Relieving Upper Back Tension

I spend the large majority of my day hunched. At a computer, over papers, reading a book... whatever it is, I'm probably hunching.  It's not that I wasn't taught good posture - I was, and I tend to have it when I'm standing - it's that I'm tall and my desk is inevitably too low.  Or it's that when I'm deeply focused, I tend to lean into what I'm doing. 

Weight lifting on already tight shoulders and upper back only exacerbates it.  Now, I have two kinds of pain: the good, muscle-building kind and the obnoxious, headache-causing hunching kind.  As a result, I've spent a lot of time investigating good stretches for the upper back, since I tend to do my stress-relief on a budget. Massages are expensive, you know.

The one stretch I have found works consistently and immediately is a sort of yoga/desk-stretch hybrid.  It's essentially the upper half of eagle pose.  Here's how to do it.

First, as always, consult a doctor before self-medicating - even with stretches!

Sit up straight in your chair, planting your feet firmly on the floor, or kneel on the floor with your weight evenly distributed.  Stretch both arms out on front of you, at shoulder height, then cross your arms - right over left. Bend your elbows to a ninety degree angle and touch your hands together, palm-to-palm, with your arms wrapped around each other. 

Feel like a pretzel yet?  Good.  Now stretch your arms straight up, still in eagle pose, and follow your hands with your eyes so your neck is elongated.  Breathe deeply.

Now bring your elbows straight down (following your hands with your eyes still) until they touch your navel, rounding your shoulders.  You should feel a nice, loosening stretch in your upper back.  Breathe deeply here for a moment. Now repeat, with the left arm crossed over the right.

Enjoy your newly-tension-free shoulders!

Fartleks: or, Sprinting for Non-Sprinters

fartlek |ˈfärtlik|
noun
a system of training for distance runners in which the terrain and pace are continually varied to eliminate boredom and enhance psychological aspects of conditioning.
alternately: a system of training in which you will simultaneously curse and praise the day the Swedes introduced this brilliant torture to the rest of the world.
ORIGIN 1940s: from Swedish, from fart ‘speed’ + lek ‘play.’

Today I want to talk about my simultaneously most and least favorite exercise: the fartlek. Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play,” and it’s a more flexible version of interval training. It’s most often used in reference to running, but the principles can be adapted for essentially any cardio workout: running, walking, cycling, or swimming.