Show HN: Slouch Stoppah
slouchstoppah.com
slouchstoppah.com
https://1h6wllf3f4qfut1832zlo21e-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-... (upper cross syndrome diagram)
https://www.t-nation.com/training/top-priority-for-lower-tra... (prone Y)
https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19521507/chest-supported... (chest supported dumbbell row)
https://www.t-nation.com/training/whats-your-weak-link (scapular wall slide)
The code is open sourced and can be seen here https://github.com/lnenad/slouch-stoppah
Standing desks are a significant change. I got a small amount of swollen ankles the first day of standing for hours. But it works now.
Deadlifts miss the muscles in the shoulder that tighten up from too much mouse + kb. I haven't found an excersize for that, which is as effective as deadlifts. Pushing your arms back in a door frame, holding your elbows above shoulder height, helps roll back each shoulder and stretch a tight muscle that goes from the top of your shoulder to the front of your chest that gets tight when hunched over a kb. That works in the short term, but it doesn't give the effective feeling of strengthening those muscles in such a way that the problem recurs much more slowly, like deadlifts do for your legs/back/neck.
I've tried hanging from a pullup bar and that certainly helps reset the shoulders/neck/head tension, but it's not a fix in the same way gaining strength is a fix.
Uhhh....
I can personally recommend Upright Pose, https://www.uprightpose.com/en-try/
On hamstring tightness: often when muscles are tight, it's due to a strength imbalance. Runners tend to get tight hamstrings because they work their quads a lot and the hamstrings don't keep up. So while it's a bit of an oversimplification to say that if certain muscles are chronically tight, you can fix that just by making them stronger, it's not too far off. For me it was really that simple: strengthening my hamstrings with hip hinges [2] made them noticeably less tight within about a month.
For posture it's basically the same idea. I always thought posture was like a force of will/discipline/habit thing until I finally felt how much easier it is to have that "discipline" after moderately strengthening my back, chest, core, and legs. Standing or sitting up straight is actually a lot of work for our bodies. And if it's basically the hardest thing you regularly subject the relevant muscles to, it's not too surprising that they will get tired out quickly. But if you start doing things that are much harder for each muscle group (like planks, push ups, rows, squats, hinges, etc.), then simply holding yourself up straight gets much easier.