Hey I just wondered if someone knew which mucles that are most important to train which affects your posture, I mean I sometimes tend to lean forward when I´m walking/running, and well I´ve been told it looks kind of funny, so I figured it must be because I´ve been living very sedetary. Or maybe due to my heavy belly...I think i know that the shoulders and back are important, does anyone have any good exercises for that?.

Its ur "heavy belly". Much like a pregnant women or a women with a big chest :o usually has back trouble. Your posture is compensating for that extra weight in the front. Hit those abs and keep a good diet. Also, make sure ur lower back is strong. A strong midsection will always help ur posture.

In my opinion (I seem to start every post with that, must be scared of people arguming with me. ;) ) posture is all about getting a balance between agonist and antagonist. (Opposing muscles). Your back pulls your front backwards. And your front pulls your back forward.

If both muscles are holding you with equal force, you will be straight and have good posture. However, if one muscle group is relatively stronger (or even heavier), it will pull you either backwards or forwards, depending on where the imbalance is.

If your "Leaning forward", then it would seem to me that your lower back is to weak to support and hold up straight / pull back your "Heavy belly and weight up top. Stregthen this area to correct the lean.

If you have hunched shoulders (Shoulders are infront of your head), then your rear delts and back arent strong enough. If you have shoulders that are back behind your neck, your front delts, uppr chest need strethening. And so on.

Posture is about having everything straight. Opposing muscle balance is what keeps somthing straight, like the top of an old fasioned weight scales. Equal weight = balance = straight. Same with posture.
Streghten ur back mate, to pull back your heavy front.

Hope this helps.

:)

Yeah man, train the back and shoulders!
Lower back: hyper extensions and deadlifts
Upper back: all kind of rows (barbell row, dumbbell row, cable row, machine row,...)
Shoulders: all kind of presses (neck press, front press, dumbbell press, arnie press,...)

Most people tend to lean forward as opposed to leaning too far backwards. Some of these people, like myself, will never have proper posture due to certain curvatures in the body that no amount of weight lifting will ever correct.

However, if you do chins, bb rows, and deadlifts I guarantee you that your posture will improve. ;)

There was a thread here recently that covered this sort of thing. It involved the transversus muscles under your abdominal muscles, and I suggest hunting for it and reading that. Basically, you want to aim for all around "core stability".

my posture sucks no matter how big/strong I am. I have to constantly remind myself not to slouch,lol :D

Jason

my posture sucks no matter how big/strong I am. I have to constantly remind myself not to slouch,lol :D

Jason

Mine too for the most part. I thank my public school elementary education and improper posturing in this POS desks. :)

Thanx for the advice everyone.

I'm bumping this thread (from more than 1 year ago) because reno's post above made my day.

My rear delts have 0 muscle development, so i tend to walk with a hunch-back look sometimes.
assuming what he said is true, does that mean i should maybe train my chest LESS while training my rear delts/back MORE?



In my opinion (I seem to start every post with that, must be scared of people arguming with me. ;) ) posture is all about getting a balance between agonist and antagonist. (Opposing muscles). Your back pulls your front backwards. And your front pulls your back forward.

If both muscles are holding you with equal force, you will be straight and have good posture. However, if one muscle group is relatively stronger (or even heavier), it will pull you either backwards or forwards, depending on where the imbalance is.

If your "Leaning forward", then it would seem to me that your lower back is to weak to support and hold up straight / pull back your "Heavy belly and weight up top. Stregthen this area to correct the lean.

If you have hunched shoulders (Shoulders are infront of your head), then your rear delts and back arent strong enough. If you have shoulders that are back behind your neck, your front delts, uppr chest need strethening. And so on.

Posture is about having everything straight. Opposing muscle balance is what keeps somthing straight, like the top of an old fasioned weight scales. Equal weight = balance = straight. Same with posture.
Streghten ur back mate, to pull back your heavy front.

Hope this helps.

:)

Which muscles are important for a good posture?

All of them.

Sorry Who, totally missed this one.

I would say you can keep training your chest the same, just do more rear delt and upper back work.

Stretching is also key, you may well have very tight pec and front delt muscles, which are pulling your shoulders forward. This has happened to me recently and my shoulders have become more hunched forwards. Will start correcting it today. :)

Some stuff to help posture:

1. Elbow out one-arm DB Rows
2. Prone position U flyes (get in prone position, and put your arms like this |_o_|, then pull them up off the ground using your middle back)
3. Scapular retraction
4. Chest stretching (stand in a door, put your arms up at in a |_o_| position on the frame and lean forward)
5. External rotation work
6. Do your chest work, and a lot of extra back work to rebalance it out.

Read and do the Neanderthal No More workouts:
Part I (http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do;jsessionid=SESSIOID?article=314nean 2)
Part II (http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do;jsessionid=SESSIOID?article=315nean 2)
Part III (http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do;jsessionid=SESSIOID?article=04-004-training)
Part IV (http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=SESSIOID?id=472224)
Part V (http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=SESSIOID?id=535872)

There was a thread here recently that covered this sort of thing. It involved the transversus muscles under your abdominal muscles, and I suggest hunting for it and reading that. Basically, you want to aim for all around "core stability".

I'm also looking to improve my posture. I've read the post you are talking about (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=1038). It makes sense to me, but I think there are some more permanent damages in your spine it's going to be really hard to fix. Core Stability exercises should definitely be done as prevention to posture problems but how much of it can actually fix your posture?

Read and do the Neanderthal No More workouts:
Part I (http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do;jsessionid=SESSIOID?article=314nean 2)
Part II (http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do;jsessionid=SESSIOID?article=315nean 2)
Part III (http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do;jsessionid=SESSIOID?article=04-004-training)
Part IV (http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=SESSIOID?id=472224)
Part V (http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=SESSIOID?id=535872)

Those are great articles. :nod: