Dear Trainer Mark,
I've become one of those people who have clearly over-trained the front and under-trained the back: my chest is in fine form, but I've noticed a rounding of my shoulders...HELP!
Grovel, grovel,
The Hunch-Back of Chelsea
Dear Hunch-Back,
Despair not: you are not alone, sharing company with so many other gym bunnies. While it's only logical to think that people would distribute their gym time evenly amongst all body parts, we do not - we go for what we see in the mirror: arms and chest. Therefore, most - ahem - 'fit' gym bunnies eventually appear to have sticks for legs and a lovely manly lump on their back (a result of overtrained chest, pulling the undertrained back/shoulder muscles forward).
One key exercise to rectifying the slumped posture phenomenon is the inverted row, which uses your own body weight. In addition to being a great muscle builder, inverted rows are great because they focus on the oft-neglected upper back and shoulder area - the muscles that directly oppose those used in the bench press. Here's how you do it:
At a smith machine, grab the bar with an overhand grip and place your heals on the floor,with your legs straight. Pulling your chest toward the bar - (to count as a rep, they must touch) - pause for a beat and then lower yourself 'til your arms are straight. If you can't do 10 perfect rows, you likely have an imbalance between your front and your back. Fix this by performing 2 sets of inverted rows for every 1 set of any chest exercise that you do.
Stand tall, Quasimodo.
Trainer Mark
No comments:
Post a Comment