Tip: Sit a Lot? Do These 4 Exercises

The T

Start with your arms straight out beside you in external rotation, thumbs up, forming a T-shape. Your upper arms should form a perfect 90 degree angle with your torso. Keeping your arms straight, lift your arms straight up while squeezing your shoulder blades together as hard as you can. Hold for a 3-second peak contraction. Repeat for 8-12 reps.

The W

Begin by extending your arms (palms down) up to 10 and 2 o'clock. Bend your elbows down and back as if you were trying to put your elbows in your back pockets (W-shape), focusing on a maximal contraction of the scapulae. Hold for a 3-second peak contraction. Repeat for 8-12 reps.

The A

Put your arms down alongside your torso (palms up) at about 5 and 7 o'clock (A-shape). Leading with the shoulder blades, lift your straight arms up and back as if you were trying to push off from a wall. Squeeze your scapulae hard and hold for 3 seconds. Repeat for 8-12 reps.

The Y

Extend your arms up (palms down) to about 10 and 2 o'clock (Y-shape). Leading with the hands, lift your straight arms up, while squeezing the shoulder blades back and down. Hold for 3 seconds and repeat 8-12 times.

1. Perform all four exercises as a circuit at least two or three times per week. You can do them as a warm-up, at the end of an upper body workout, or even at home on the living room floor.
2. In week 1, one set of each exercise will suffice. You'll be surprised how tough they are. If the exercises seem too easy, you're not trying. Focus on the squeeze. Add a second circuit in week 2 or 3 and then a third in week 3 or 4. Rest only 30 seconds or so between circuits.
3. Resist the temptation to add load initially. You need to focus on maximally contracting the target muscles that drive full scapular retraction. You could easily cheat the movement up under load, but you won't develop the proper mind-muscle connection you need to get the retractors firing.
4. Once you've mastered recruiting the proper musculature, you can add a small load. Start with a 2.5 pound plate in each hand. If you go too heavy, other muscles will take over the movement and then you're wasting your time. For the W, gravity is pulling in the wrong direction. Instead of using weights, anchor a low-resistance band to something stable a little way from your head, grab both ends and perform the movement as described above.