beginnerNo equipmentSeated
Scapular Retraction and Depression
Directly targets the middle and lower trapezius — the muscles that hold your shoulder blades back and down. Most people with rounded shoulders have these muscles severely underactivated, and learning to find them is the first step to correcting posture.
Scapular Retraction and Depression
Duration
2 min
Reps
12–15 reps
Sets
3
How to do it
- 1
Sit or stand tall with arms relaxed at your sides.
- 2
Without moving your arms, draw your shoulder blades back, as if trying to hold a pencil between them.
- 3
Then slide them down away from your ears, back AND down simultaneously.
- 4
Hold the retracted-depressed position for 3 seconds. Breathe normally.
- 5
Release completely and repeat. Focus on the feeling between your shoulder blades, not on neck tension.
Benefits
- Activates the mid-trapezius and lower trapezius
- Corrects rounded shoulders and forward shoulder posture
- Reduces upper trapezius dominance and neck tension
Common mistakes
- Shrugging the shoulders up instead of pulling back and down
- Pinching so hard that the neck tightens
- Releasing between reps, maintain slight activation throughout the set
Target areas
upper backshoulders
Good for
desk workersseniorsmorning
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