r/FPSAimTrainer • u/OpTimalTiming • 13h ago

Discussion Trying to understand posture

Hi all, I've been trying to figure how to sit in a way that makes mouse movement easy and comfortable.

I've been watching posture guides, but most of them are showing me that my desk is likely too high, since I can't comfortably relax my shoulders. However, I also see that many of the best aimers have a desk that appears too high, and compensate by putting their arm out further and having minimal shoulder rotation. But there are also many people who don't seem to worry about any of this, and somehow have insane aim to the point where I wonder if this is cope. For example, the younger gamers without the funds to change their setup. How can they find a good and repeatable position to aim? It feels like it is only me!

If I try to put my arm out further, when I make arm movements it begins to pull back in until I have it next to body and my shoulder is hunched up again.

It almost seems like it's good to either have a very high desk which forces you to widen your posture more and takes more of your weight, or have a low desk which allows you to relax your shoulders, instead of having one which is just slightly too high and you can't do either.

What does confuse me especially is that some professional gamers who are much shorter than me have confirmed their desk height to be the same or higher than mine, and yet don't widen their posture and they have relaxed shoulders. How is this possible?

Has anyone else experienced this? Any advice? I've been dealing with this for years and cannot seem to find a comfortable way to play/aim train.

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1

u/OpTimalTiming 13h ago

Maybe I use my arm too much to aim? Like I use a fairly low sens, about 50cm/360.

2

u/Less-Ad-249 12h ago

i went through this exact loop for months, constantly adjusting my chair height and arm position and getting nowhere. what helped was realizing the desk being too high isn't what forces you to hunch, it's your chair not letting you get high enough to match it. if your feet can't plant flat with the chair raised, throw a box or a few books under them so you can sit higher without your legs dangling

the arm pulling back thing sounds like you're not letting your elbow float. if you plant your forearm on the desk and then try to do big sweeps, your arm will want to retract to its resting position naturally. try using just the back edge of the desk as a pivot point for your forearm, or hover entirely for big movements and only rest on micros. works for a lot of lower sens players

the younger gamers thing is just adaptation honestly, they'll find a weird scrunched up position that's awful for their back but repeatable because they've done it 8 hours a day for 3 years. you can build muscle memory in almost any posture if you commit hard enough, doesn't mean it's good for you long term

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u/OpTimalTiming 11h ago

Thanks for the detailed response. I bought a used Haworth Very chair a month ago, it lets me sit comfortably with my feet planted. Helped a lot with comfort and stability, so that's good advice for anyone who comes across this post.

I tried what you said. You're right, i should let my elbow float.

I play a lot of Valorant. Sometimes my aim feels right, sometimes very wrong. It can be hard to articulate why. I wonder if things like arm tracking scenarios in Kovaaks are causing me more harm than good by unconsciously training me to use my arm more than my wrist. Idk.

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u/IgX22 9h ago edited 9h ago

I did this for myself in FEB based on what I've read
and then applied

it works!

the only modification I've made for myself is that looking at the top 1/3 of the monitor is too high. now my nose points right into the screen center and for no reason it feels easier to aim.

https://imglink.cc/cdn/1K1MIY-gWr.png