The 2005 stereotype of video gamers is this: fat, glasses, potato chip grease, basement, hunched over, and so on. But that stereotype is no longer the case for today’s gamers. Thanks to esports and streaming, people are staying in top shape to play video games.

With this general acceptable of video gaming comes the harsh realities. The truth is that gamers, mobile phone users, desk workers, and the like are susceptible to eye strain, muscle imbalances, lack of energy, etc. This is an issue of the majority. As a personal trainer who spends their free time playing hours of video games, I understand the cause and effect. It was only 10 years ago that I got into RuneScape, Halo 3, and MW2. It caused extensive damage to my eyes and created muscle imbalances that I still work on to this day.

Some issues that I’ll address in this article are: upper cross syndrome, hip pain/tightness, back pain, and weak glutes.

Upper cross syndrome is the slouch position. When looking at someone from the side, their body position at the neck and shoulders will form an X. The upper traps and chest are tight from working with your controller or desk for hours at a time. The front neck muscles and rhomboids (back muscle) are weak from being in a stretched position for long periods of time. These imbalances can contribute to neck, shoulder, and back pain.

To correct upper cross syndrome, the best thing to do first is a wall test (Mind Pump Instructions). This will help you identify the severity of your upper cross syndrome. It’s also a great standalone drill to recruit the right muscles to get into the correct posture. After the wall test, grab a band or stick and do arm circles (forward and backwards) with the goal to restore some shoulder flexibility. The closer your hands are on a stick, the harder it is You may even benefit from PNF stretching to gain mobility. Finally, one exercise that will correct your upper cross syndrome is the seated cable row. When done correctly, it will strengthen your rhomboids and lats.

The second issue involves your hips, butt, and lower back. They can also be concurrent to form the lower cross syndrome. The combination of tight hips and tight low back muscles with a weak butt and weak abs will create a disaster.

Before starting, Mind Pump has some great resources on YouTube demonstrating stretches and exercises (Link). I also want to add that the wall test or zone 1 test still applies here as the goal is to put your hip at a neutral position. Now, one exercise that helps with lower cross syndrome is performing a glute bridge on the ground. I typically tell my clients to do cat and cow poses, with an emphasis on hip positioning, to gain some mobility. Then I will progress them to a glute bridge, and what’s different is that I’ll have them flatten their low back THEN perform a glute bridge while holding that neutral hip position.

The goal of these exercises are to teach your body what normal feels like. Just like how you spend hours playing video games or doing desk work, the more you practice corrective exercises the faster you’ll see the benefits. It’s important to work on these issues as much as you can. If you only have 5 minutes a week to do the wall test, then that’s okay. Do what you can and you’ll start to see improvements!