rounded shoulders and bad posture

[gus83]

Hey all,

I have pretty poor posture. I have rounded shoulders and a forward head caused by being very overweight and lazy for so many years. I have since lost all the weight (60lbs total), but my shoulders/neck still look bad. What are some good exercises to strengthen the back and get the shoulders (back) to be more flat and not rounded?

-Matt

[David Whitley]

Deadlifts will work wonders if you do them correctly.

[Stagger]

Rows and deadlifts should be top priority. The muscles that pull your shoulders back are rhomboids and traps. To get rid of your forward head, I'm not really sure. For one you should stretch the front neck muscles- people who have desk jobs or read a lot often have very tight muscles in front of their neck because they're always looking down. You could also do some neck harness work for the back of your neck, deadlifts might take care of it though.

Also, the #1 key to good posture isn't to work certain muscles but to just have good posture. Pull your shoulders and your head back all the time, and they'll stay that way. Weightlifting should just help with that by giving your muscles more strength/endurance. It comes down to you and not your muscles, to keep good posture.

[drexebo]

I also had that problem after I lost about 30lbs of fat about 2 years ago... since then I have made a conscious effort to stand up straight with my shoulders back. I've straightened up pretty good.

[thanatopsis]

Deadlifts will work wonders if you do them correctly.

I agree... my lats and traps are sore from them, so that would pull your upper body back a bit -- and the big thing is it'll make your lower back really strong which could help straighten your mid-section.