Hello and welcome to another edition of Fey Fitness!
Today I want to continue on with our discussion from last week about the back. I am a firm believer that most people don’t give enough attention to this important part of the body. Like I mentioned last week, our back is responsible for our posture and for protecting our spinal column from injury. So it is very important that we take care of the muscles responsible for this.
Another reason the back is so essential to long term health and wellness comes from the nature of the jobs we tend to have now. Most people I know are at a desk or computer for some portion of their day. And while there are tons of articles that detail exactly what happens to your spine or lower body when sitting too long (I’ll dive deeper into this later in another blog), another important aspect is what being at a computer or desk does to our upper back and shoulders.
In order to use a computer or write documents we need to extend our arms forward in front of our bodies for prolonged periods of time. This prolonged misalignment of the back, shoulder blade and upper arms puts a lot of stress on the ligaments and tendons around the shoulder and can cause aches and pains, known as frozen shoulder. Repetitive Strain Injury is another way to describe discomfort that arises in the shoulder area for computer users because the muscles and tendons all along the neck and wrist are being held under tension in one posture for long periods of time. Most of the time when we use a computer our shoulder posture is not at rest, but is supporting the arm using the mouse or the other arm on the keyboard.
Because of these factors the muscles and tendons in the shoulder joint become tight and computer users can experience a tight feeling that over time decreases the range of motion and functionality of the shoulder joint. This is where the W-stretch comes in to play. This simple stretch can help increase the functionality and mobility of this joint, while can also reduce the aches and pains associated with this line of work.
My goal is to help you not only reach your health and wellness goals, but to continue to set (and meet) new goals 20 or even 30 years from now! Fitness is a life long journey, and we need to make sure we are caring for our bodies throughout this amazing ride.
How To Perform A “W” stretch:
- Stand nice and tall with your arms hanging loosely at your sides.
- Roll your shoulders back and down while bringing your shoulder blades nice and tight against your back.
- Bring your arms up to form a large “W” with your fingers pointing upwards and creating the top of the letter w.
- Keep your upper arm (the area between your shoulder and elbow) as still as possible, and bend your forearm arm (from the elbow to your finger tips) as far backwards as possible.
- Pro Tip: It’s perfectly fine if your forearms don’t move backwards very far. Most of my clients with sedentary lifestyles or desk jobs have tight shoulders and perform this move every day in order to increase shoulder function and mobility.
- Perform 8-10 reps per side for 1-3 sets as needed throughout the day.
My goal is to empower you to feel confident and informed so you can get the most satisfying workout possible. So please let me know how I can better help you achieve that goal. As always, please like and subscribe to this channel to stay up to date on new content, and head on over to Instagram (@fey_fitness) to give me a follow or to YouTube at Fey Fitness.
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Cheers,
Fey
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