Desk jobs are destroying more bodies than heavy labor ever did.

Most people spend 50% of their waking hours at their job.

If your job requires you to sit for the greatest part, that's what's causing your physical complaints.

Physical complaints are common but completely unnecessary.

If you're like most office people, you've probably experienced headaches, neck, shoulder and/or lower back pain.

That's because sitting ruins your body posture.

Fortunately, you can reverse the negative effects of sitting with specific exercises.

In this newsletter I give you 4 of my most used exercises to regain a strong posture.

Weak posture is the number one reason of physical complaints

Your posture is like the foundation of a house. If it's weak, the house will eventually fall apart.

There are hundreds of exercises that can help you build foundation.

I'm going to teach you just four.

Just 4 exercises to reverse the negatives from extended sitting.

These are exercise that I'm going to teach you:

• Bulgarian Split Squat + Couch Stretch
• Dumbell Pullover with Rounded Back
• Kneeling Thoracic Extension + Reach
• Farmer Carry

The problems that extended sitting causes

In the last 15 years I trained hundreds of people.

From children to the elderly, untrained to athletes and everything in between.

What I noticed thorough the years, is that more and more people are having postural problems from extended sitting and inactivity.

It causes the so called 'Cross Body Syndrome'.

There are two variations:

• Upper Cross Syndrome (affecting the upper body)
• Lower Cross Syndrome (affecting the lower body)

It's called Cross Syndrome because opposing muscles get either tight or weak.

In the lower body, the main muscles that get tight are the hip flexors and the lumbar extensors.

Muscles that get weak are the glutes and the abdominals.

In the upper body, the main muscle that get tight are the pectorals and upper trapezius.

Muscles that get weak are the lower trapezius, serrates anterior and deep neck flexors.

These issues lead to postural problems like:

• Lumbar lordosis (overarched back)
• Thoracic kyphosis (hunchback)
• Forward head posture
• Movement disfunction caused by the above

Everyone who sits for extended periods a day is at risk, regardless of age. However, age, height, and inactivity increase the risk.

The problem is that most people don't address the underlaying issues.

When pain gets severe enough, people tend to look for short-term solutions like physical therapy, massages, or something similar —limited to the area of pain.

Unfortunately, addressing the symptoms isn't going to fix the root cause.

And that's what I going to help you do: fixing the root cause.

By lengthening the tight (short) muscles and strengthening the weak muscles, with just 4 simple exercises.

The right exercises to rebuild your posture

If you have postural problems and experience physical complaints, it's always a good idea to get checked by a professional.

There's an exercise for everything. The best exercises for you, are specific to you.

However, there are some common postural issues that I see in the majority of people. That's what I will address.

Here's the first exercise.

Exercise 1: Bulgarian Split Squat + Couch Stretch

What we basically want to do with all of these exercises is lengthening the muscles in the front, and strengthening the muscles in the back of the body.

For the lower body, the Bulgarian Split Squat (BSS) is king.

Because the back leg is supported on a bench, you stretch the hip flexors while lowering. When standing back up, it's the glutes and quadriceps that do most of the work.

It's the perfect exercise for stretching the hip flexors and strengthening the glutes simultaneously. Two birds in one stone.

In the regular BSS the stretch of the hip flexors is short, that's why we add the popular 'Couch Stretch' to the exercise. Extending and intensifying the stretch.

This is how to do it:

• Place one foot on a bench and step forward 30-50cm.
• Squat down until your knee hits the floor. You can use a pad to reduce pressure on the knee or to reduce the range of motion if you lack the flexibility.
• Hold this position (stretch).
• Make sure that your rear knee is behind your hip — Try to push the knee back by activating the glute on the same side.
• You should feel a stretch in the front of the hip in the rear leg.

Reps and sets:

• Do 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Hold the stretch for 3-5 seconds.
• Start with 2 sets of 8 reps + 3 seconds hold.
• Build up in sets, reps, seconds, (and weight). In that order.

Exercise 2: Dumbbell Pullover with Rounded Back

With this exercise we target the upper body, specifically the latissimus, pectoralis, and serrates anterior.

The goal is to reverse the kyphosis (hunchback) caused by extended sitting.

This exercise stretches and strengthens two muscles (pecs and lats) that are often shortened. At the same time it strengthens a weakened muscle in the serrates.

Stretching under resistance is a great way to increase the flexibility of a muscle.

This exercise does even more.

Bringing the arms behind your head will 'force' your spine in extension, helping your body 'remember' this range of motion exists.

By rounding the back, we also work against the overextended lower back.

This allows you to stretch the shortened latissimus over its full length. Strongly reducing its effect on either the shoulders and the pelvis.

This is how to do it:

Start with a light dumbbell, sometimes even as light as 2,5kg (5 pounds) for complete beginners.

• Lay on your back with your head at the end of the bench.
• Tuck your knees to round the lower back. Make sure to push your lower back against the bench the whole time (this gets especially hard in the end position).
• Hold the dumbbell in front of you with your palms upward. Elbows slightly outside (to engage the chest).
• Lower the dumbell slowly and controlled as far back as possible/comfortable.
• This can be uncomfortable during the first few reps or even the first set. Your body isn't used to this range of motion.
• Breng the dumbbell back to the starting position.

Reps and sets:

• Do 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Hold the stretch for 3-5 seconds.
• Start with 2 sets of 8 reps + 3 seconds hold.
• Build up in sets, reps, seconds, and weight. In that order.

Exercise 3: Kneeling Thoracic Extension + Reach

The goal of this exercise is to strengthen the spinal extensors and the shoulder stabilizers.

To restore upright posture and overhead mobility.

I invented this exercise to relearn the spine how to function properly.

When you have a kyphosis and lordosis, the lumbar part (lower) of the spine is overactive and the thoracic (upper) part is completely shut down.

This exercise strengthens the thoracic extensors, shoulder stabilizers, and rotator cuff, while stretching the lumbar extensors.

At the beginning this is a very hard exercise. You're probably won't get the full range of motion like me in video.

Just start where you are. Do this exercise repeatedly and you'll get better.

This is how to do it:

• Lay on your belly on a flat bench.
• Knees under the bench to make sure your lower back is rounded (to keep it out of the equation).
• Start with a completely rounded back and your hands on your head.
• Actively push your head against your hands and make a 'double chin'.
• Lift your ribcage, imagining that you expand your lungs and take a proud pose.
• In your most upright position, extend your arms as high as possible.
• Do this slowly and controlled. Focus on the activation of the spine.

Reps and sets:

• Do 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Hold the end position for 3-5 seconds.
• Start with 2 sets of 8 reps + 3 seconds hold.
• Build up in sets, reps, and seconds. In that order.
• Always try to increase your range of motion.

Exercise 4: Farmer Carry

The Farmer Carry is like standing tall under load.

It's the best exercise to strengthen our ability to stand up straight.

This movement trains your complete posterior chain (muscle at the back of your body).

I use this exercise to build strength and endurance in the spinal muscles, create postural awareness and to activate the central nervous system — Increasing muscle activity.

It also brings the effects of the other exercises together in one functional movement pattern— picking something heavy up from the ground and carry it around.

An added benefit is that this exercise greatly improves your grip and core strength, which transfers perfectly to your daily life.

This is how to do it:

Use two Kettlebells, Dumbbells or Farmer Bars.

• Stand between the two implements.
• Squat down with a straight back and grab the handles.
• Straighten your arms and back, tighten the core and deadlift the weight.
• Roll the shoulders backward into a tall standing position.
• Walk slowly and controlled for an X distance.
• Put down the weight with control.

Reps and sets:

• Do 5 sets of 15-90m.
• Rest 60-90 seconds depending on the weight/ distance.
• Start with 90m with a relative light weight.
• Alternate the distance every session; 90m, 75m, 60m, 45m, and so forth. `Increasing the weight as the distance decreases.
• Low weight = long distance = short rest.
• High weight = short distance = longer rest.

Do it every day

You sit every day, generally for 9 hours or more.

This means you have more than a full work day of 'training' for a weakened posture.

People falsely think that doing exercises 1-2 times per week, is going to make a difference.

It does not.

There's just too much stimulus to neutralize the positive effects.

For maximum effect, do these exercises every day.

At least do combinations of two and alter them.

If you think that you 'don't have the time', make the damn time.

It's your health we're talking about.

You body does't care for your reasons and excuses. It only cares if you treat it well.

Act like your body is your most valuable asset.

Because it is.

Like Dan John, a decorated strength coach, once said:

If it's important, do it every day. If it's not important, don't do it at all.

There you have it. 4 of my best and most used exercises to build a strong posture.

Do this a a program for at least 12 weeks.

Rebuilding a strong posture takes a lot of time.

In many cases it can take not weeks, not months, but years to offset a weak posture.

Take your time and commit to the program.

If you have questions after reading this newsletter, you can DM me on Twitter or LinkedIn.