Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a ridiculously long review, so, if you are just trying to see if the product works, I'll summarize. It does work..surprisingly well; and after daily wear for the last few months, it seems in no danger of falling apart. For those looking for some specific detail to see if this product will suit your particular purpose - hopefully you'll find it somewhere in the novel below. ;-) I have this random childhood memory of watching a princess movie where the princess-in-the-making character was reprimanded for her slouchy American posture. I remember thinking I should have better posture, straightening up...for 5 seconds, and effectively forgetting about it for the next couple decades. :-p Then, a couple years ago I started doing a group workout where the instructors paid reasonable attention to form. I was told to keep my face forward when doing push-ups, rather than looking at the ground, to increase my range of motion. Well, of course that way was harder, and I figured that was the point. I was told to look up when I jumped to increase the height...it decreased my jump height - I figured it was just because I had spent my whole life jumping while looking forward and the change required me to work against muscle memory. Fast forward a year. I did two different workout videos one week that wanted me to put my hands behind my head with my elbows pointing out to the sides; I was struggling to manage a 45 degree angle. For the 1st video, I figured the elbows out to the side thing was a challenge, a goal to work towards. By the 2nd video, it became clear it was just an expectation of a posture a normal person should be able to achieve. It was at that point I started having a harder time rationalizing my way out of it. Then I unexpectedly caught a glimpse of my profile walking past a building, and was kind of grossed out by the hunched over version of myself that I saw. It was finally time to stop rationalizing and try to fix this. I started out trying workout videos to increase back and neck flexibility. They were decent, but I was doubtful 20 minutes a day was going to undo the hours of subsequent slouching which would inevitably follow as when through my day and got distracted from a single-minded focus on maintaining good posture. How much easier, I thought, if there was just some contraption I could wear that would maintain good posture for me. Enter StabilityAce. I ordered it because it was affordable, and seemed substantial enough to do the job without being too terribly obvious or cumbersome. I became addicted in short order. It was a little tricky at first. My 1st concern was that I would fight against the brace to get into the posture I wanted, subsequently strengthening my muscles in their ability to slouch. It turns out, I would unconsciously shrug and slouch just to the point right before I would have begun resisting the band! So that fear was allayed. :-) My second issues was that I initially tried to tighten the brace enough to create good posture, and ended up feeling like I had tiny little T-rex arms. I had to bend at the waist to get my hands under faucets in sinks...and still just barely managed to reach the water. Always ready to rationalize, I thought maybe the reason I slouched so much was that my arms were disproportionately short, and I needed the extra few inches hunched shoulder provided. Of course, that couldn't explain why I kept my shoulders hunched up about 5 inches anytime I sat down. So, I loosened the brace a bit, tightening it as my posture improved over the next couple weeks. The 1st few days, I even slept in the brace...it actually felt more comfortable than being without it...my body had started to crave proper posture! If I forgot to walk out the door without the brace, I would notice it within a minute, and turn around and go back for it...I just didn't like how I felt without it; the idea of spending the the rest of the day slouched over and hunched up made me uncomfortable. :-p Now, a couple months in, my body is used to good posture. I still wear the brace during the day to avoid going back to bad habits, but now when I tighten it sufficiently to maintain good posture, it still feels perfectly spacious and maneuverable. And now when I do push-ups, I can look forward and 'comfortably' get my face to the ground; I can look up when I jump, and it really does make me jump higher; and I can put my hands behind my neck, and get my elbows outside of my peripheral vision - with my elbows even pointing slightly backwards! Finally, I was concerned the velcro would stop sticking, and I'd have to keep reordering a new product every few months. That may be why they tell you to order the larger size if you're borderline like I was. I don't have a ruler on hand, but the velco looks to be ~1.5" wide and ~3" long. Which appears to cover enough area to keep it from straining to hold its grip. I'm only a few month in to use, but the velcro doesn't seem to be in any danger of failing; while the rest of the brace is even sturdier. Oh - and the padding is sufficient to make the brace pretty comfortable; the only time I ever felt at all uncomfortable was when I tried to tighten it too much too quickly. That was when the band would dig into my armpits while I was attempting to shove my T-rex arms forward. Now that I went through the gradual tightening process, I can make the brace as tight as I want, without any discomfort...and without feeling like I have short, stubby, T-rex arms. :-)