.

Some common postural issues are forward head posture, rounded shoulders, winged scapula and anterior pelvic tilt. It also causes many strength issues. For instance it is very common for the average Joe to have wrist pain by just doing Push-Ups or to be unable to do full ROM bodyweight Rows.

At the end, sitting for a long period of time on a daily basis has a negative impact on joint health, performance and aesthetics. The goods news is that the issues very concisely described can be prevented and corrected.

Here, a focus will be made on posture/strength imbalances correction. Prevention will not be mentioned (changing posture every 20 minutes and stuff like that). A routine will be proposed for posture/strength imbalanced correction and the purpose of each exercise will be explained. This is a routine that I have been using for several months with great results.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a doctor in exercise science, a physio or anything like that. If you think that an exercise may not be suitable for you, don't do it and talk with your physio about it if necessary.

Impact of sitting on the body chains​

When sitting, almost all the joints are flexed. The consequences are usually the following:

• Tight anterior chain - Flexor muscles: neck flexors, anterior delt, chest, abs, hip flexors, quadriceps...
• Weak posterior chain - Extensor muscles: neck extensors, posterior delt, back, gluteus maximus, hamstrings...
• Weak lateral chain (this one is very often forgotten) - Abductor, adductor and rotator muscles: neck rotators, lateral delt, obliques, quadratus lomborum and plenty other deep muscles in the back, gluteus medius/minimus...

This is what the proposed routine will tackle.

The routine​

The routine is divided in two main parts:

• Part I: joints circumduction/circle - To warm-up and wake-up the joints (~5 min)
• Part II: strengthening the weak muscles and stretching the tight muscles (~10 min)
  • [sup]My personal favorite exercise is the Seal stretch[/sup] [sup]https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/GymnasticBodies-Stretch.png[/sup]

The routine can be performed on a daily basis. It does not require any equipment (edit: excepted for the Passive Hang). It is up to you to remove some exercises if you think that it is necessary when you also have a planned training session. This routine is not supposed to be hard, this is not a standard training session.

Exercise Total time/rep Purpose Postural issue corrected Link to visualize the exercise
Neck circle
10r per side
Wake-up & warm-up the neck joint
N/A
[sup]http://138.197.101.48/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/e327e763-809e-442f-bca7-b59ef58780a3.jpg[/sup]
Arm circle forward
15r
Wake-up & warm-up the shoulder and scapular joint
N/A
[sup]https://www.fitnessenhancement.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/older-adults-arm-circles.jpg[/sup] [sup](right pic[/sup])

Arm circle backbward
15r
Wake-up & warm-up the shoulder and scapular joint
N/A
[sup]https://www.fitnessenhancement.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/older-adults-arm-circles.jpg[/sup] [sup](left pic[/sup])

Wrist circle
30r per side
Wake-up & warm-up the wrist joint
N/A
[sup]https://www.cdn.spotebi.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/wrist-circles-exercise-illustration.jpg[/sup]
Foot circle
30r per side
Wake-up & warm-up the foot joint
N/A
[sup]https://gymnasticsinjuries.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/ankle-circles1.jpg[/sup]
Standing hip circle
15r per side
Wake-up & warm-up the hip joint
N/A
[sup]https://www.cdn.spotebi.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hip-circles-exercise-illustration.jpg[/sup]
Spine circumduction
5r per side
Wake-up & warm-up the spine joint
N/A
[sup]https://backpainoconnor.com/uploads/Chapter34.png[/sup]
Passive Hang [sup](edit: requires "equipment" - sorry about that[/sup])
60s
Structurally realign and open the shoulders and "decompress" the joints
Compressed body
[sup]https://static1.squarespace.com/static/546e57b5e4b028482247da22/t/5ac41cd0f950b72a523a6ac6/1522801882091/IMG\[/sup]2710.jpg)
Seal stretch
60s
Open the body (the opposite of compression)
Compressed body and especially anterior pelvic tilt
[sup]https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/GymnasticBodies-Stretch.png[/sup]
Glute Bridge
15r
Strengthen the hip extensors (while stretching the flexors)
Anterior pelvic tilt
[sup]https://gethealthyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Glute-Bridge\[/sup]Featured.jpg)
Reverse Tabletop
30s
Strengthen the shoulder extensors and scapular retractors (while stretching the flexors)
Rounded shoulders
[sup]https://images.cdn-outlet.com/yo-userfiles/Guide/image/Yoga/Yoga-Man-Doing-Reverse-Table-Pose-300x199.jpg[/sup]
Air cuban rotation
15r
Strengthen shoulder external rotators
Winged scapula
[sup]https://bodybuilding-wizard.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/scarecrow-1-9.jpg[/sup] [sup](without weights[/sup])

Standing spine rotation
15r per side
Strengthen spine rotators
Lateral pelvic tilt
[sup]http://www.reachutmost.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/T-Spine-Rotation.jpg[/sup]
Lateral Plank
30s per side
Strengthen spine abductors/adductors
Lateral pelvic tilt
[sup]https://www.mensjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/mf/side\[/sup]plank_main.jpg?w=800)
Standing neck extension
15r
Strengthen neck extensors
Forward neck posture
[sup]https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZY3s2Y1dTck/maxresdefault.jpg[/sup]

I am aware that a visual document with pictures or a video would be better along with form tips. Also, this is a 15 minutes routine so obviously it cannot cover everything.

Your suggestions are welcome:

• Any exercise you like or do not like?
• Any additional exercise you would recommend?
• What is your personal experience with corrective routines? Did you manage to improve your posture over time?

 

[dawn16]

@coconut23 I recommend chin tucks. Easy to do anywhere and as someone with chronic neck issues, these really help.

 

[304]

@dawn16 Care to elaborate? Thanks.

 

[electropterodactyl]

@304 Here is a video. You just have to bring your head directly back, so your chin is tucked into your neck. Don't look up or down, keep the neck straight up, as if the top of your head were getting pulled up by a string.

 

[devinc]

@304 he right my neck was fucked ( video gaming forward head posture really bad like ugly bad I was a monster)and chin tucks are painful but man give it time all I can say

 

[304]

@devinc Can you share a video of good form chin tucks? Thanks

 

[dawn16]

@devinc How many reps do you do?

 

[mylynn]

@dawn16 Ballpark is 10-15 reps of 3 sets hold each rep for a couple seconds at peak contraction and you can do this several times throughout the day.

Caveats: pain is bad and don’t fatigue yourself. You need your neck muscles to continue supporting your head post-“workout,” which is very heavy.

 

[poopybutt123]

@devinc What in the world does he mean by stretching your spine up? Pushing your head back and tucking your chin in - sure, easy. I don't get what is mean or how to "stretch your spine" as stated here without using something external to pull on my head.

 

[frankiejohn]

@poopybutt123 I think effectively it means pull your shoulders down

 

[dawn16]

@304 Agreed!

 

[kellisuee123]

@coconut23 Just what I need! Thanks for this

 

[cbscr64]

@kellisuee123 Seconding this, thanks OP!

 

[bobwatkins]

@coconut23 Really need this. If I do this daily, obviously I should see results. But as far as sitting, will doing this allow me to still sit for hours and not experience the negative effects of it? Basically doing this daily should counteract my sitting for hours, correct?

 

[nathanoj]

@bobwatkins This will help correct form issues that come with prolonged sitting. It will not correct the negative health effects from prolonged sitting such as the increase in chances of developing heart issues or diabetes. The only way to help reduce those effects would be to break up the amount of time spent sitting. Get up every hour or so to get the body moving.

Doing a one hour workout won't fix a whole days worth of being sedentary. Break up the long hours of sitting.

 

[bobwatkins]

@nathanoj I’m usually sitting for about 3 hours at a time. I’m not worried about heart issues or diabetes as I’m in decent shape, I just have days where I’m sitting for 4-5 hours at a time. Standing up and maybe doing some of these exercises will definitely help me though. Thanks!

 

[caxyxn]

@bobwatkins Can you have a standing desk? If so you can sneak in some routines like hip and shoulder movements many times a day.

 

[coconut23]

@bobwatkins Yes, that is exactly the point of the routine: couteracting the negative effects of sitting on a daily basis. Correcting issues developped over a long period of time will obviously take some time

 

[bobwatkins]

@coconut23 I’ve been doing strength training so hopefully this also helps in showing off my gains as I don’t really see a difference in myself. Thank you so much for the post. I’m assuming I should just look into each exercise on YouTube or google to find the proper form?

 

[imnewokay]

@bobwatkins You won't see a 1:1 result immediately but becoming familiar with the circuit and doing it daily you'll eventually begin to see when you're "undoing" the work you put in, and this will help you to correct and eventually prevent it.

All exercise takes commitment and a conviction to progress. This will help you, but if you're not willing to do this for a month before expecting true results, you won't see what the help is doing for you.