Bad posture/shoulders (picture)

Winged scapula (picture)

This has bothered me for as long as I can remember. My shoulder blades stick out a bit, causing my shoulders to roll a bit forward. I'm pretty sure I got it from my dad, since his build is sort of the same except he's a lot shorter than me. Is there any exercise I can do to correct it? I can make it look better by holding in my shoulder blades but only until I let go.

copy/paste: img139.imageshack.us/img139/9429/asfdsfsfmv6.jpg
 
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OK, i dont know if lifting can move you shoulders in like you want but it can help. First off the perfect posture (in the upper torso) is achieved by having a balanced back and chest. If your one of those kids who benches all the time and does no back work than that build up in the chest will pull, or better yet roll, your shoulders forward and vise versa for if you do all back. Generally speaking.

My advise would, besides gain mass, concentrate maybe a bit more on building mass in ur chest than the average person. That might help but i really dont know about fixing posture. Others on here do tho
 
OK, i dont know if lifting can move you shoulders in like you want but it can help. First off the perfect posture (in the upper torso) is achieved by having a balanced back and chest. If your one of those kids who benches all the time and does no back work than that build up in the chest will pull, or better yet roll, your shoulders forward and vise versa for if you do all back. Generally speaking.

My advise would, besides gain mass, concentrate maybe a bit more on building mass in ur chest than the average person. That might help but i really dont know about fixing posture. Others on here do tho

Isn't that saying the opposite though? That my pectoral muscles will pull my shoulders forward but that building up my chest might help a bit.
 
I think he means the back. You should definately train the back more, stretch the pecs, etc. But posture is a complicated thing, there could be problems elsewhere in your body that has caused the upper body problems.
 
I think he means the back. You should definately train the back more, stretch the pecs, etc. But posture is a complicated thing, there could be problems elsewhere in your body that has caused the upper body problems.

Yea that's why I made the thread, I was wondering what exercises I could do to train my upper back. I only have access to dumbells.
 
I posted about this in another thread, but I have improved my posture from working out. Prior, I found that I just couldn't keep my shoulders rolled back and chest out as it would make me tired or hurt my neck.

I found that doing a disproportionate amount of back exercises helped. Specifically, doing deadlifts, lat-pull downs, bent over rows, rows, chin-up/pull-ups, and even squats (I know, not back) had helped.

Deadlifts/squats helped the most because, I believe, they force you to keep good posture as you do the exercises. You need to keep your shoulders rolled and your back aligned when performing them. They train you to keep the shoulders back and chest out. I think this is just as beneficial as the fact that you are strengthening your back.

Also, make sure to stretch your chest regularly. Just Google "chest stretch" and there should be one where you stand in a doorway. Do that often. Finally, be mindful of your posture. You will need to keep reminding yourself to stand straight until it become habit. But don't be too hard on yourself, it's a hard habit to break.
 
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Its not even the posture that bothers me, its the fact that my shoulder blades poke out and ruin my self image. When I'm walking around I'm never comfortable, because I'm constantly forcefully holding in my shoulder blade. I look at others in wonder as to how their shoulder blade just stays attached to their body, naturally.
 
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Its not even the posture that bothers me, its the fact that my shoulder blades poke out and ruin my self image.

It doesn't even look bad bro, relax. Just workout your whole body and see where it goes...If you want to gain mass, i'm sure it will fill in. If you don't want to gain weight and just maintain and try to gain some muscle then maybe it will hide a bit...

Don't sweat it, it's your body and everyone is different. (it's nothing bad)
 
If your shoulder blades pop out you could have a weak serratus among other things. When you do work out your chest, use pushups, and do them with a "pluss" at the end, which means you push your arms as far forward as you can so that your shoulderblades protract, this will work the serratus.

Do regular rows with the DBs. Also, do you have access to a bench? Some rear delt flyes would be nice too.
 
Is it okay to do plus pushups everyday? I mean excluding the the rest of the regular pushup, and just doing the serratus part.
 
Yeah, I'd say it's OK! You're not gonna get a lot of stimulation on the serratus with pretty much any movement, so it's not like it's gonna be too much or something. Maybe throw in one rest day just to be sure, you never know :p
 
I would also suggest getting a massage. You may have naturally tight pecs (I do), and that tends to pull your shoulder girdle slightly forward (even if your lats are strong). I have to have mine worked on every 3-4 weeks.
 
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