If you’ve fallen victim to poor posture – finding yourself more often than not sitting with slouched shoulders or even start to feel pain in your lower back – you’re not alone. In fact, most of us who work at a desk all day or work active jobs with repetitive movements find ourselves falling into lazy patterns. It’s not too late for you to improve your posture.
Improving your posture may seem like an impossible task, but it’s actually pretty simple. With focused exercises and stretches, you’ll learn how to gain the mobility and strength to sit and move throughout your day with better posture. You’ll feel better and look better – what’s not to love?
Increasing Postural Mobility
If you’re feeling pain, tightness, or stiffness in your upper body from sitting or slouching all day, these exercises will work wonders for not only immediate relief but also help increase your mobility so you can move better throughout the day. Pause at your desk or lunch break for a quick stretch or do them at home. Whenever and wherever you do them, they’ll help when performed regularly.
T Spine Rotations
Cat-Cow
Back Extensions
Child’s Pose
Increasing Postural Strength
An important part of having good posture is having the strength to hold your body in proper alignment. If you’re not used to sitting with good posture, odds are the first few days of trying to be more mindful about it and practicing it will have you feeling a little sore and tired. Make it easier on yourself by strengthening your core, back, shoulders, and more with the following exercises.
Tabletop
Bird Dog
Plank
Side Plank
5-Minute Posture Class
Looking for more? Follow along with this quick 5-minute video, where I provide cues and further instruction on what to focus on as you complete each of these exercises.
I hope you enjoyed this quick series on how to improve your posture and that it helps you have better posture at work (or at home). Remember, posture is also incredibly important for your proper form during your workouts. Use this routine as a quick warm up or cool down for your workouts to help improve your overall posture, form, and performance during workouts!
