Good posture is as important as eating right, exercising, getting a
good night’s sleep and avoiding harmful substances. Without good
posture, you can’t really be physically fit and over time your poor
posture will cause you to develop problems such as a painful back,
aching neck and shoulders, joint pain and it will also have negative
effect on your knees. Not standing and sitting up straight can set you
up for some surprising health problems such as tension headaches,
fatigue, reduced lung function, gastrointestinal pains and it also makes
you look older than you are.
The benefits of good posture may be among the best kept secrets but
the good news is that almost everyone can avoid the problems caused by
bad posture and you can make improvements at any age.
Several different muscles are responsible for maintaining upright
posture, and over time, poor posture can cause these muscles to lose
strength. In this article I will show you simple exercises that will
enable you to strengthen these muscles in order to develop and maintain
good posture.
How To Assess your posture
Stand sideways to a full-length mirror. Close your eyes, bend
forward, then stand up quickly and gaze at the mirror to check your
posture. Are your shoulders slumped? Is your head tilted forward?
Does your chest have the appearance of being caved in as if someone just
punched you in the sternum? Is your lower back flat or excessively
arched?
Ideally, your posture would be considered good if you have a straight
back, squared shoulders that are not rounded, eyes looking straight
ahead, chest out and stomach tucked in. It’s like drawing a straight
line from your ears through your shoulder, hip, knee, to the middle of
your ankle (see the illustration below). But most often this is not the
case. Weak muscles and sitting many hours on your office chair take
their toll.
Now turn and face directly to the mirror to check your posture for
symmetry. Is your head tilted to one side? Are your shoulders
misaligned? Are your hips misaligned? Are your knees lined up? Your
head should not be tilted to the side, shoulders and hips should be
aligned and knees should be lined up.
How To Improve Your Posture
1. Strengthen your Neck
A good posture is when your ears are positioned above your shoulders,
but have you noticed that when you sit in front of your computer or
drive your car, most of the times your head is pushed forward ? Forward
head posture is a very common postural issue, this is due to weak and
tight areas in your neck that make it hard for you to hold your head
straight.
Awareness of the correct neck and shoulder posture is the first step
toward correction. A great way to start correcting poor neck posture is
through exercises which are designed to help gain control over postural
neck muscles which have become weak and fatigued over time.
Chin Tuck Exercise
To bring our neck and head back to proper alignment, do the chin tuck
exercise while sitting straight on a chair without tipping your head in
any direction. Pull your chin and head straight back. You will feel a
stretch at the back of your neck. Relax the chin back forward to a
neutral position. Repeat several times. You can do this exercise
throughout the day to maintain good posture, so when driving your car,
pull your chin in and push your head so it touches the headrest behind
you. Do the same exercise when you sit in front of the computer.
Stretch Your Neck (Neck Extension)
Another exercise that can improve your posture in neck extension –
drop your chin down towards your chest (moving only your head). Hold for
several seconds and release. Repeat several times a day.
2. Strengthen Your Shoulders
It is very common to find ourselves sitting or walking with rounded
shoulders. In this position our chest and shoulder muscles become tight
and shorter and our upper back is weaken. When you strengthen your upper
back, your shoulders will naturally pull back and your chest will open
up.
Shoulder Blade Stretches
Sit on a chair or a stool while maintaining good posture, then pull
your shoulder blades backwards. Hold for a few seconds and then relax.
Repeat several times.
Dumbbell Reverse Flys
Slightly bend your knees and lean over so your chest is slightly
above your knees. Start with your hands and dumbbells to your sides.
Raise your arms and dumbbells to your side, bringing them up to shoulder
level height. Keep your arms as straight as possible but do not lock
your elbows. Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
Do 2-3 sets of 8 repetitions.
3. Strengthen Your Core muscles
Your core muscles include the abdominals (abs) which are at the front
of the abdomen, the obliques which are located on the side of the upper
body that assist in turning the body from side to side, your lower back
and hips. You need to strengthen these muscles in order to have an
upright posture. By strengthening these muscles you will also improve
your balance ans stability as your core stabilizes your body, allowing
you to move in any direction, even on the bumpiest terrain, or stand in
one spot without losing your balance
Front Bridge exercise
This exercise is great for strengthening you core muscles. Suck your
belly button and keep your body as straight as possible without locking
your knees. Continue to breath and don’t hold your breath. Hold yourself
in this position as long as you can, then rest. Repeat 2-3 times.
Gradually extend the time of holding yourself in the position.
Side plank
Lie on your right side, with straight legs, resting on your right
forearm. Your elbow should be directly under your shoulder. Gently
contract your abdominals and lift your hips off the floor, maintaining
straight line. Keep your neck in line with your spine. Hold 20 to 40
seconds and lower. Repeat two to three times, alternating sides. If you
find it too difficult, start with bent knees.
Hip lifts
Lie on the floor with your arms by your sides. Your palms facing down
and your legs over your hips at 90 degrees. Feet are flexed. Then lift
your hips off the floor using your core muscles while your legs are
reaching towards the ceiling. Then return to the starting position.
Repeat 15 times.
2. Get used to tuck your tummy in when walking and sitting.
There are many more exercises that will enable you to strengthen your back and your core. I have written in the past about
exercises to strengthen your back and about
exercises to get flat tummy
that you can easily do at home. Start to integrate these exercises into
your daily routine. Don’t do all of them at once, but each time choose a
few different exercises to do each day.
4. Strengthen Your Hips
A good posture is when our hips are neutral and level when viewed
from the side, but sometimes when we stand, our hips are tilted forward
(forward pelvic tilt). It is therefore important to strengthen your
thighs, butt and hip flexor muscles which allow you to lift your knees
and bend at the waist.
Kneeling lunge stretch
This exercise stretches the muscles between the front of your thigh
and the lumber vertebrae which are called hip flexor muscles. These
muscles can pull the spine out of alignment if they are too tight.
Position yourself as per the illustration while keeping yourself upright
and not leaning forward. Stretch the front of your upper thigh but keep
your hips even. Hold for few seconds and repeat on the other side.
Bend knee to chest
This exercise is for the low back and stretches your hip muscles. Lie
down on the floor and pull your knee towards your chest while keeping
your tailbone on the floor. Hold each stretch for few seconds and repeat
3 times for each side.
Raise your hips
Lie down on your back and place your hands alongside your body. Bend
your legs and keep your feet flat on the floor. Your knees should be
aligned with your toes. Lift your hips and back until only the base of
your shoulder blades remains on the floor. Try to hold this position for
3 deep breaths. Lower your hips and repeat 5-10 times.
5. Knees
Your knees can also help you to maintain healthy posture – here are two useful tips:
1. Keep your knees slightly bent and shoulder-width apart. Make sure that your weight is evenly distributed on your feet.
2. When lifting heavy load off the floor, always bend your knees and
not your back. Keep your belly tucked in. Bending your back can cause a
back injury as your back muscles are not designed for taking such a
heavy weight, but the muscles in your legs and stomach are large enough
to carry it.
There is no magic solution for fixing poor posture other than
consistency, awareness and exercising. It will probably feel unnatural
initially, but developing good posture doesn’t happen overnight. As time
goes on, you will develop good postural habits, and it will come more
naturally to you. Try it for yourself: stand straight in front of a
mirror and see how taller, leaner and more confident you look when you
maintain good posture.
