Original thread by Jimmy Mackey (@thejimmymackey)

Sitting in front of a computer for 6 hours a day is literally destroying your posture and health.

But most things you’ve been told about posture are lies.

Thread: Here’s the truth about posture and five exercises to fix it for good.

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Logically it makes sense…stretch muscles that feel “tight” and strengthen muscles that seem “weak or long.”

But this model is simply addressing the symptoms, not the cause.

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Although it seems harmless, a waste of time at worst, it causes secondary compensations that make the problem even harder to solve.

The man in the pictures below spent years trying to stretch his pecs and strengthen his back to fix his rounded shoulders.

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What happened? He pulled his shoulders back successfully but created a forward head posture as a secondary compensation (farthest left).

It wasn’t until he addressed the root cause that he was able to fix his posture (far right).

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So what is the root cause? The position of your ribcage and pelvis.

Think about it like this — If your shoulder hurts or is rounded, why could that be?

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Well, if your ribcage is in a poor position, then your shoulder blade that sits on your ribcage will be in a compromised position.

If your shoulder blade is misaligned, then, of course, your shoulder and arm will be as well.

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Same thing for the lower body.

If your pelvis is unable to find the mobility it needs…

Then the knee, lower back, and/or foot will have to use compensatory strategies to find what should be present at the hips.

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On top of that, the pelvis and ribcage are directly interconnected via the spine.

So you can’t just stretch and strengthen; you need a total body reset.

Here are five exercises that will reset your posture and have you moving pain-free:

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1/ Short Seated Breathing

3 Sets of 8-10 Breaths

This exercise improves your ability to breathe & expand the back ribs while expanding the lower & upper back.

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Cues:
• Feel sit bones
• Mid back on wall
• Reach and round back
• Maintain position and breath

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2/ PRI Sidelying Scissor Slices

3 Sets of 5 Breaths per Side

This exercise reduces tension in the glutes & rear hips while improving the ability to push the femur (leg) back in the hip socket into internal rotation.

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Cues:
• Lie in a side-lying 90/90 position
• Drive top knee forward
• Do not let heels leave the wall
• Press the bottom knee up into the top thigh
• Maintain position and breathe

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3/ PRI Supine Hemi-Extension with Rectus Femoris

3 Sets of 15 Reps per Side

This exercise improves end-range hip extension and the ability to disassociate the sides of the pelvis from one another.

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Cues:
• Back completely flat on the table
• Place foam roller beneath the thigh
• Low back completely relaxed
• Inhale and straighten your leg
• Exhale and bend your leg

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4/ PRI 90/90 Hip Lift in Passive FA IR

3 Sets of 5 Breaths

This exercise improves the internal rotation of the hips while improving the position of the pelvis.

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Cues:
• 90/90 Position
• Place feet outside of knees
• Tuck pelvis off the ground by engaging hamstrings (pull down with heels without moving feet)
• Soft reach
• Maintain position and breathe

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5/ Heels-Elevated Toe Touch

3 Sets of 5 Breaths

This exercise improves the mobility of the hamstrings and hips while decompressing low back.

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Cues:
• Place heels on a book
• Round back down through the spine
• Exhale and internally rotate legs
• Inhale and externally rotate legs
• Notice more space in hips and ability to get lower

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// How to Breath //

Relaxed, full exhales through your mouth.

Feel your obliques and not your six-pack
when you exhale.

8s exhale, 5s pause, maintain tension in obliques, inhale for 5s.

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Do this every day for two weeks and tell me you don’t feel and look like a new person!

If you enjoyed this thread:

1. Follow @thejimmymackey for more.
2. RT the first tweet to help someone else.

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P.S.

If you’re looking for help enhancing mobility, improving posture, and moving pain-free…

Shoot me a DM. I’d love to help.

Click below to DM me “Pain-free.”

I’m excited to chat ?