Rounded Shoulder Exercises

Rounded shoulders are caused by a tightness of the chest muscle which creates a pull on the shoulders. This pull also stretches and lengthens the opposing back muscles, making them weaker. To prevent this from occurring, the "NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training" book encourages the use of a balanced workout that focuses on stretching and strengthening of all muscles. To correct this postural distortion, you need to create a "normal" muscle length of the chest and back. To do so, stretch the chest muscles to elongate the muscles. Perform strengthening exercises to tighten the back muscles.

Reverse Fly

The reverse fly exercise targets the rhomboids, which are between your shoulder blades. As you strengthen these muscles, they will help keep your shoulders pulled back more. To identify your rhomboids, squeeze your shoulder blades together. The muscle in the center of your back is the target muscle. To do a reverse fly, kneel on a bench with your right leg. Place your right hand in front of you to create a table top with your back. You hips should be bent at 90 degrees to prevent your spine from arching. Grab a dumbbell with your left hand. Slightly bend your left elbow and face your palm inward. Squeeze from your shoulder blade and lift your arm out to the side to about shoulder height. Squeeze the muscle to ensure you are not recruiting other shoulder or arm muscles to perform the exercise. Slowly lower your arm back down. Repeat for 10 to 12 repetitions. To avoid injury, start off with a low weights.

One-Arm Row

A one-arm row is listed in the American Council on Exercises exercise library as an exercise that primarily targets the back muscles including the latissimus dorsi (lats) and rhomboids. This exercise will help tighten the upper back. To perform a one-arm row, create a table top with your body using a bench. Kneel with your right leg and lean with your left hand on a flat bench. Bend at the hips and press your butt behind you. Grab a dumbbell with your left hand with your palm facing inward. Bend your elbow 90 degrees as you pull your arm, elbow first, straight up toward the ceiling. Pretend you are trying to touch your elbow to the ceiling. Bring your arm as high as you can without rotating or changing positions and keep your arm tight to your body as you lift up. Lower your arm to a full extension and repeat. Do about 10-15 repetitions with a weight that is difficult at the last repetition.

Open Chest Stretch

The open chest stretch is listed in the entry "Six Stretches to Do at Your Desk" by Yoga Journal. It is meant to stretch your chest muscles to help decrease forward curvature of the thoratic spine and rounded shoulders. It can be done while sitting or standing. To perform a chest stretch, interlock your hands behind your back with your palms facing inward. Lean slightly forward as you lift your arms behind you. Hold for about 30 seconds.

You can also perform an open chest stretch on a stability ball by rolling on your back until the back of your shoulders are supported by the ball. Use your feet to keep your body up and supported. Then with your palms up, allow your arms to drop out to the side. Pull them down to the ground to open your chest a little more.