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basics here
| What it’s good for | Strengthens your upper back muscles, which counteract the effect of droopy shoulders and hunched posture. You will sit, stand and walk with a more upright posture. Ahd more balanced shoulder muscles reduces the chance of shoulder pain |
| How often to do it | Three times a week |
| Equipment you’ll need | Kitchen chair without arms Stretchy exercise band |
- Scoop up the band, holding it firmly in your upturned hands. Lift hands to just above your knees (about in line with your belly button, not up by your chest)
- Keeping your elbows pressed gently to the sides of your body, pull hands apart to the sides
- Hold for a count of 5, then return to starting point
- Rest briefly then repeat
Aim to do this 10 times in one go.
Note: Because this exercise uses resistance (a stretchy band) to build strength, you must give your muscles time to rest between sessions, so always leave 48 hours between each practice (read more about muscle strengthening here)
TIPS
♦ Keep your palms facing upwards throughout so your wrists don’t turn
♦ If it feels very easy, move your hands so that there’s less band between them: you should feel as though you are having to pull to keep the band stretched every time
♦ Check that both arms are pulling equally – not one doing all the work. It can really help to do this in front of a mirror so you can see where each arm ends up when you pull!
Varying the exercise for more challenge
Once you can do 10 repeats without giving up, you need to make the exercise a bit harder to continue strengthening your muscles. Try the progressions below in order of increasing difficulty.
The progressions
1. Add another set of 10 repeats
Before you start the second lot, wait at least three minutes so your muscles can recover
2. Have less band between your hands
The less band you leave between your hands, the harder it will be to pull and hold. Be careful, you can unintentionally make the exercise very hard indeed if you put your hands really close together
3. Add an extra movement
- Sit tall at the front of the chair, with the exercise band draped over your knees
- Scoop up the band, holding it firmly in your upturned hands. Lift your hands to just above your knees (about in line with your belly button, not up by your chest)
- Keeping your elbows pressed gently to the sides of your body, pull your hands apart out to the sides
- Without letting go, pull your elbows backwards to bring your hands closer in
- Keeping your elbows back, pull the band open a bit more and hold for a count of 5
- Slowly release, return to your starting point and briefly rest before your next repeat
4. Use a stronger band
Stretchy resistance bands come in different strengths, so the thicker and heavier the band, the tougher it is going to be. To read more about this, click here.
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