Take a look at the average person moving around the average industrialized country and you’ll notice:
Their shoulders are round on the inside.
Look at yourself now to read these words and you will probably notice something:
Yours The shoulders are round on the inside.
Older children, teenagers, adults, athletes, powerlifters, grandparents, mothers, fathers, students, baristas, almost everyone. It is rare to see someone with a neutral shoulder, who is constantly spinning inwards in a permanent internal rotation and sitting in their socket as the object of nature without being round.
Why?
Problems with your shoulder round
First, let’s face it – most people don’t know how to do it right.
The first principles tell us that what is inherent and natural in our skeletal structure is ideal and optimal. Our normal state is not resting in a round shoulder position. It is the neutral shoulder, the shoulder that sits in their socket, not rotating externally or internally. Shoulders that simply Is. Young children tend to have this stable, neutral shoulder position, mostly because they are closer to their normal position and less altered by the traps and designs of modern society.
But let’s be more specific with the problems arising from the round shoulder:
- Stimulates the front tilt, which puts a ton of pressure on your neck and disrupts your breathing and reduces your lung capacity.
- The rest of your torso also begins to pull forward — so the hunchback is common among people who can’t do any business at a very young age.
- When the shoulders are constantly rounded, the supraspinatus tendon tends to pinch against the bone bridge running from your clavicle to your shoulder, especially if you lift or push over the head. It can cause pain, wear and tear and deterioration.
- It’s not interesting. This may seem unnecessary, but it is an important signal. In many cases aesthetics represents utility, form, and function.
To get an exaggerated idea of what rounded shoulders are doing with your shoulder function, try to lengthen your shoulder blades completely (spread your shoulder blades and rotate your shoulders as far forward as possible). Now, try raising your arm directly above your head, like you are doing an overhead press or setting up for a dead hang pullup. You can’t do it comfortably. Your shoulders are out of place. Do the opposite: withdraw and place your shoulder blades backwards, then raise your arms above your head. It has to be much easier. That’s the way to do shoulder work.
What causes round shoulders?
Excessive use of laptops and computers
Sitting plus typing and focusing intensively on the screen a few inches below us has created a race of sloping shoulders, elongated scapulas, unstable shoulder joints and tight pecs. It gets worse when you lean on your elbows and arms to get to work, because then you’re turning that round shoulder position into a resting position – your body’s expected “baseline”.
Lots of time on the phone
Take your phone and see it. How do you do that? Do you hold it at eye level with an outwardly rotated shoulder, or do you hold it at abdominal height and look downward with an internally rotated / rounded shoulder? Now do it 6 or 8 hours a day.
You may find that one shoulder is more problematic than the other যায় it moves more than the other, more pain during training, stiffer when you wake up. In my experience, this almost always happens due to spending too much time on the phone using one hand over the other.
Grief and lack of soul
This is going to be controversial, but in my experience it is true. Extreme depression, depression, lack of direction and depression all cause you to “look down” and return to the rounded shoulder position. And it goes both ways. Being in that consistently rounded shoulder position encourages you to look down and prevent you from seeing beauty, from looking up and forward, towards your purpose. You look down and you’re going to move down, both literally and figuratively.
They support each other in a vicious cycle.
Excessive pressure and pushing, not enough pulling
People, especially fitness enthusiasts, tend to focus primarily on “pushing” muscles, including push-ups, bench presses, overhead presses, and dips. Which you can see in the mirror. Which you can hit with some quick pushup whenever you like it. They neglect stretching exercises: pull-ups, rows of body weight, bending over rows, and all other changes. Pushing exercises are easy to do anywhere and they are effective, but they are also good for tightening the pecs and promoting a rounded shoulder position without adequate balance from stretching exercises.
Lack of frequent movement
Most people’s shoulders are paralyzed. They are locked in position. They do not move or explore the normal range of motion.
The “locked” position on the front of the computer or smartphone is an internally rotated position that doesn’t help, but the biggest part is immobility. If you want to move your shoulders through their range of motion all day, it doesn’t matter if you spend hours on the computer. You want to get away with it. It’s a stasis, not necessarily a position.
Combine the one-way push / pull ratio with the excessive use of computers and phones mentioned above and you will end up with a recipe for ever round shoulders.
How to fix round shoulder
Consciously pull your shoulders back
Set a reminder to check your shoulder position every hour. Are you round? Pull your shoulders back. Stay on top of it and eventually it will become unconscious. Now, that doesn’t mean you should overreact. The standard scapular plane relative to your torso is about 30 degrees. It is “neutral”. Not flat, not retracted and certainly not round to the front.
The dead are hanging
You will need something to hold the overhead, such as a branch or a pull-up bar. Hold the bar, relax and let it expand slowly, slowly, for three seconds or more. Relax in hanging. This will stretch everything that communicates with the shoulder girdle-laces, pecs, biceps and delta as you open the space where your connective tissues go. Remove your arms wider than shoulder width when comfortable enough to stretch.
If you feel tightness in your pecs, it indicates tight pectoral and a bad shoulder rounding habit. That means you really have to hang on. Hang from the bar for at least 5 minutes a day, divided into manageable portions. 5 minutes better and more can help.
Pull more than push
Although pushes and pressures are important for strength and fitness, if you do not balance them with pulls and rows, they tend to bend your shoulders inwardly. In my book, you should repeat twice as many times as you push. If you press the bench then do a total of 30 rip, a total of 60 rows. If you do 20 dips, work towards 40 pull-ups or bodyweight rows. Keep the ratio as close to 2: 1 as you can. The balance should be in the daytime, not in the workout.
Use a permanent workstation
A permanent workstation lets you stand tall. When you are standing, you are less likely to lean in front of you, lean on the table, rest your elbows, and bend your shoulders inwards.
You can adjust the height of most permanent workstations so that the computer is close to eye level so you don’t have to look down all day.
Frequent breaks from computer and device use
The part of breaking the stasis at the base of the round shoulder is not to do something that makes you lean towards that shoulder position. At some level, if you use a computer or device, your shoulders will default to an unnecessary position. It’s hard to escape, no matter how many times you remind yourself to put your shoulder behind you.
Just stop using so many devices and if you have to use them, take frequent breaks.
Hold your phone at eye level
This is a simple solution that takes practice. It feels very easy and very normal to hold the phone around your waist and look at it. Holding your phone at eye level can make you feel a bit silly, but just do it because it will prevent your shoulders from turning inwards. If this prevents you from using your phone frequently, then better.
Frequent movement with plenty of shoulder activity
Throw a ball for your dog or play catch with your child. Throw rocks into the lake. Practice javelin throwing. Shake your hand like a Chinese grandmother while taking a very early morning walk in the local park. Just move your body and especially move your shoulders through their full range of motion.
Take a hint from the kids. Kids will run around flying their helicopters around their arms for no apparent reason. It is certainly not “efficient”. Or maybe it?
Do shoulder dislocates every day
Take a break to dislodge the shoulders using a flexible band, a broom, a piece of rope, a ribbon, a cool pet snake, and even a dog’s ribs. Hold both ends straight, with locked arms. Starting with your hips, bring the band behind your head (or whatever you are using) until you reach your buttocks on the other side, keeping these arms straight. At this point, you can go back and repeat the way you came. It can be uncomfortable or “tight”. No matter what you do, just avoid the pain.
This all sounds like a lot to take, it really isn’t. Most of these tips for fixing round shoulders support and encourage each other. Do some, and others become much easier.
Let me know what you think below. If you have any other suggestions or solutions that work for you, add them to the comments section. Take care, everyone.
About the author
Click here if you want to add an avatar to all your comments!