Issue 26: What’s tight and what’s weak?
What’s actually going on with your muscles when you sit for 8 hours?
I’m going to guess that the first area that comes to mind when you read that is your neck and shoulders. After slouching over the desk all day (yes, even many different versions of slouching), we often bemoan the stiffness in our upper bodies, a decidedly unfun side effect of prawn posture.
But the tightness and weakness don’t stop there. Over the next few newsletters, I’m going to break down one muscle/body part that gets out of sorts from sitting. We’ll look at what it’s doing and what moves can help counteract it.
Since I assume the neck and shoulders is what first comes to mind, let’s start there!
When you slump all day, a few things happen:
The chin creeps forward, keeping the back of the neck in a lengthened position, which in turn keeps the muscles at the front of the neck in a shortened position.
The shoulders curve forward, putting the muscles of the upper back in a lengthened position, which in turn keeps the muscles of the chest in a shortened position.
The spine rounds forward, lengthening the vertical muscles of the mid-back, which in turn keeps the muscles of front of the torso (your “abs”) in a shortened position.
You can see the trend. When a muscle/group on one side of the body lengthens, the muscle/group on the other side shortens. That’s the basic concept of strength training, too. As you curl the weight toward your shoulder, you’re shortening your bicep and lengthening your tricep.
You may have heard that muscles that are often lengthened (your glutes and upper back) get weak, so they need strengthening, while muscles that are often shorted (chest, front abdominals) get tight, so they need stretching.
However, this is an oversimplification. Any muscle that is just hanging out has the potential to get weak, whether it’s in a lengthened or shortened position. In other words, tight and weak aren’t opposites.
Every muscle will benefit from moving through a full range of motion (stretching/mobility work) and progressive overload with weight (strength training).
We’ve already called out six different muscles/groups just right there, so let’s start with the topmost spots: your neck, upper back, and chest. I have little video examples for you right here!
Neck
In the interest of not hurting your neck, we’ll focus on mobility rather than “strength” per se for this one:
Mobilize and stretch: Chin tucks. Seems counterintuitive, but start by mindfully tucking your chin into your collarbone (try to look at the top of your sternum). Then, raise your toward the far top corner of the room (not up to the ceiling—that’s too much for a lot of necks). Repeat.
Upper Back
Strengthen: Row. You can do this with a band (anchor at the centre, face the anchor, and pull), with a cable machine, or with a dumbbell (bent-over row).
Stretch: Cat-cow. In the cat position, focus on breathing into your back, expanding your ribs out to the sides as well as front to back. Standing roll-downs are great, too, as is seated cat-cow.
Chest
Strengthen: Chest press. With a band, anchor the centre, face away from the anchor, and press out. With dumbbells, lie on your back.
Stretch: Chest opener pose. Place a long bolster or a rolled up blanket along your spine and lie back, letting your arms spread out to the sides. Again, feel your ribs expand out to the sides as you inhale.
We’ll get to everything eventually, but if you want a stretch or strength exercise for a specific pain point right now, just reply to this email! I’ll hook you up :)
Til next time,
stay strong, calm, and kind