Posture

[rsnuk]

Will weight training improve or worsen posture?

I seem to have excessive lordosis.

Couldn't heavy weight on the top of the body, from say squats, worsen the curvature?

[IH8ECTOMORPHISM]

Strengthened back muscles can help posture.

[rsnuk]

Ok, thanks.

Do you think keeping your stomach in/sucking it in while doing your exercises will help further?

I've just read about stomach vacs and am keeping my stomach slightly in all the time in the hope of stregnthening the muslces that keep you gut in.

Plus when i do the vac my spine strightens right up and goes into a very slight helthy looking lordosis, i figure at worst i'll build up endurance to holding my gut in slightly all the time.

[ericTHEninja]

Lifting will not make your posture better or worse. Posture is something you can fix by consciously thinking about it. Unless you're a chick with 36DD's, your back muscles are strong enough to hold you up straight.

Keeping your stomach sucked in while you do exercises won't do much. Your midsection will get stronger from weighted crunches and the like or compound, heavy exercises that require you to hold yourself upright.

[builder121]

My mum used to always complain about my poor posture i still remember. When i started lifting it stopped...what does that tell you my friend?

[Avila]

Lifting will not make your posture better or worse. Posture is something you can fix by consciously thinking about it. Unless you're a chick with 36DD's, your back muscles are strong enough to hold you up straight.

Keeping your stomach sucked in while you do exercises won't do much. Your midsection will get stronger from weighted crunches and the like or compound, heavy exercises that require you to hold yourself upright.

actually lifting can make your posture worse if you neglect back exercises and just focus on chest and front delts.

the way to improve your posture with lifting is to focus a lot on back exercises... rows pullups, reverse butterflyes (rear delts), lower back... just strengthen your posterior chain.

although if you still have a bad posture even after lifting properly for a while, then you must work on your posture.

tuck your chin, flex your rhomboids and pull shoulders back when you walk or stand... imagine squeezing an eraser with your mid back.


http://www.drbookspan.com/NeckPainArticle.html

[%%%%]

Weight training can help your posture. But only if you work your back and rear deltiods.

[BSN dude]

My front delts are more developed than my rears so it looks like like I huch forward lol. Im training the rears alot now so that will be over soon. I did notice though that deadlifts really helped my posture cuz it used to be pretty bad.

[xckjb88]

my posture used to be terrible... I thought it ran in my family cause my grandpa's and my dad's was like that too. My mom used to have to tell me to walk upright all the time...

Then I started incorporating deadlifts, squats and rows and consciously tried to improve my posture and now it's perfect. My mom and family tells me once in a while at how it's improved and I didn't even ask her.

[ericTHEninja]

My mum used to always complain about my poor posture i still remember. When i started lifting it stopped...what does that tell you my friend?

It tells me that 1) your confidence went up from lifting and you stood taller, 2) when your back, upper arms, chest, and shoulders are sore, the relaxed position is standing erect and 3) you're a cocky little 17 year old kid with no basis in your argument.

The point is that your body is designed to hold your weight. Otherwise, you'd fall over. Yes, it is possible to be top heavy, but it doesn't mean your midsection won't grow to support your upper half unless you're a girl. If you're a guy, really skinny, and walk around hunched over, it's not because your core is weak.

Any adjustments in posture when lifting are correlation, but not necessarily causation.

actually lifting can make your posture worse if you neglect back exercises and just focus on chest and front delts.

Well, yeah. That's true for anything. A number of ski related knee injuries occur because most people have stronger quads than hamstrings and the strength imbalance causes the body to react inappropriately.