When your centre of mass is too far forward, your body will start to compensate — and those compensations will start robbing you of movement freedom, joint mobility, and comfort.
Here are 5 key signs that you’re having a hard time managing gravity and therefore not moving very freely:
1. Clenching your toes or fingers/fists
If your toes or fingers are clawing or gripping, especially during exercise, it’s a big red flag.
Your centre of mass has gone too far forward
To prevent falling, your toes and fingers claw the ground or bar
You’ll often see toes go yellow or become overly active when lifting
What this means:
You’re shoving your weight too far forward, which diminishes mobility and reduces available joint motion.
Fix it:
You’ll likely benefit from constraints or cues to shift weight back into the heels, especially during lower body exercises.
2. Rounded shoulders
This is a sign of:
Posterior compression at the back
Anterior compression at the chest wall
A truly rounded shoulder is the result of front-to-back ribcage compression.
What makes it worse:
Squeezing the shoulder blades together
Overarching the back
Crunching exercises that compress the chest wall
What helps:
Focus on restoring ribcage expansion front to back, and avoid excessive retraction or anterior compression patterns.
3. Flat feet or high arches
These two seemingly opposite presentations both signal the same issue:
A struggle to produce force into the ground — i.e., lacking internal rotation and pronation.
In training:
Try to maintain contact with the inside heel and the ball of the big toe. This helps drive proper pronation mechanics and supports internal rotation at the joints.
4. Arch in the lower back
Extremely common — and even more exaggerated in the gym.
What’s really going on?
The lower posterior ribcage is compressed
This creates an excessive lumbar arch
It’s a compensation for an inability to produce force into the ground
If I cannot internally rotate at the hips, I’ll arch through the lower back instead.
Solution:
Aim to stay more “stacked” during the majority of your workouts — ribcage aligned over pelvis — instead of defaulting into extension.
5. Hyperextended knees
A hyperextended knee is one that is compressed front to back.
You’ll often see:
Hyperextension paired with a big lower back arch
A centre of gravity pushed too far forward
Knees that struggle to bend (limited internal rotation of the shin)
Why it happens:
As the body shifts forward, the knees will hyperextend to pull themselves back underneath — a classic compensation strategy.
What helps:
Exercises that:
Pull the centre of mass back
Drive internal rotation at the joints
…will usually feel incredible and help restore healthy movement options.
Summary
If any of these 5 signs sound familiar, your body is working hard to stay upright — but at a cost. You’re likely losing movement freedom, mobility, and eventually feeling discomfort or pain.
Managing gravity and restoring internal rotation should be at the centre of your movement practice — not just pushing harder or squeezing tighter.