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So I recorded this video yesterday on Sunday to show you guys how to get a deeper stretch in your pectoral muscles (chest). This led up to today article which is the importance of stretching your chest muscles.
For the majority of the population having tight pectoral muscles is very common. This is because of our everyday life activities.
In today’s society we sit down way too often, and I know 99.9% of people reading this don’t have good posture. Most people are usually hunched over when they’re on their computers, desks at school and even driving.
All this coupled with the majority of gym goers always doing chest exercises, it just doesn’t help their postural situation.
The muscular imbalance that occurs is called a forward shoulder lean.
And the way to fix this muscular imbalance is to stretch the tight muscles (chest) and strengthen the weak ones (scapular retractors)
Fixing the Problem
If you do find that you have a forward shoulder lean you’re going to want to fix it. If you don’t not only will you end up developing upper back pain but also developing some sort of hunch back as you get older.
So as your back gets weaker and weaker, your chest will get tighter and tighter. This will cause a huge problem as well. When your pectoral muscles tighten they start restricting adequate air supply.
Which basically means your tight muscles aren’t allowing your lungs to fully expand and deflate with every breath you take.
Less oxygen with every breath = less oxygen being delivered to your cells. This can lead to a lot of negative side effects down the road and wasted time at the gym.
Just in case you didn’t know;
- Your body runs on oxygen
- Your cells need it to run through their cycle
- Your body uses oxygen to break down food
- Your mitochondria need it to produce ATP (the energy your body runs on)
- Your brain needs oxygen to perform optimally
So now you understand why you need as much oxygen as you can get with every breath. It helps you perform at your best and recover a lot faster between workouts.
So to fix the problem you need to start stretching your chest. Use the technique I showed you in the video and start adding more back strengthening exercises to your workout (any variation of the row)
It’s going to take time to bring your scapula’s back into natural position but be patient and keep working at it cause in the long run
You’ll be happy you did
I hope you enjoy today’s article, if you did share with your family and friends.
Talk to you soon,
