Men are busy creatures seeing as we have to wake up every morning and go slaughter dragons, brave this harsh African sun and provide for our families (I may be exaggerating, just a little). Thus we are left with little or no time to exercise. While this may seem like a menial sacrifice, exercise is actually crucial for a healthy lifestyle (you still want to look like a dragon-slayer even when you’re 60).
Here are 3 exercises that every guy has to do.
1: Wall Slides
Imagine that there’s a string attached from the ceiling to your chest. Now imagine that the string is being tightened, pulling your chest closer towards the ceiling.
If you were sitting with good posture, your chest wouldn’t rise much. But if you’re like most people who sit slumped in their chairs, you just raised up a few inches.
This is a good way to see how much you slump. And if you do, you should start doing an exercise called the wall slide immediately.
For best results, do 10 to 15 reps of this exercise up to three times a day. It’s pretty convenient, easy to do in your office and a great warm-up before you lift weights.
Simple as it looks; it’s very efficient for your shoulders and upper back.
2:Hip Raises
It’s not just slumping that hurts your posture. Simply sitting can be harmful, too.
When you sit constantly the muscles on the fronts of your hips become short and tight.
Moreover your glutes or butt muscles—actually forget how to contract. Yes, that’s a thing. Now, the combination of tight muscles on the front of your hips and weak muscles on your backside causes your pelvis to tilt forward. This pushes your lower abdomen outward, making your belly pooch out—even if you don’t have an ounce of fat.
Worse, it also puts more stress on your lumbar spine, which can lead to low-back pain.
But the single-leg hip raise can help. It strengthens your glutes and teaches them how to contract again—which helps allow your pelvis to move back in its natural alignment.
Do 5 to 6 reps for each leg, holding the top position of the exercise for 3 to 5 seconds.
3: Thoracic Rotation
Like wall slides, this is another great exercise for your upper body posture. First off take an honest look in the mirror.
Compare your posture to that of Superman. The difference should jump at you: Superman has his chest up and shoulders pulled back; your are most likely the opposite. The reason is simple: Your muscles and connective tissue tend to “set” in the position your body is in the most often.
Now you can’t fix 8 hours of slumping with just one exercise. But you can counteract some of the daily damage using thoracic rotation.
This exercise helps “mobilize” your upper back by rotating at your thoracic spine. Do 10 reps on each side for maximum effect.
BY TONY KIRIMI
