Top Posture Exercises & Stretches

“Good posture” is more than just sitting up straight.

Here are some posture exercises and stretches to support you…literally!

 

Good posture isn’t just about “looking confident.” It’s about making sure your body is in the optimal position. By relieving pressure on your muscles, joints, and nerves, the entire body can work the way it’s supposed to.

But improving your posture requires more than sitting up straight. As it turns out, the fastest route to good posture is one you may already be doing.

We’ve rounded up some of the best stretches and exercises to improve your posture, reduce aches and pains, and strengthen your core.

 

Best Stretches For Posture

You probably already stretch before and/or after a workout, but stretching is an important part of total body health.

Regular stretching keeps your muscles, ligaments, and tendons flexible and increases your range of motion. This in turn improves your balance and reduces the risk of injury.

Cat Cow

Start on your hands and knees, keeping your knees about a hip width apart. Arch your spine and look up, then tuck your chin and round your back.

This move helps increase flexibility in your spine and neck muscles.

Child Pose

Start by sitting on your heels, then bend forward at the waist until your abdomen is touching your thighs. Extend your arms forward to feel the stretch in your back.

Cobra Pose

Lie on your stomach with your hands beneath your shoulders. Next, push the floor away from you, squeezing your shoulder blades together.

This move is a great way to strengthen the muscles in your upper back.

Seated Twist

Sit in a comfortable position on the floor. Place your right hand on your left knee and twist to the left. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds, then return to the starting position. Repeat on the other side.

Forward Fold

The forward fold can be done standing or while seated on the floor. Either way, focus on keeping your back long and your legs straight.

Chest Stretch

Interlace your fingers behind your back, then extend your arms out while squeezing your shoulder blades together. This stretch releases tension in the chest that may be causing your “hunchback.”

Hip Flexor Stretch

If you spend most of your time sitting, there’s a good chance that your hip flexor muscles (the muscles located at the front of your hips) could use a good stretch!

Lunges, kneeling hip stretches, and the pigeon pose (pictured above) are all excellent ways to loosen this area so you can do other exercises with ease.

 

Posture Exercises

You can’t play a symphony with only a few notes. Similarly, all of your muscles must work together to maintain good posture.

These best exercises focus on improving your postural muscles—the deep muscles in the core—as well as the upper back, neck, and glutes.

Bird Dog

Start on your hands and knees, then extend your left leg behind you and your right arm in front of you. Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side. Aim for 10-20 reps per side.

Plank

For a standard plank, lie on your stomach flat on the floor with your elbows directly under your shoulders. Push the floor away from you with your forearms, keeping your toes on the floor. Hold this position for 30 seconds to a minute (or as long as you can).

For a more challenging variation, lie on your side with your legs straight and your feet stacked on top of each other. Lift your hips off the floor, keeping your spine straight and your core muscles engaged.

Glute Bridges

Your gluteal muscles play an important role in maintaining a natural tilt in your pelvis and keeping your spine extended, so don’t neglect this part of the body!

Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor. Lift your hips, engaging your core and your glutes. Aim for 3 to 5 sets of 20 reps.

Overhead Triceps Extension

Hold a small dumbbell with both hands and your arms straight. Lower the dumbbell behind your head, keeping your elbows at your temples. Aim for 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Bent Over Row

If you have a bench available, rest your left knee and left hand on it, holding a dumbbell in your right hand. If you don’t have a bench, you can bend your knees slightly, bend over at the waist, and hold a dumbbell in each hand.

Extend your arm straight, then pull the dumbbell to your side, bending the elbow. This exercise helps strengthen the shoulders and upper back. Aim for 5 sets of 10-15 reps.

 

Other Tips

Correcting your posture isn’t something that happens by accident and it takes more than a few exercises to get it right.

Here are some helpful tips to improve your posture over the long-term:

• Strengthen all of your muscles. Much of the talk about posture focuses on the back, but all of the muscles affect how you stand, walk, and sit. Spend time working your back, shoulders, core, legs, and glutes if you want to keep standing tall.
• Be aware of your posture. Your body is very good at adapting to the positions that you keep it in. If you sit hunched over as soon as you leave the gym, you will be undermining all that hard work.
• Wear a posture corrector to improve your muscle memory. These devices can help remind you of what good posture feels like so you can focus on maintaining it.
• Go to the chiropractor. It isn’t only your muscles that help your posture—your joints do, too! Getting regular chiropractic adjustments ensure that your joints are able to maintain good posture.

 

Conclusion

Instead of focusing on getting a “beach body,” why not use your time at the gym to improve your posture?

After all, having good posture does more than just make you look taller and more confident. It also takes the strain and pressure off your muscles and joints so that you can experience less pain and discomfort.

At Oviedo Chiropractic, we are committed to helping our patients achieve their goals—whether that’s symptom relief or better posture! Our chiropractors and medical massage therapists are well versed in a variety of therapies designed for optimal wellness.

Schedule an appointment today.