Posture exercises are a type of strength exercise that can be used by anyone. Strength exercises are something people only associate with athletes or males looking to put on muscle. However they can be used by anyone for many different reasons including posture correction, in this instance we will be referring to them as posture exercises.
Posture is one of those things people ignore until it is either pointed out to them or they get some serious problems.
There are many different ways that posture can be corrected, a few of the most popular are:
Posture Exercises – This involves strengthening the muscles that are weak and lengthened to bring posture back into alignment. Generally these muscles should not be stretched further.
Stretching – This involves stretching muscles that are tight and facilitated to allow the body to come back into optimal alignment.
Posture Practicing – This is a very simple technique that can be used throughout the day. It is simply remembering to sit or stand up straight with shoulders squeezed together, head retracted, glutes (bum) and abdominals squeezed. This can make a huge difference in your everyday posture.
So lets put all three of these techniques together to correct 2 of the most common postural dysfunctions.
1. Dysfunction:
Forward head posture, rounded shoulders.
Cause:
This often occurs with people that spend extended periods of time using a computer or sitting at a desk.
Correction:
Strengthen the middle back muscles. These are the muscles between the shoulder blades. This can be strengthened by posture exercises such as seated row with high elbows or seated shrug (retracting the shoulder blades back rather than actually shrugging them backwards). Another way to strengthen the middle back muscles is to do ‘floor swims’. This involves lying on the floor face down and then performing a breaststroke swimming action with the arms.
Stretch the chest. Stretching the chest will free up some slack and allow your shoulders to come back into some retraction.
Stretch the neck. From every direction, so tilting head from side to side, front and back. This frees up the neck and allows it to come back into the correct posture without any restrictions.
Strengthen the muscles that retract the head. Retracting the head can be achieved by keeping your eye sight down and level and then drawing your head back to make a double chin. To strengthen this movement, lie on the floor with a pillow behind your head and make a double chin by pushing the back of your head against the pillow. Push at about 40% of your max and hold for 3 sets of 60 seconds.
2 Dysfunction:
Anterior tilt of pelvis (pelvis rolls forward so that bum points further up in the air and lumber curve increases).
Cause:
This is very often caused by tight/facilitated hip flexors and lower back. With the glutes, lower abdominals, hamstrings being weak and lengthened. Often occurs because most people spend well over 10 hours a day in a sitting position.
Correction:
Strengthen the lower abdominals. Lower abdominal exercises like a reverse curl is ideal (lie on your back and curl your legs and hips off the floor whilst keeping your back and shoulders on the floor).
Strengthen the glutes (bum) and hamstrings.
This can be achieved with side lying leg lifts (frogs) or walking lunges. See the glute strengthening exercises for more detailed ways to strengthen the glutes and hamstrings.
Stretch the hip flexors and lower back.
This can be achieved by kneeling on one knee with the other leg out in front of you, sole of the foot flat on the floor. Then push your hips forward towards your front leg so that your back leg gets extended behind you. The stretch should be felt in the front of the rear leg. To shift the stretch emphasis on to the rectus femoris (a hip flexor further down your leg) just left the rear leg up onto something.
Stretch the lower back.
This can be achieved by simply standing up straight and then bending over diagonally so that you bring a shoulder down to the opposite knee, keeping the legs straight.
Posture
By working with these posture exercises and stretches to improve your posture you will greatly reduce your chances of back pain and also look so much better as just standing tall can make you look like you have far less body fat and more muscle than you actually do.
