Cellphone usage has increased exponentially over the past decade plus. Pew Research Center now reports 96% of the population owns a cellphone, while 81% of which own a smartphone. Smartphone addiction is well reported on. The constant connection with the world through apps, texting, facetime, etc. is astonishing. If you have an iPhone you now get a weekly screen time report. “Last week you averaged 5 hours and 45 minutes per day, up 9% from the previous week.” That’s crazy, but the normal for today’s age. Have you ever thought about what the phone usage may be doing to you physically? The hunching over, staring at phones all day can quickly make changes to the body. Shoulders round forward, cervical spine flexion leads to “forward head”, your anterior becomes short/tight, and backside becomes weak.
So, what can you do to alleviate this? Below are things you can add to your routine that should help. Some you can even do daily at home! The same way constant use of smartphone day after day causes these problems, keeping regimented and purposeful training can counteract them- even if it’s just a few exercises per day.
1. Mobilize the Area:
A lacrosse ball is your best bet here. Firmer than a foam roller and smaller to target more specific sites, rolling out can help to mobilize tight tissue and prepare for movement. This is best before a training session so that you can activate the area and then teach it a new movement pattern through exercise. Another option is stretching. I am usually not high on stretching as you just pull on soft tissue in a passive manner versus actively controlling ranges of motion, but studies have shown that pairing resistance training with stretching can improve the forward head and rounded shoulders posture.
2. Pull More Than You Press:
Everyone loves to train what they can see in the mirror. You stare at your phone all day but then when you go to the gym you just add to it by doing an “upper body” day that includes 3 variations of the bench press and overhead press while only doing one pull- for example: single arm dumbbell row. Anytime you do upper body you should aim for a 2:1, or even 3:1, pull to press ratio.
Here is a quick list of ideas to add to your routine:
Single Arm Dumbbell Row
Pull-Ups
Chin-Ups
Inverted Row
Incline Dumbbell Row
Cable or Band Face Pull
Barbell Row
Lat Pulldown
Seated Cable Row
Neutral Grip Pull-Ups
3. Isolated External Rotation
Isolated work with the cable machine is common but like the idea of pulling more than pressing, try this: don’t do internal rotation. Use the cable pulley machine and do a few sets, external rotation only. Prime movers for outward rotation at the shoulder are the infraspinatus and teres minor, prime movers for adduction of the shoulder girdle are the rhomboids and low trap. This will certainly help with the weakened backside when it comes to rounded shoulders.
4. Walk more Leave the phone at home and take a 30 minute (or more) walk at night daily. This is the easiest advice to write but possibly the hardest to commit to. It’s hard to not be in constant connection to the world with your phone, and a walk is something else to add to a busy schedule. Try it! This will also help you decompress from the day. You should be aiming to lower the screen time report total each week.
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