Activate Your Underactive Muscles for Long-Term Effects

Ever stretched a tight muscle over and over again only for the tension to come right back? That frustrating loop often has a simple cause: underactive muscles that aren’t doing their job. When some muscles aren’t activated properly, others compensate. Over time, those overworked muscles become tight, sore and fatigued.

In this blog, you’ll learn:

Why stretching alone doesn’t fix the root of your tightness
How to identify underactive muscles in your daily movements
A simple technique to reset your shoulder and neck mechanics
What to focus on to avoid recurring pain

Watch the full video here:

Let’s break it down.

Why Stretching Isn’t Always the Solution

You might feel tempted to stretch your neck, hips or lower back when they tighten up. Maybe you even roll them out with a massage ball or book a deep tissue massage. But that relief is usually short-lived. Why?

Because tight muscles are often overcompensating for others that aren’t pulling their weight. This is especially common in the neck and shoulder area. If your lower traps and latissimus dorsi aren’t engaged properly, your upper traps and levator scapulae tend to take over. That can lead to constant tightness and fatigue in the upper body.

How to Know Which Muscles Aren’t Pulling Their Weight

Using muscle activation sensors like MyoAct can help pinpoint the muscles doing too much — and those doing too little. In the video, Ramin demonstrates how raising the shoulder towards the ear causes a massive spike in activation in the neck muscles. That’s your body saying, “Help — I’m doing all the work here!”

Even without sensors, you can perform a simple self-test:

Extend your arm straight in front of you at shoulder height.
Pull the arm back while keeping the elbow straight.
Try to keep your shoulder low, away from your ear.
If you notice the shoulder creeping up or elbow bending, your neck is taking over.

This helps reveal if you’re relying too heavily on your neck and not activating your lats or traps enough.

Motor Control First, Then Strength

Before loading up exercises like rows or push-ups, it’s essential to teach your body the correct pattern. That starts with motor control — learning to stabilise the shoulder by keeping it down and back.

Here’s how:

Stand with arms extended forward
Externally rotate the arms while pulling back slightly
Keep the shoulders low
Avoid bending the elbows or letting the arms drop

With time, you’ll reduce the tendency to overuse the neck muscles in everyday activities like typing, carrying groceries or even yoga.

You can watch Ramin walk through the technique in this detailed shoulder activation video.

Apply It to Real Exercises

Once you’ve mastered the activation pattern, you can begin applying it to exercises like:

Cable rows
Resistance band pulls
Push-ups
Yoga poses like Chaturanga

During each movement, stay mindful of keeping the shoulders low and engaging your lats and lower traps. In the video, Ramin demonstrates how even in common yoga movements, many people shrug their shoulders without realising it — leading to chronic neck tightness.

Everyday Habits Matter

It’s not just about workouts. These poor patterns often show up during:

Computer use
Driving
Carrying children or bags
Sleeping with poor posture

Once you’re aware of the muscles you’re overusing, you can start adjusting your daily movements and posture. Small shifts like resetting your shoulder blades while at your desk can make a big difference over time.

What to Do Next

If you want long-lasting results, don’t just chase the tightness. Chase the imbalance behind it. Learn to activate and strengthen the muscles that are slacking off. Only then will the overworked ones finally get to rest.

You can also explore related mobility and strength exercises in these helpful posts:

For deeper insight, check out Ramin's video above or visit his blog at raminwaraghai.com for even more strategies to support your body and mind.

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