rounded shoulders and kitesurfing

[longwhitecloud]

In yoga they say imagine your are doing a front zip up to correct posture.

But better i think is simply make you neck long which you do by keeping it high. If you do this too much it doesnt look right but the correct amount and your posture may be 100x better. It simply corrects everything.

I learnt about this at my surf training class.. best advice i have been given... because being pretty tall i for sure found myself with bad posture. This posture is better for doing exercises/ weights too. Video yourself waliking around trying different levels of keeping your neck long...

Think poostance hunchback tortoise...

We dont want to be that do we!

[jumptheshark]

There are a few things.

- proper stance like mentioned by TheJoe
- kite with a light bar pressure and/or set them to light on bridle settings
- strong back (add deadlifts to the list of edt)
- short chickenloop (and/or a short hook)
- a seat harness would help too
- don't do 3 hour+ sessions

I disagree with seat harness for optimal posture. Sitting really is the new smoking and it would do us all well to avoid it wherever possible, be that sleeping with both knees bent in front of you on your side or sitting in a seat harness. Sitting poorly as most of us do, sees us roll our pelvis backward and flatten or completely reverse the ideal lumbar curve. I realize the question was about shoulders and upper body, but it's literally impossible to maintain proper upper body posture on top of a compromised lumbar/pelvic region.

A well fitting waist harness paired with a well fitting bar set up is much more conducive to a tall well aligned standing posture while kiting.

[jumptheshark]

In yoga they say imagine your are doing a front zip up to correct posture.

But better i think is simply make you neck long which you do by keeping it high. If you do this too much it doesnt look right but the correct amount and your posture may be 100x better. It simply corrects everything.

I learnt about this at my surf training class.. best advice i have been given... because being pretty tall i for sure found myself with bad posture. This posture is better for doing exercises/ weights too. Video yourself waliking around trying different levels of keeping your neck long...

Think poostance hunchback tortoise...

We dont want to be that do we!

Optimal alignment is difficult for most as not many have a very good idea of what it truly feels like. We are creatures of habit and posture is chief among them. What feels normal, easy, or temporarily comfortable is not necessarily all that good. Eventually most of us have so many tight regions that ideal posture feels like real work to maintain. Posture is very much a full spine and pelvis thing. You cant do it in parts. I like your mention of zipping up, but think respiratory mechanics are actually the better tool to use to explore, feel, and built better alignment. Either way, definitely build your posture from the bottom up. Start right down at the bottom with active foot and ankle architecture.

[jedi1]

There are a few things.

- proper stance like mentioned by TheJoe
- kite with a light bar pressure and/or set them to light on bridle settings
- strong back (add deadlifts to the list of edt)
- short chickenloop (and/or a short hook)
- a seat harness would help too
- don't do 3 hour+ sessions

I disagree with seat harness for optimal posture. Sitting really is the new smoking and it would do us all well to avoid it wherever possible, be that sleeping with both knees bent in front of you on your side or sitting in a seat harness. Sitting poorly as most of us do, sees us roll our pelvis backward and flatten or completely reverse the ideal lumbar curve. I realize the question was about shoulders and upper body, but it's literally impossible to maintain proper upper body posture on top of a compromised lumbar/pelvic region.

A well fitting waist harness paired with a well fitting bar set up is much more conducive to a tall well aligned standing posture while kiting.

Can you elaborate to how a seat harness would compromise your lumbar spine position? The way I see it, is with any type of harness, when riding powered you end up with hips and knees flexed. That is just a position one braces against a kite. I personally use a waist harness and am not a fan of a seat harness of because of how they feel, but I don't really see how stance when kiting would change depending on a type of a harness.

Obviously there's a lot more beginners using seat harnesses, who don't have a good stance. There's lots of race kiters, who use those too though and their stance and alignment looks good to me.

[jumptheshark]

Sure, all but the interested can skip!

Race posture is atrocious. Legs locked out, complete reversal of the natural lumbar curve and upper body reaching way off any center of gravity. But its a strategic athletic posture designed to allow the locked legs to take the load for longer and channel as much of the force through the harness to the locked lower frame. It goes fast and works, but its not ergonomic in any postural way. Long hours training would impart plenty of strain.

You can stand tall and align yourself well in any harness, but seats are much more conducive to "sitting" with shortened hip flexors, reversed lumbar curvature and lumbar muscles lengthened beyond their ideal work position. That is just no way to hold yourself, especially when doing a sport. Anyway, I gotta work. Happy to expound later.

[knotwindy]

Stand in front of a mirror, close your eyes and take a few steps in place, relax as much as you can without falling over. Open your eyes, if you are looking at the back of your hands instead of the thumb & first finger your shoulders are rounded. Leads to all kinds of issues later on. Stretch your pecs (easy to do in any corner), gently tone your rhomboids and stretch your pecs again. Look up Strain/Counterstrain or reciprocal inhibition. Also, make sure your lower body is balanced/strong with basic core exercises to build a better platform to do any activities from.

[fun2kite]

Thank you all guys! it's all very useful.