My Favorite Exercises to Improve Posture
Good posture is important for so many reasons. Having good posture makes us look and feel confident, we are more balanced, stronger and can generate more power.
Our modern life doesn’t exactly encourage good posture. We do way too much sitting usually with our head forward while we drive our cars, or stare at our computer screens, televisions and phones. Our spines turn from S curves into one big C curve, putting too much compression on our discs and the small joints in our back. Our organs, including our lungs, get crunched, and don’t function optimally.
To counter our sitting lifestyle we have to go out of our way to put ourselves into extension to fight the “C” curve that develops by being a flexed position too much of the time.
Some of my favorite exercises are: Rowing, Bridgeing, Founder, Perfect Hip Flexor Stretch, and Single Leg Deadlifts.
Ideally, you should have a trainer help you with the correct technique for the exercises below, but I have given some tips to help you get started.
Rowing- It helps posture, because rowing can help you start to correct a rounded shoulder posture by strengthening the muscles around the shoulder girdle. Stand with your spine in neutral position and pull the shoulder blades together and down. Start with 15 reps.
Bridge
Bridge- this exercise strengthens the glute muscles, lower back and hamstrings. These muscles help keep you erect. Squeeze glutes and then lift hips, hold for 2-3 seconds and then return to the floor maintaining a neutral spine.
Do 10-20 reps
Do 2-3 sets
Foundation Training Founder
Foundation Training exercises are exzcellent for building good posture. This is exercise is called "Founder."
Feet are a little more than shoulder width apart,activate the arches of the feet by pressing and then pulling your feet up, tension your heels together, knees stay behind the ankle as you hindge your hips back 3-5 inches, neck stays in line with your spine, shoulder blades stay down.
I know, lots to think about, but really worth the effort.
Hold for 5-8 big breaths. Do this 3-5 times each day.
Perfect Hip Flexor Stretch
Perfect Hip Flexor Stretch- It helps posture because it relases the big muscles in the front of your hip. When your hip flexors get tight, they can pull on your lower spine. Keep your knee under your hip and then contract your glute for the stretch. Add and arm reach to intensify the stretch. Hold for 20-30 seconds.
Single Leg Deadlift- Advanced
Single Leg Deadlifts- (Advanced) I love this exercise because it has so much carry-over into every day life and is REALLY good at strengthening the glutes and the entire posterior chain.(back of your body) Strong glutes are SUPER important for good posture and a healthy back. You glutes stabilize you and move you forward in life. Important to be sure your form is perfect before adding load. 12-15 reps. This exercise builds good balance, but start slow by reaching for a wall or the back of a sturdy chair.