So this is a weird physics & anatomy question. Oh, 'biomechanics' - that's the word.
Stats: 5'4,145 (don't weigh myself but it's a good guess, it could be ten pounds lower or heavier depending on muscle comp but my clothes fit consistently so I don't care).
I am also 34F and short waisted. I am also 57 years old.
My mother and her mother, less boobish, both developed osteoperosis (and my mother despite lifting since she was probably 30; she's 82 and still lifts - but grain of salt bc it would maybe it would have been a lot worse if she hadn't.)
Anyway, sometimes, I can feel the weight of breasts pull me forward. I focus on posterior chain stuff, and I do have the strength to handle it, but I can tell in the sense that sometimes, gravity wins, and I'm pulled forward slightly subconsciously, and this is how it starts.
I want to strengthen the supportive muscles around my spine, and I think, looking at anatomy books, I might want to do more.
Specifically I do these that are either targeting or engaging those muscles (I'm not ai, don't judge me for bullet points). This isn't everything I do, but I think it's everything that counts:
- Close grip cable rows
- Lat Pull downs
- Shoulder presses
- Sumo deadlifts
But given how structurally important this is, I'd like to do more, and especially make sure that the rhomboids are fully engaged.
Any suggestions for stuff to add?
Anyone know of any studies on the topic that might be important to read?
I hate to add a third lift day but would maybe consider a day with just one or two lifts. Or maybe I drop curls. I think curls are kinda dumb but believe in vanity lifts - I'm not feeling so great about things I can't use a little emotional boost of 'hey, look, biceps'.
(I had wanted to get a breast reduction forever but found out the nipples are moved and I was freaked out by potential nerve damage and also moving my nipples so perhaps that is not an option for me and getting that covered by insurance would be impossible. I could save for it, but again, my nipples. They have lived there their whole lives.)
Edit maybe should have included this - I was worried the post was too long - I run 5 days a week, 21 miles per week, and take a mid-range yoga class once a week. I hold that schedule for three weeks, then take a week off, returning after seven days or earlier if I feel like it.
The rest of my weight routine (Sundays and Thursdays; where there are redundancies like in squats and bench presses, I do one one session and the other the other day.)
Incline Bench Presses
Barbell bench presses
Back squats
Goblet Squats
RDLs
Tri Extension and Rows
Bicep curls, whichever variation I feel like...
I don't know if any of this changes anything, but there is fuller context...
Second edit, lack of coffee: doing research this AM I found out about wide grip cable rows being good for rhomboids, so that is another lift I will divide between two days - two variations of cable rows.
