04 / Posture guide
Rounded Shoulders and Slouching
Rounded shoulders are the most common reason people want to fix their posture. The good news is that this posture responds quickly to a few simple exercises and habits.
Save this guide to Pinterest5 exercises for rounded shoulders
- 01
Doorway chest stretch
Place your forearms on either side of a doorway with elbows at shoulder height. Step one foot through until you feel a stretch across your chest. Hold for 30 seconds, twice. A tight chest is what pulls the shoulders forward.
- 02
Wall angels
Stand with your back against a wall, heels a hand’s width away. Put your arms in a goalpost shape against the wall and slowly slide them up and down. Two sets of eight. Go only as far as you can keep your arms and back on the wall.
TipClose your ribs so your lower back doesn’t arch away from the wall.
- 03
Band pull-aparts or towel pulls
Hold a resistance band or a towel in front of you at shoulder height, hands shoulder-width apart. Pull your hands apart, squeezing gently between your shoulder blades. Two sets of fifteen. This wakes up the upper back muscles.
- 04
Prone Y raise
Lie face down with your arms overhead in a Y shape, thumbs up. Lift your arms a few centimetres off the floor, hold for two seconds, lower. Two sets of ten. Small movement, big effect.
- 05
Collarbones wide
The everyday habit: instead of pulling your shoulders back, think of widening your collarbones. It opens the chest without pinching the shoulder blades. Do it every time you walk through a doorway.
TipPinching the shoulder blades is tension. Wide collarbones is posture.
Do you have rounded shoulders?
Let your arms hang relaxed by your sides and look down at your hands. If your knuckles face forward and your palms face backwards, your shoulders are rolling in. In a neutral shoulder, your palms face your thighs.
From the side, look for shoulders sitting in front of your ears and an upper back that curves forward. Slouching usually adds a flattened lower back and a head that drifts forward too.
Why it happens
Desks, phones, driving and carrying bags all happen in front of the body. The chest muscles get short and tight, and the upper back muscles get long and weak. Over months, the body settles into the shape it holds most.
Rounded shoulders in your walk
When your shoulders round, your arms hang in front of your body instead of by your sides, and they tend to swing across you rather than forward and back. It also drops your chest and gaze. Fixing the shoulders often fixes stiff or crossing arms on its own. See what to do with your arms when you walk.
A two-week plan
- Do the five exercises daily. It takes about eight minutes.
- Set a reminder to widen your collarbones three times a day.
- Raise your screens to eye level.
- Take a side-view photo on day one and day fourteen.
For a routine that covers the whole body, see posture exercises. If your head also sits forward, add the forward head exercises.
Questions
Can rounded shoulders be fixed?
For most people, rounded shoulders are a habit and respond well to stretching the chest, strengthening the upper back and changing screen habits.
Should I sleep on my back?
It can help, as side sleeping with the top shoulder rolled forward encourages rounding. Try a pillow in front of you if you sleep on your side.
Common mistakes
- Squeezing the shoulder blades together all day. It tires out fast.
- Only stretching the chest without strengthening the back.
- Pushing the chest out, which arches the lower back.
- Hunching over your phone right after doing your exercises.
Not medical advice. If you have pain, numbness or an injury, see a physiotherapist before you start.
Défilé · Posture score
Film a walk in Défilé and see whether your shoulders stay open in your posture score.
Film a walk and Défilé scores it out of 100, shows you the one thing holding it back and gives you a short drill to fix it. Your video never leaves your phone.
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