[dontfollowme]

I started climbing when I was 14 and haven't ever done any training other than climb lots and now at 23 I have terrible posture. Could climbing be the cause of this? I think I do have a muscle imbalance but I realise it could just be me being lazy. Any ideas?

[erm, sam]

It difficult to say without seeing your posture. Why don't you post a picture of your slumped shoulders and turkey neck?
I am sure you have heard this before, but if you train opposing muscles then you will help to decrease any postural exagerations caused by climbing. Eg abs not back, or is it back not abs? Cant remember.
Deffinatly shoulderblade stabilizing muscle building will help to correct that gorrila  chest concavity....
 I hope sombody else posts somekind of usefull response...

[Johnny Brown]

Think this is what is generally termed 'the hump'.
Vickers is a good example.

[SA Chris]

Sloper is another good example, has the posture of a lobster.

(no offence mate)

[clm]

its possibly the climbing but realistically, which have you done more of hourswise? climbing or slumping on the sofa.
i thank you.

[Johnny Brown]

Dense always has an air of dejection about him....

[andy bowie]

dude you are describing my back a year ago. do the following.

1. go to pilates and take your medicine - being burnt off by biffa's standing on one leg. genius and works your core stability like nothing else.
2. join the gym. do bench press; shoulder press; dips; wide arm press ups;
3. go and see a good sports massage therapist once a month who will give you loads of stretches (have you got tight hamstrings as well?) and pummel your back and shoulders.

you can do none of these and keep climbing all the time but your risk of injury increases. I knacked myself in 99 and didn't improve much till last year when i started all this shit (and it is shit, dull, nonsence, but take the medicine)

here endeth the sermon

[erm, sam]

Come on then Dont Follow Me. We have all said what we reckin is wrong. Fess up, were we right?

sam

[cofe]

rate the gym and benching. saw an osteopath about my dodgy arms and one thing he said was i had bad (not meaning good) posture.

so; when you're sitting always try and straighten your back - extend from the lower back upwards. ends up feeling pretty good. i now feel uncomfortable  hunched and sit up loads. exagerate yo.

downside is you look like a chopper sometimes.

[Bonjoy]

What do you mean 'sometimes'? :wink:

[cofe]

true

you do look like a chopper

[Bonjoy]

Careful now hoffmeister or i'll be forced to use the animator.

[dontfollowme]

Thanks for the replies everyone. When someone in the office said I had bad posture I initially said it was because I used to walk up a very big hill to catch the bus to school. This probably wasn't the best idea because everyone just laughed at me I think the answer is to go to the gym and have a go at sitting straight which seems hard work when I have tried it.

[webbo]

i've climbed for a bit longer than your 9 years and throughout my 30year career,at times i have been a bit of a gym monster.however when i suffered from a climbing related neck injury 10 years ago,i was in formed i had bad posture.i spent ages doing various ex's and trying to sit up straight.at the the time all that happened was i ended up with lower back problems as well.
i now suspect the answer is to try and limit the climbing related ex's.i.e.keep pull ups and campusing as low as possible.just climb and do other ex's to maintain a balanced physic.

[T.H.]

You got lower back pain because you had bad posture.  All climbers should stretch their lats and pecs everyday, which are the main muscles responsible for pulling us into poor posture.  Also, doing exercises which tighten up the rhomboids and mid traps are going to help, Wide Grip Bent Over Rows anyone?  I bet everyone on this site has got some form of thoracic spine kyphosis.  Using a foam roller can really sort this out.  Stand up straight the lot of you!!

I can do postural assessment and correction for you all for a nominal fee.

[webbo]

whats a foam roller.

[bob]

My brother got some good exercises to sort out his climbing posture problems from the physio. best one seems to be at several times throughout the day assume the following postition for as long as possible (within reason) 1.stand with you heels against a wall 2.hold the small of your back against the wall 3. hold shoulders against wall with hands by side palms facing forward (back of hands against the wall)

its harder than it sounds if you're a huncher, starting with 10 seconds is pretty reasonable

[erm, sam]

On a slightly different tack....
I went to see a  new osteopath about my new knackered shoulder. One of the things she mentioned was how super tightness in the lower back could be connected to my not correct shoulder blade..
I mentioned about my doing leg raises in order to one day do front levers, as specified here
http://www.powerathletesmag.com/pages/frontlever.htm (sorry don't know to make it a link)
the thing is that you have to practise leg raises whilst making sure your lower back is firmly on the ground "having a hollow back"
She was totaly shocked that anybody  would do such a barbaric thing to ones back and said it was totally important to keep the lower back rounded and "normal" when doing leg raises or core tension things..
We were talking half deutsch half english and it was the end of the session so I couldn't find out quite why it was so bad.. I have never heard of this in any one of the million "core strength' articles I have read.
Any of you sports science bofffs got an idea about this?

[account_inactive]

Think you would need to speak to a health proffesional about that one.  Us sport scientists only look at performance and then leave the injuries we create to others  Helps us all stay in business.  Saying that a strong lower back should not always increase tightness with a correct stretching regime

[erm, sam]

A follow up to the above question might be:
When on a steep problem would you have your lower back flattened in a hollow front lever type position or would you have your lower back in a normal curved shape?
I suppose the latter is more likely to be the case, as in a more erect "normal" position you will be more able to be taut, and deliver power and tension through the body.   Make any sense?

Oi front lever gimps. What shape is your back when you do them?

[saltbeef]

funnily enough i'm concentrating on doing the lever to observe my back, but will ask one of my homeys to have a look, or i'll have a look at someone else doing one. does it really matter? my ex was a chiropractor and she didn't mind me doing levers so long as i stretched but would berate me for going running(but i still went). if you're trying to do levers, just try and do them alot and you'll end up being able to do them, start with legs bent, one leg bent both out, and just fight them i'm sure that'll do it.

[runt]

best sort it jim or you'll end up like the katz!
my posture crapness was at the route of all my bicep injuries at uni, so I can give you the whole spiel and exercises the physio gave me if you want. Avoid the pec deck like the plague though!
good luck