3 Exercises that Improve Your Posture

By
Princess O
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Photo by Clarisa Guerra on Unsplash

Poor posture is very common today. Many people develop poor posture without even knowing, and they predispose themselves to chronic back pain as well as other serious health issues. Exercise can help improve your posture and keep you fitter and healthier.

Exercises to improve posture

Deadlifts

Deadlifts work on muscles surrounding the posterior chain such as glutes, hamstrings, spinal erector, trapezius muscles and others.

This exercise has an advantage because it works on two main muscle groups that improve posture. Deadlifts also improve core stabilization while strengthening the spine.

During deadlift movement, you work on extending the hips fully and rotating your shoulders. The movement helps straighten the muscles, and this will inadvertently improve body posture.

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#Repost @muscleengineered – Deadlifts – 📍The deadlift targets the posterior chain. It’s a great functional exercise that you should definitely include in your workout! . 📌Bad Form ✖️It’s easy to get this exercise wrong without someone watching you to give you cues or a mirror to watch your form. I always recommend having someone record you or setting your phone down to record yourself to make sure you form is looking good. If you are making compensations like the video on the left, one of the problems that could be occurring is that you are going to heavy. your body can’t handle the movement without having to round your back. ✖️Depending on the type of deadlift you are trying to do (Stiff Leg/Romanian Deadlift) your hips being high can be okay. But, low hips will ultimately turn into doing a squat like you would for the back squat and typically, your goal is not do that. . 📌Good Form ✔️Bracing your core, keeping a neutral spine alignment is the main thing you want to look for. Your shoulders should also be retracted and down engaging the upper back muscles. Keeping the bar close to your body also helps in decreasing the moment arm from your hips. Doing this will help decrease the stress you might feel on you low back.

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Kettlebell swings

Kettlebell swings also help improve posture because they train the entire body. When you do this exercise, you engage the abs, glutes, back, core, hamstrings, and shoulders. The muscles, when trained, can become stronger and more flexible as time passes. People with office jobs can use it to reverse the negative effects of sitting for too long.

Seated cable rows

This exercise comes in handy, as well even, though it focuses on the back muscles. The best position for correcting posture is the close-grip position. It targets the back muscles mainly. Be sure to get the proper form to prevent back pain after exercising.