baribloos Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I have a problem where my upper body gets tense any suggestions for help would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schickmeister Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Breathe breathe and breathe. When you tense up you tend to hold your breath, and the lack of oxygen will make your muscles cramp up much fast. Also, if you have a horn at home, practice holding the horn while doing something like watching TV. You will be able to keep your mind off of it and build up strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakef Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Whenever I felt my shoulders creep up, I forced them back down and made myself stand as well as I could. Eventually my shoulders just went numb, and then I was a happy camper. After a few days, strength started to build up, and it was a non-issue from then on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriTroop Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 If you are holding something in your hands in front of your face for long periods of time, the reality is that it's not so much "relaxing" as it is moving them to a more neutral position. Those muscles will be engaged, so your choices are basically one of two: 1) bunched up by your ears, or 2) lowered down the back and not rounded forward. You can probably figure out which one is the better position by my description. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersop Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Rising shoulders is the product of weak Rhomboid and Trapezius muscles. These are the muscles between your shoulder blade and spine. If you concentrate some exercises on this muscle group and make it a part of your daily workout, you'll no longer have upper back posture issues or rising shoulders. Best workouts for Rhomboid and Traps? 1. Shoulder shrugs with weights. 2. Bent over dumbbell rows. 3. Pull-ups 4. DO NOT SIT HUNCHED OVER WITH YOUR SHOULDERS ROLLED FORWARD ...... EVER AGAIN! Focus on pulling your shoulder blades together at the rest position. Retrain your body to be in the proper position at rest, and your posture will improve with or without your horn. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF154283 Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 yeah, I've struggled with this too from time to time, (whether it be at a corps camp, or during marching band) it does get hard to get used to at first, but I'm sure once those muscles build up it will get easier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaners Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 - breathe - use as little effort as possible to hold your horn correctly (efficiency is key) - maintain posture; a good deal of horn holding strength comes from your upper back - thinking about something else... music, tv, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musical_Spinner Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Rising shoulders is the product of weak Rhomboid and Trapezius muscles. These are the muscles between your shoulder blade and spine. If you concentrate some exercises on this muscle group and make it a part of your daily workout, you'll no longer have upper back posture issues or rising shoulders. Best workouts for Rhomboid and Traps? 1. Shoulder shrugs with weights. 2. Bent over dumbbell rows. 3. Pull-ups 4. DO NOT SIT HUNCHED OVER WITH YOUR SHOULDERS ROLLED FORWARD ...... EVER AGAIN! Focus on pulling your shoulder blades together at the rest position. Retrain your body to be in the proper position at rest, and your posture will improve with or without your horn. Best of luck. This sends the wrong message. Your shoulders/muscles are designed drape around the front of the body. All of the muscles from the shoulders and back wrap around to the front of the body. You have to maintain the extremes of complete relaxation where the shoulders roll forward and pulling them all the way back to where the chest pops out. Once you establish each extreme in your body have to find the balance. The way you put that statement implies he/she should always be at a posture that is just not natural and that is when lasting damage can come into play. 1) Learn to breathe. 2) Learn how to depress the scapula without jutting the chest out. 3) Make sure there is a hierarchy of stability starting with the feet/knees/hips/shoulders/neck/head. When checking in with the body in relation to the shoulders don't forget that everything is connected from the back to the front and a lot of what we consider the back actually deals with the shoulders. Pay attention to what the body is saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClutch Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 force them down and back...yes it will hurt more and feel like your more tense, but eventually, it will become more natural, and you will look better and sound better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaners Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 It's simple, - know exactly what you want to look like. - do that with the least amount of effort possible (which = relaxation & efficiency) - maintain that relaxation for long periods of time and the correct muscles will strengthen without 'forcing' it You will find that the more you try to force muscles to do what you want, the more effort you use to do a simple task. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.