Time for an informal survey here, and answer honestly, even though I will have no way of knowing the response. How many times throughout your life, especially during your youth, were you reminded to stand up straight and not slouch? Personally, it was a phrase that I heard frequently, but sadly I didn’t always heed that advice.
Having good posture is one of the keys to keeping the body healthy. Not only does it affect your back, neck, and hips, but good posture also helps with your breathing, causes more efficient blood circulation, and even leads to better digestive health. There are so many ways that posture plays a role in how your body acts and feels on a day-to-day basis, so when your posture is out of whack, chances are there are other lingering issues also going on. With these issues in mind, Dr. Stephen Liu created Forme, a company taking dead aim at posture issues by offering wearable therapeutics.
Forme was formed (lousy pun, I know) by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Stephen Liu during a difficult period of his life, as his mother was battling cancer. During this time, Dr. Liu yearned for a way to help enhance his mother’s posture, which would allow her to breathe easier without having to go through any drastic measures. In its simplistic form, this is the basis for Forme to engineer articles of clothing that can create better posture.
While the inspiration for Forme came from family, the main focus of the brand has been athletes. With all the benefits that come from good posture, there is little doubt that these products could be a bit hit for the best athletes in the world, and it has been. Forme has already enjoyed success with athletes on several US Olympic teams, men’s and women’s US National Rugby Squads, and athletes that make up the NBA, MLB, and NHL. Their product is growing on the golf front as well for both players and caddies. Because of the versatility of this product, it can be worn wherever and whenever the user sees fit. Harold Varner III has found that this shirt helps him out quite a bit while traveling between tour stops. “I wear the shirt when I’m flying mostly from event to event. Sometimes I even sleep in it. The biggest difference I see in my body is good posture from wearing the shirt.”
Sheldon Roberts is a Senior Golf-Fitness Trainer at Urban Golf Performance. Sheldon has not only incorporated Formewear into his routines, but also those of his clients. “When I first put on the shirt, I got instant feedback. The longer I wore the product, the better improvement I saw in my own flexibility, rotation, and posture. Not to mention the better positions I was able to get my body into. So, I made some of my clients wear the shirt during their training sessions. The results have been remarkable.” The chart below helps illustrate how much extra rotation and flexibility has been gained by sporting a Formewear.
In the Forme arsenal are two different shirts for men, the Ace Tee, which I tried, and the Core Tee. The difference between these two is the Ace is more of an athletic workout top, while the Core is much more reminiscent of your everyday undershirt. Construction-wise, these shirts feature a dual-layer material. The inner material features an elastic band that stretches across your scapulas. This band is tight enough that it wants to force your shoulder blades down into a more natural position, which will help open your diaphragm more for easier breathing. For the ladies, there is a Power Bra and Sculpt Leggings, with the same philosophy in use on the bra. I am not the one to test either of those products, but THP co-founder, Morgan (aka GolferGal on the THP Forum), has been using one for a while now and has said she is very impressed.
For longer than I care to remember, I have had back and neck pain. Perhaps we can diagnose the issue from being over-weight, out of shape, and someone who suffers from poor posture. Hearing about the success and science behind Forme’s products made these shirts an attractive option for a wearable therapeutic. I’ve gone through my share of diagnostic wearables to “help” me get into shape, such as a FitBit and Apple Watch, while also trying other therapeutics such as Tens units and massagers. All of those products have their merit, but none of them provides the instant feedback that Forme’s Ace Tee provides.
It’s easy to be skeptical of a product that claims all you have to do is put it on and you will feel a difference, but in this case, it is 100% true. Upon slipping the Ace Tee on, the change in my posture was noticeable, not only in feeling but also in appearance. It’s incredible how much this shirt works as advertised. Instantly my shoulders felt like they were pulled back, and I was standing nice and tall. How comfortable that position will be will vary depending on your body because that sudden change was noticeable. For me, after that initial wow, I settled in and wore this shirt for hours. After the first day wearing this shirt, I experienced some minor soreness, which subsided the more I wore it.
Over the last few weeks, I have worn the Ace Tee during several different activities such as cycling, mowing the lawn, days at the office, and have even slept it in. Having converted to a standing desk, the days at the office with this shirt on showed how much better life could be when achieving better posture and balance. While I will be the first to admit that my sample size is relatively small, but early on, I can confidently say that my neck and back have felt much better on the days that this shirt has been worn. These examples help show that while Forme was developed with athletes in mind, it can pay dividends to those who work in a setting where we are sitting or standing for large portions of the day. Over time, I hope this shirt continues to retrain my back muscles, affording me the same relief when I am not wearing the Ace Tee.
Now let’s get down to the price tag, which at $149-$159 will undoubtedly cause some sticker shock. If you think of this as only a shirt, then yes, it will seem high. However, keep in mind that this is not just a shirt. It is a wearable therapeutic and one that you can use as much as you want without worrying about how much battery life is in it. After my time with this shirt, I recommend it to anyone who feels like their posture is causing them some neck and back issues.
More information on all of the Forme products is available at their website, here.
This right here. My insurance covers chiropractor visits but I still have a co pay and that starts to add up. I’m really thinking about giving this a try. Especially with me working from home, I’m not always in a proper chair and my posture has suffered from it. Hard ponder right now
I’d reckon you probably have better posture and are in better shape than most of us, ?
Other than that, it has been something I wear multiple times a week and like @GolferGal and @ddec mentioned, I have noticed a difference.
I don’t think you would want to, right? A proper golf setup and this would appear to be fighting each other.
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Thank you. I do my best.
one of the first things my instructor and i did was to round my back so the arms could hang more naturally. i agree with you: this device would seem to fight that in a bad way.
correct, I would not want to wear it to play. I was more just throwing the question out there for something like this in the actual golf arena.
painscience.com, like pain itself, can best be summed up with "it’s complicated."
I shall second that.
However I’m not sure I completely follow the better posture isn’t better theme of it. I feel better when I consciously (and yes, I have to consciously do it even after getting into better shape and losing 90#) carry myself better.
I’m not quite used to not being really heavy anymore and I will agree with the psychological aspects stated. There’s typical going through the day poor posture. Then there’s “I see an attractive female” posture. Once in a while it’s fight time and that’s a total different posture again. Usually I know how they’ll go so I try to stop it before it becomes an issue. Once in a while I’m good with it, ?.
Don’t steal my tire air when my kid is (inside his first month of) driving and then pull on your junk at him. And tell his 15 year old ears with my 9 year old right there too, exactly what he can do with your junk. I will just choke you out right there. Otherwise I’m pretty agreeable, ?.
That’s what I was thinking too. I like the idea but won’t be biting as a golf item.
I like the idea and it seems like a prime office item (maybe an undershirt? )
I would think the core tee would be good for that. The ace is more sporty in material. I did wear it to work under some 1/4 zips as I mentioned in the article.
Definitely not. Company shared the review and has a lot of fans. I’m fact one of them that posted a positive review in this thread is a tour player.
Ok. Fair enough. Just seemed odd. In that case, my interest continues to peak. It’ll be interesting to see what else is said about these more in the medium and long term.
I’m with you. The “guest” posts seem suspicious and are actually a turnoff—they make me far more skeptical. Like if I get a closet full of $160 shirts, I can just avoid surgery, massage, PT and other therapy? No need to hit the gym or employ good posture-related habits? Just seem too overstated IMO.
If they don’t argue really with shoe inserts for more stability or ground force reaction, I’m not sure they care? Or better, I’m not sure they have enough evidence to tell you either which way.
Interesting analogy, but one that hits home for me. I struggled for years with shoes about a couple of decades ago and then invested in a really good pair of orthotics. They were over $200 at the time and were a game changer for my life. While it’s still early in my testing, this is similar to me.
I hate to even say it, because any sort of shoe insert is an open invite for the jokes. However.. for those of us who walk a lot, or want/need extra stability? They can make a pretty big difference. And no, I am no taller because of them in my shoes, you monsters.
I have to admit, I had the same question. I don’t recall ever seeing a "Guest" post on THP before (not that I couldn’t have missed some). But all the sudden, there are multiple such posts in this thread, all touting the shirt as borderline miraculous and one in particular sounding like a poorly worded ad. I have no idea if the shirt works or not–there’s no doubt I could use some posture help–but those posts made me immediately suspicious.
Those guest posts are odd but will stay tuned to see how the shirts work for you all.
Now onto my next case study: my 90 years old father, who spends most of his days working on his computer, is wearing it daily, having tried not to use it one day..and felt like a 90 year old man.
It is not a miracle shirt, it is a simple extremely well designed tool that puts the right pressure at the right spot to align the spine. The R&D was quite rigorous, and it shows.
I’ve been giving this shirt the benefit of the doubt, but these spam posts make it tough to take serious. I’m sure on some level it helps with posture, but the spam claims are a bit much.
Yea something strange with all those informative guest posts….seems very planned. Weird. I’ll keep following for those that end up testing for their feedback.
Guest posts are in many many new larger review or contest threads. It’s a feature we enjoy that allows forum members and non forum members (reading on the home page) to interact.
I appreciate that, but they still scream shill to me.
I struggle though with that price. On one hand if it works it’s a small price to pay but if it doesn’t then I bought some expensive snake oil.
I haven’t tried it driving long term yet, but will be doing so to Chicago on Sunday and just told @ddec I am going to put it on and give it a try
You’ll definitely have to let us know your thoughts. I put on anywhere from 200-400 miles a day so I’d be really interested to hear if you feel a difference.
Hey Bro do you have a chiropractor you recommend? What if the chiropractor recommends a shirt that fixes my back issues and I no longer need to see said chiropractor?
Seems like a poor business model for him…. but hey at least he/she has some good integrity!
Yeah, I can’t test that part out, I put less than 15 on a day.
That’s basically 99% of my golf attire. Wouldn’t deter me one bit.
I would imagine the most common sense approach to improved posture would be to spend time at a gym and get a personal trainer, but let’s be honest… Most people don’t do any of that… So the idea of "skipping" it is a bit of a reach hahaha
I’m equally skeptical, but then again, people wear invisiline to correct their teeth, and other less intrusive items to correct things – I suppose it makes sense that a shirt could do something similar, especially with pros validating the process. No?