Are trapezius muscles well developed? Elegant "swan neck" you can also have

Every woman likes to have a thin, elegant shoulder line, especially at big events wearing a strapless gown that shows off the swan neck that everyone admires.

But the truth is, most people's shoulder and neck curves don't look that smooth. At the same time, due to the fact that modern people sit at their desks and look down at their phones for long periods of time, they often feel tension and pain in their shoulders and necks. What are the reasons behind these situations?

#01

To put it simply, the excessive exertion of the trapezius muscle causes it to appear in varying degrees of hypertrophy, and the so-called square shoulder; The trapezius muscles are tense for a long time, resulting in pain and discomfort in the shoulder and neck. Before we get into that, let's take a look at:

 ⚡ Which muscle is trapezius?

The trapezius muscles are located in the superficial subcutaneous muscle layer of the neck and upper back. The trapezius muscle is divided into three parts: superior, middle, and inferior, starting from the external occipital carina, the necklace, and all thoracic spinous processes, and ending in the extraclavian one-third, acromion, and scapula.

 ⚡ The daily functions of the trapezius muscles

• 
  Upper trapezius force: Shoulder strap lift to shrug (shoulder blade raise, upper rotation and retraction)

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  The middle trapezius muscle: the shoulder strap is retracted to make a chest lift (shoulder blade retraction)

• 
  Lower trapezius force: shoulder strap press, shoulder sinking (shoulder blade drop, upper rotation, and retraction)

#02

After knowing the anatomy of the trapezius muscle, let's give an example of which daily behaviors can cause the trapezius muscle to become overtense and lead to hypertrophy.

 ⚡ Bad posture

The trapezius muscles are used to maintain the stability of the neck and head posture in the human body. If we spend most of our time in poor postures such as hunched back, chest and neck extensions, the upper part of the trapezius muscle will passively elongate, resulting in hypertrophy of the upper trapezius muscle.

At the same time, if the shoulder blades move forward, the head and neck are more likely to move forward, and the muscles that maintain stability in the front and sides of the neck are shortened, making it impossible to maintain neck stability normally. At this point, muscles such as the erector spinae muscles in the back require more strength to keep the head and neck stable, and the upper trapezius muscles are more compensated, which is also the main cause of shoulder and neck pain.

 ⚡ The "Open Method" of the action is incorrect

Due to the reduction of exercise or incorrect exercise methods, the upper trapezius muscles are mainly relied on to exert force when doing scapular rotation, and the middle and lower trapezius muscles are weak, and the upper part becomes more and more hypertrophied over time, and the middle and lower trapezius muscles become more and more atrophied.

#03

Learn about these and you'll find out. The so-called trapezius tension and hypertrophy is actually the upper part of the trapezius muscle, so how to improve the hypertrophy of the upper trapezius muscle?

 ⚡ Correct poor posture

The chest and shoulder lifting movements happen to be the most healthy and neutral posture when our body is upright, through the middle of the trapezius muscle to lift the chest, the lower part of the trapezius muscle to force the shoulders to relieve the tension in the upper part of the trapezius muscle to a certain extent.

Taking fitness as an example, the upper trapezius muscle, in principle, does not encourage excessive practice, especially women's fitness will deliberately avoid the training of the upper trapezius muscle, the middle of the trapezius muscle and the lower part of the trapezius muscle can not only be trained, but also encourage more exercises to help us maintain a good body posture.

 ⚡ Reduce shrugging

When the upper trapezius muscles exert force, they will shrug their shoulders. Or take fitness as an example, when doing shoulder training, the most likely thing to happen is the compensation of the upper trapezius muscle, which also presents a shrug.

If you can't control it well, you need a mirror, don't move too fast, pay attention to your shoulders, and if you shrug your shoulders, stop immediately, or ask a professional for guidance.

Let's get moving, improve your bad posture, improve your fitness routine – and do it early!