Founder Exercise for Better Posture
 

Now that my shoulders and hips are finally getting some good mobility, I'm able to do this Founder exercise. It's really good for your posture. I like it a lot. The Dr. points out that about 80% of people these days have forward posture. Most people here probably do. I like this guy he makes a lot of sense and notice how good his posture is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhbibKmW4gg

I'm very familiar with this movement. For some reason I abandoned it at the gym. Dumb.

This is also called a "prone cobra." You can do this by either lying on the floor or lying on a large swiss ball in the gym.

I used to do this but with light dumbells in either hand to increase the resistance. You can start with no weight and hold for 30 seconds. When this becomes easy do it with 1 lb. Then 2. Etc.

If you do this you are going to greatly strengthen all your posterior muscles that pull the shoulders back and open up the thoracic outlet area.

His videos are interesting....
I like how he says we have to bend/lean forward at the hips and pelvis, rather than hunch forward through the spine and shoulders.

I use a saddle chair at work for this exact reason and it does feel better.

He talks a lot about strengthening the posterior chain and hellothere just posted on another thread saying the same thing. I think you also have to have good shoulder and scapula mobility. Everything works together.

Found that interesting as well. My first reaction was that movement is a little like a deadlift movement which is very good for your posterior chain.

Feel like this and other keep saying the same thing -- keep from your hips to your ribs "long," your upper body anterior muscles "loose," and your upper body posterior muscles "strong."

A long way of saying "stand up straight and strong."

I wonder if TOS sufferers could slowly improve their situation by slowly increasing walking distances every day.

And decreasing the time spend in front of a computer or slouching in a chair.

I used to walk quite a few miles every day and it didn't help me any, as far as pain levels. Self-myofascial release and mobility exercises have helped me a lot though. Over time, my posture is gradually improving. I've been dealing with this for more than 30 years, so it's a slow process.

I investigated Foundation Training thoroughly and took the plunge about a week ago. I purchased the DVDs and starting doing the training every morning and also integrating various exercises into my workouts.

All I can say is...WOW.

This has opened my eyes.

I used to think that TOS was just an upper body issue. Nope. I'm convinced that my entire movement pattern, from top to bottom, is just wrong. And worse, my workouts at the gym and poor sitting posture is just making it all worse.

Strengthening the entire posterior chain changes everything. My low back and glutes (which I've neglected forever) are now stronger...after just one week of doing these exercises...and it allows me to hold stronger posture easier. And what's most amazing is that the movements I usually do at the gym are now even stronger.

What's great is that you don't need to workout for an hour. Do this for 10 minutes every morning and you'll see the difference.

I really can't recommend this enough. I've been looking for some kind of "yoga-ish" type thing to integrate into my activity. This is it.

KY

Cool! Thanks for sharing! I don't have the DVD's but I might buy them myself. Let us know how your progress goes.

I just watched the youtube about the Founder. Do you have to hold your arms up for long? It sounds really interesting but I imagine just the basic move would be too much.

Every move is essentially three deep breathes which amounts to about 15 seconds. I'm sure that's something you could work up to.

I'd gather you could do a modified Founder. The starting position, where you don't have to raise your arms at all but have your arms back and scapula retracted, provides plenty of benefit. The second position where you extend your arms straight out and pull the hips back may not be as painful.

There's also other movements that have you on the floor doing back extensions and another movement similar to the Founder called the "Woodpecker" that has you leaning forward/hips back while leaning on one leg.

KY