TheBroBrah's Guide To Correcting Excessive APT.

[Dergo]

A small update. I've been foam rolling, stretching and using the new plan for few weeks ago. I haven't taken new pictures yet, but the most interesting thing is that I can't sit for long or my gluteus get very tired. I guess it's a good thing...

[maxxxximum]

does anyone get lower back pain while doing the plank ? plus has anyone got any simple exercises to strengthen the glutes, i cant seem to do the glute bridge as when i do it i end up useing other muscles.

[maxxxximum]

i can click my back like every 10 minutes or so, can anyone else ?? its a little worrying

[svartberg]

does anyone get lower back pain while doing the plank ? plus has anyone got any simple exercises to strengthen the glutes, i cant seem to do the glute bridge as when i do it i end up useing other muscles.

Hey bro yes I had that too, I found if you squeeze your glutes during the plank it will cancel the tension on your back and move it to the abs where it should be.
If you're too tight to do that properly, you might need 1-2 weeks of rolling & stretching.
Also might be worth to check the video above, and learn the concept of TVA activation. (Transverse abdominis)

Here's a good video about how to do glute bridge with proper form, good luck dude

[lefteris7]

In to read later

[dzukauskas]

Hello, maybe can someone tell me, my posture good? I can't upload my photo here, so please chech mybodyspace page. thanks.

[svartberg]

Hello, maybe can someone tell me, my posture good? I can't upload my photo here, so please chech mybodyspace page. thanks.

You definitely got plenty of APT there.
My guess is your Kyphosis is mostly APT induced, not sure though.

[Dergo]

Hello, maybe can someone tell me, my posture good? I can't upload my photo here, so please chech mybodyspace page. thanks.

Welcome to the club. Yours look very similar to mine.

[maxxxximum]

Hey bro yes I had that too, I found if you squeeze your glutes during the plank it will cancel the tension on your back and move it to the abs where it should be.
If you're too tight to do that properly, you might need 1-2 weeks of rolling & stretching.
Also might be worth to check the video above, and learn the concept of TVA activation. (Transverse abdominis)

Here's a good video about how to do glute bridge with proper form, good luck dude

]

ahhh cheers man the video definitely helped , also i have been stretching my hips and quads but doing static stretches for abit 3 weeks now, is it essential i start stretching with the roller ?

[maxxxximum]

as part as lordosis i have kyphosis and i have been trying to strengthen my back muscles and rear deltoids which i have been trying (allthough i was told by the docter i had alot of back muscle development ) and now i fear to do chest and front deltoids, should i neglect them or should i do them but not as often as i use to until i have fixed atp/lordosis/kyphosis ? plus i have been trying to stretch my pecs

[gekkoboy14]

Yall need to do less stretching and do more mobility work.

[Dergo]

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...ng_doesnt_work

T-Nation article on hip mobility.

[svartberg]

ahhh cheers man the video definitely helped , also i have been stretching my hips and quads but doing static stretches for abit 3 weeks now, is it essential i start stretching with the roller ?

Cool man, glad to help !
Ya the Myofascial release (foam rolling, tennis ball, etc) is very important.

as part as lordosis i have kyphosis and i have been trying to strengthen my back muscles and rear deltoids which i have been trying (allthough i was told by the docter i had alot of back muscle development ) and now i fear to do chest and front deltoids, should i neglect them or should i do them but not as often as i use to until i have fixed atp/lordosis/kyphosis ? plus i have been trying to stretch my pecs

Been there myself dude, and I can tell you that excluding work on the overactive muscles is only viable for short term.
In the long term you're going to create other imbalances, for example stopping pushups will be missing out on serratus anterior work. (which is related to scapula winging)
1. My advice is to work full body, but have a 2:1 pull/push ratio (especially if you spend long time sitting).
2. You can halt or slow down the rep/weight bumps for push exercises
3. Also make sure you have good form during exercises. (great example is doing pushups with the chest out and shoulders down and back, think of the negatives as rows and it will use upper back for stabilization)

Good luck & have fun dude

[VitaCrave]

Yall need to do less stretching and do more mobility work.

Can you give us some examples to help ATP, gekkoboy?

[Dergo]

Can you give us some examples to help ATP, gekkoboy?

Try this :

[keepgoingNOW]

just curious but i read somewhere that if yu have bad posture during your growing years then your spine will grow different. ive had APT all my life and worried that because of this the cartilidge in my spine will have grown crooked and make my apt unfixable?

[VoxBro]

Sup y'all. Hoping to get some thoughts on this routine I've put together to fix my ATP. I've got it pretty bad. Look like a damned minotaur. My goal was to have it fixed by 1st February, but if it takes longer so be it. My plan of action:

Three days a week:

High-bar back squats 5 sets of 8 - low weight, about 50kg. Really focus on hip drive and sitting back/glute activation. Previously when I was squatting heavy it was more or less all in my quads, I didn't feel it anywhere else at all.

Sumo deadlifts - 5 sets of 10, again low weight. About 60kg. Used to do standard heavy deadlifts but my lower back performed pretty much the whole motion.

Lying hamstring curl - 5 sets of 6, pretty heavy, adding weight regularly. My hammies lag behind my quads so the aim is to get them strong.

Core strength stuff; weighted planks, side planks, leg raises and cable press

Then every day I do foam rolling on my hammies, glutes and quads and the following stretching:

Two sets of 30 seconds, each side. Static lunge hip flexor stretch.
Two sets of 30 seconds, each side. Standing quad stretch.

I do that three times a day, erry day. I also do about two minutes of planks first thing in the morning and last thing before bed.

What do you think? Decent plan? I want to get this curse lifted so I can get back to lifting.

[svartberg]

just curious but i read somewhere that if yu have bad posture during your growing years then your spine will grow different. ive had APT all my life and worried that because of this the cartilidge in my spine will have grown crooked and make my apt unfixable?

Imo, total BS and fear mongering

The alignment of your spine is largely decided by your stabilizer muscles.
Your body can go into extreme spine curvature and still function fine (e.g. circus, dancers)

Same reason a large portion of desk jockeys with lower back pain who resort to surgery, and after a few months surprised their lower back pain returns. (I know of so many cases)
Instead they'd be better off fixing the APT/Kyphosis in muscular level, while breaking down their neurotic muscles tension. (e.g. Tension Myositis Syndrome)

Good luck bro

[svartberg]

Sup y'all. Hoping to get some thoughts on this routine I've put together to fix my ATP. I've got it pretty bad. Look like a damned minotaur. My goal was to have it fixed by 1st February, but if it takes longer so be it. My plan of action:

Three days a week:

High-bar back squats 5 sets of 8 - low weight, about 50kg. Really focus on hip drive and sitting back/glute activation. Previously when I was squatting heavy it was more or less all in my quads, I didn't feel it anywhere else at all.

Sumo deadlifts - 5 sets of 10, again low weight. About 60kg. Used to do standard heavy deadlifts but my lower back performed pretty much the whole motion.

Lying hamstring curl - 5 sets of 6, pretty heavy, adding weight regularly. My hammies lag behind my quads so the aim is to get them strong.

Core strength stuff; weighted planks, side planks, leg raises and cable press

Then every day I do foam rolling on my hammies, glutes and quads and the following stretching:

Two sets of 30 seconds, each side. Static lunge hip flexor stretch.
Two sets of 30 seconds, each side. Standing quad stretch.

I do that three times a day, erry day. I also do about two minutes of planks first thing in the morning and last thing before bed.

What do you think? Decent plan? I want to get this curse lifted so I can get back to lifting.

Hey bro sounds like good workout ! here are my tips :

1. I prefer conventional deadlifts as they have better glutes activition (t-nation article source)
If all goes well with 1-3 months of APT exercises, you should be able to pull CDLs barely even feelin your lower back

2. I don't see glute bridge in your routine, that's the most important exercise !
I do a bit to activate my glutes before deadlifts, and then with more intensity at end of routine. (with the core stuff)

3. If you got APT you don't need to roll your glutes/hams every day (unless you got knots), maybe 1-2x a week.

4. I'm not sure the reasoning behind cable press, are you trying to work your serratus anterior as you don't do any pull/push lifts ?

Anyway that's what I personally do, at the end of the day see whatever works for you, good luck dude

[VoxBro]

Hey bro sounds like good workout ! here are my tips :

1. I prefer conventional deadlifts as they have better glutes activition
If all goes well with 1-3 months of APT exercises, you should be able to pull CDLs barely even feelin your lower back

2. I don't see glute bridge in your routine, that's the most important exercise !
I do a bit to activate my glutes before deadlifts, and then with more intensity at end of routine. (with the core stuff)

3. If you got APT you don't need to roll your glutes/hams every day (unless you got knots), maybe 1-2x a week.

4. I'm not sure the reasoning behind cable press, are you trying to work your serratus anterior as you don't do any pull/push lifts ?

Anyway that's what I personally do, at the end of the day see whatever works for you, good luck dude

Thanks for the feedback man. I'll add glute bridges to my planks. I may be using the wrong terminology with 'cable press'. I cant post a link because of my post count, but the correct term is 'pallof press'. There are plenty of videos of it on youtube.

It's a great core exercise, feels similar to a plank but allows for better progression as you can keep adding weight when it gets easy without having to stack plates on your back.

I know the OP here doesn't say much about core strength for correcting APT, but my abs and core in general are extremely weak for years of a 9-5 desk job.

[IhateAPT]

Sup y'all. Hoping to get some thoughts on this routine I've put together to fix my ATP. I've got it pretty bad. Look like a damned minotaur. My goal was to have it fixed by 1st February, but if it takes longer so be it. My plan of action:

Three days a week:

High-bar back squats 5 sets of 8 - low weight, about 50kg. Really focus on hip drive and sitting back/glute activation. Previously when I was squatting heavy it was more or less all in my quads, I didn't feel it anywhere else at all.

I wouldn't do that if I were you. Either do squats as you normally do them or don't squat at all. I did what you're saying here and really messed up my back. I took a week off and when I came back to it 2 weeks later, I had someone record me doing it because I couldn't see what the problem is. I hurt my back even worse this time and had to stop doing them after the second set.

I watched the video back and it's clear that squeezing my glutes at the bottom really pulled my spine so it was completely straight which obviously put a lot of stress on it. I was lifting baby weight as well (60kg for 5 sets of 10) but it was still enough to hurt me. I had to take another rest and this Sunday will be me just getting back to it again. It's really hindered my progress to say the least. I couldn't even stretch because my back was so bad.

I agree you don't have to stretch so much as well btw. 3 times a day is too much.

[VoxBro]

Yeah I was thinking of dropping the squats and just deadlifting three times a week. If its babyweight it shouldnt be a problem.

I dont foam roll three times a day, I just use it as needed. I do stretch my hip flexors three times a day though. Most guides ive seen recommend three times a day stretching, but then an article on t nation posted here seems to say stretching doesnt work at all.

Seems like a lot of contradictory stuff out there. Ive also read two studies which say swimming is either great for apt or will make it even worse.

Pretty frustrating.

[Dergo]

I'm not doing any conventional squats or deadlifts in my recovery program. Instead I do front squats, snatch grip deadlifts and rack pulls.

About the contradictory information, it's always the same with all this bodybuilding/training thing. Few years old plans say "Stretch X everyday, Y on non-workout days", now it's "Stretching doesn't work". What I do really believe is that keeping a good posture during the day and sitting properly has a very big impact in your APT/Kyphosis problems, as it's something you do non-stop for hours and hours.

[VoxBro]

Why front squats if you dont mind me asking? I always thought front squats were more quad-heavy than back squats which put a bigger emphasis on the glutes and hammies.

Surely strengthening your quads is the last thing you'd want to do for APT?

I agree with you about practicing good posture. It only took a week or so and I no longer had to tense and force myself into not slouching, it just came naturally.

The pelvic tilt is proving more challenging.

[SKIN__N__BONES]

Since the PDF guide for foam rolling does not work should I just google foamrolling exercises for lower back quads and hip flexor then just do them for 10 minutes or so?

[svartberg]

Since the PDF guide for foam rolling does not work should I just google foamrolling exercises for lower back quads and hip flexor then just do them for 10 minutes or so?

Ya just google/youtube foam rolling these 3 muscles - (1) quads (2) hip flexors (3) lower back
If you really want to see that PDF just click here mate - http://www.nationalthrowscoachesasso...FoamRoller.pdf

[svartberg]

... but then an article on t nation posted here seems to say stretching doesnt work at all.

Seems like a lot of contradictory stuff out there. Ive also read two studies which say swimming is either great for apt or will make it even worse.

Pretty frustrating.

Warning: long rant ahead. (cliffs at bottom)


I gotta comment on all those guides contradicting each other, for all your brahs out there who feel confused about the whole thing.
I'm sure this is innocent, but they draw attention by discrediting common fitness practices ("everything you've done was wrong !"), the more popular the better.
Even more sad is the people who do it are actually very knowledgeable about what they're promoting, and they try to throw bombastic terms to stabilize their position (pun).

Naudi Augiler
The guy who made the glute bridge video above, I bought his dvds on fixing posture, awesome stuff guy is an expert who knows his chit.
Goes and make videos "dogma of the week" were he discredits things like a foam roller (srsly), and he's planning to do videos explaining why squats & deadlifts are bad for you. (dude wtf)
Farther more says how you "shouldn't do *insert bodybuilding exercises* but instead do *functional stuff*". (how ignorant)
Sorry dude, might be nice to be inspired by people who push their bodies to different directions (dancers, bodybuilders, circus performers) than your own (mma & posture)

Dr. Evan Osar
A guru of how scapular stabilization effects the rest of the body.
Thanks to this guy I realized my RC problems were simply because of poor scapular stabilization, helped made my life and routine so much easier, thank you.
But then he likes to discredit a lot of things however, such as YTWs and common proven exercises, apparently bit insecure any youtube comments require his approval.

Dean Somerset
I just read his article, seems like a guy who obviously knows his chit about hip mobility, cool.
But discrediting stretching and myofascial release, son I dissapoint.

Paul Ingraham
Bought his ebooks about managing muscle injuries (tears), good stuff helped me tons.
Also got an detailed breakdown of myofascial trigger points, dude that really impressed the ladies, thanks.
Then he goes and completely discredits static stretching, epic fail.

Dr. E. Sarno
The grand daddy genius of Tension Myositis Syndrome, this has helped tens of thousands heal their lower back pain with the power of their mind alone.
I have read his book, and gotta say this stuff is magic and is life changing, thank you doc.
Goes and says how it's a myth abs protect the spine / lower back .. well it's obvious he's not a fitness expert, but the inner abs (TVA) help stabilize the spine whenever he likes it or not.

So what do I do with all this mess :
I have already had good posture most of my life, once doing MMA (core, hip mobility, etc) twice a week and sitting 24/7, the other standing/walking/partying all day (zero training), this will be the 3rd time. (weight lifting, core, meditation)
• I don't need anyone to tell me there's only one golden way to fix posture, I already know that's wrong and there's tons of ways to improve posture.
• That means whatever frequency you want (once a week, every day), whatever type of exercise (static isometrics, dynamic mobility, etc), as long as you stick to it and monitor progress.
• Those guys are experts and I have learned tons from them, therefore I won't let their mountain of BS take away from the stuff which is useful.


Cliffs
• it all works
• learn what you can, disregard the bs fear mongering
• stick with whatever suits your lifestyle, schedule & preferences.

[Dergo]

Why front squats if you dont mind me asking? I always thought front squats were more quad-heavy than back squats which put a bigger emphasis on the glutes and hammies.

Surely strengthening your quads is the last thing you'd want to do for APT?

I agree with you about practicing good posture. It only took a week or so and I no longer had to tense and force myself into not slouching, it just came naturally.

The pelvic tilt is proving more challenging.

Front squats are not so painful on the lower back if you got APT. Even if you are training to fix your back (lots of pulling exercices, etc.) you shouldn't neglect the antagonists, or you'll end unbalanced the other way around.

[svartberg]

Thanks for the feedback man. I'll add glute bridges to my planks. I may be using the wrong terminology with 'cable press'. I cant post a link because of my post count, but the correct term is 'pallof press'. There are plenty of videos of it on youtube.

It's a great core exercise, feels similar to a plank but allows for better progression as you can keep adding weight when it gets easy without having to stack plates on your back.

I know the OP here doesn't say much about core strength for correcting APT, but my abs and core in general are extremely weak for years of a 9-5 desk job.

Np dude, first time I see this exercise, looks very cool man !

Actually the OP mentions core is very important, and recommended planks for them.
Ye I had totally crap core when I started too man, after about 4 months felt like a completely different person !

[wallace g]

Warning: long rant ahead. (cliffs at bottom)


I gotta comment on all those guides contradicting each other, for all your brahs out there who feel confused about the whole thing.
I'm sure this is innocent, but they draw attention by discrediting common fitness practices ("everything you've done was wrong !"), the more popular the better.
Even more sad is the people who do it are actually very knowledgeable about what they're promoting, and they try to throw bombastic terms to stabilize their position (pun).

Naudi Augiler
The guy who made the glute bridge video above, I bought his dvds on fixing posture, awesome stuff guy is an expert who knows his chit.
Goes and make videos "dogma of the week" were he discredits things like a foam roller (srsly), and he's planning to do videos explaining why squats & deadlifts are bad for you. (dude wtf)
Farther more says how you "shouldn't do *insert bodybuilding exercises* but instead do *functional stuff*". (how ignorant)
Sorry dude, might be nice to be inspired by people who push their bodies to different directions (dancers, bodybuilders, circus performers) than your own (mma & posture)

Dr. Evan Osar
A guru of how scapular stabilization effects the rest of the body.
Thanks to this guy I realized my RC problems were simply because of poor scapular stabilization, helped made my life and routine so much easier, thank you.
But then he likes to discredit a lot of things however, such as YTWs and common proven exercises, apparently bit insecure any youtube comments require his approval.

Dean Somerset
I just read his article, seems like a guy who obviously knows his chit about hip mobility, cool.
But discrediting stretching and myofascial release, son I dissapoint.

Paul Ingraham
Bought his ebooks about managing muscle injuries (tears), good stuff helped me tons.
Also got an detailed breakdown of myofascial trigger points, dude that really impressed the ladies, thanks.
Then he goes and completely discredits static stretching, epic fail.

Dr. E. Sarno
The grand daddy genius of Tension Myositis Syndrome, this has helped tens of thousands heal their lower back pain with the power of their mind alone.
I have read his book, and gotta say this stuff is magic and is life changing, thank you doc.
Goes and says how it's a myth abs protect the spine / lower back .. well it's obvious he's not a fitness expert, but the inner abs (TVA) help stabilize the spine whenever he likes it or not.

So what do I do with all this mess :
I have already had good posture most of my life, once doing MMA (core, hip mobility, etc) twice a week and sitting 24/7, the other standing/walking/partying all day (zero training), this will be the 3rd time. (weight lifting, core, meditation)
• I don't need anyone to tell me there's only one golden way to fix posture, I already know that's wrong and there's tons of ways to improve posture.
• That means whatever frequency you want (once a week, every day), whatever type of exercise (static isometrics, dynamic mobility, etc), as long as you stick to it and monitor progress.
• Those guys are experts and I have learned tons from them, therefore I won't let their mountain of BS take away from the stuff which is useful.


Cliffs
• it all works
• learn what you can, disregard the bs fear mongering
• stick with whatever suits your lifestyle, schedule & preferences.

Great post, repped