Justin G. Walls, Certified Personal Athletic Trainer

Today I am going to give you instructions on strengthening some of the upper back muscles that get hyper extended from our overly hunched daily routine. A friend of mine did some aid work in Haiti after their recent earthquake. Something he noticed was the excellent muscle tone of the back muscles amongst every age group, especially the elderly. He mentioned that they were quite adept at carrying things without much difficulty, even though he was there to treat the many other ailments they were suffering after the quake. The point is that they had excellent tone in their upper back from shoulder to shoulder, and as a result were not suffering from some of the common ailments of American society, where 10-15% of adults experience neck pain.. One exercise effective at improving tone is the overhead shoulder raise. The overhead shoulder raise involves holding a medicine ball or other weight in front of your body and then simply raising it overhead. Front Shoulder Raise Here are the...

Think about the following issues: Can you raise your arms above your head? Can you raise your arms above your head without arching your back? Can you raise your arms above your head without arching your back AND do not hear any popping, clicking, or feel a rubbing against your shoulder? Without getting too technical, it suffices to say that all of our muscles are connected together via Fascia . If one muscle is too tight or too weak, then another muscle elsewhere in the body may be tugged, stretched, or restricted in movement. Due to modern posture issues, such as constant computer and desk work, our bodies tend to roll the shoulders forward, tilt the head forward, and contract the abdomen. Constant tension in these postions creates tightness in those muscles while hyperextending many back and neck muscles. One possible solution help strengthen the back and improve posture is to hold a proper plank. Once you master holding a plank, you may also want to add some Serrratus Pu...