How to cope stretching with weightlifting in order to improve posture

Question

I have some minor postural problems, Kyphosis a Lordosis, I do not experience any pain from it, it is very minor, but gives a slouch look.

I've read that some stretching exercises may help to minimize the aforesaid conditions. The link from wikipedia on Lordosis have some.

So the question is in the title: How one can cope stretching with weightlifting in order to improve the spine?

I'm looking for things like the best days/hours to do it, if I should do in the same ON day, if I should do the stretches everyday, how long the sessions should take, night or morning, etc.

Answer 1

Actually, I have a similar problem, and I have asked about related things erlier on this site - check those questions out (deadlifts with hyperlordosis). I also consulted a friend who studied physical theraphy. She gave me a bit of advice:

• Dont work on your pectorals too much. In my case, the pectorals are overtightenedd due to a lot of slouching while sitting at work. The muscle spent so much time in shortened state, that the shortened state has become normal to it, drawing the shoulders inwards and sticking the scapulae out. Those muscles need a lot of stretching, especially after you have been working out.

• Work on rowing motions, with elbows both high and low. Take care to keep your spine in line when doing pendelay or bentover rows - dont look forward, keep your head neutral with the spine, thats better for your lower back.

• Stretch the lower back. In my case, the lower back is a bit too strong, making my belly stick out. I was told to avoid heavy deadlifts and make sure Ive got 100% proper technique when doing squats.

This is just for a starter, also take a look around some questions here, but my real advice would be - if you want to correct your posture with training, or you have any posture problems at all, dont try to fix it on your own, using advice from the net. Many people will want to help you, but not necessairly give you the best advice or advice best fitted for you and your particular needs / posture. In my opinion, you should see a specialist and develop a training plan to fix your posture using his help.

Answer 2

I have tried wall stretches, but by far the stretch that helped me most with my posture was to do dumbbell flys with a light weight (say 5 pounds), and use the weight to stretch my arms back.