How To Fix Posture With 3 Quick Exercises

Posture is something so malleable yet so essential for the structure and well-being of our bodies.

Similar to how a building’s foundation sets the stage for what can be built there, our posture sets the stage for what our bodies can do and how we can do it, hopefully without tiring or pain.

Although, with prolonged sitting, horrible posture created by using cell phones, and the constant aches and pains our society experiences, it is the time we all have a quick fix for posture and these three exercises help fix posture.

Exercise #1 — Establish Proper Posture

Before we dive into it, proper posture is, in fact, something that you can create

All those years your parents lectured on you on “standing straight” was theoretically correct, or at least the thought behind it (and that’s what counts right?)

When it comes down to it, the man who taught me how to establish proper posture both when standing and sitting was Kelly Starrett of Mobility WOD throughout the reading of The Becoming A Supple Leopard and Deskbound.

This is going to be a quick step by step sequence that you can walk through every day (and anytime you feel your posture is lacking) to achieve proper posture.

Step 1: Squeeze Your Glutes (Butt)

When your butt or glutes are squeezed, you allow for any anterior or posterior pelvic tilt to be auto-corrected easily.

Your pelvis realigns, your core tightens and everything seems to correct itself effortlessly.

Step 2: Tense Your Core and Take A Deep Breath

After squeezing your butt, it is important to make sure your whole core is tensed and that you can breathe while keeping a bit of core tension going.

Learning to keep a stiff core and still perform movements, allows you to keep your spine in a perfect position while allowing you to fix your posture any time of day.

Step 3: Externally Rotate Shoulders and Let Arms Drop

To get the perfect posture, we have already established that you must have tight glutes and an engaged core, but that is just the lower body.

Instead of pulling back your shoulder blades or overextending your back, we are aiming to seamlessly “reset” the upper body posture.

What you will do is rotate your shoulders outward until your palms are facing away from you and your thumbs are pointing out.

Do not rotate from your hands but only from your shoulders.

Step 4: Straight Your Head and Look Forward

The last step is very simple.

All you need to do is look forward making sure your head not being pulled forward or backward and that you are looking in front for you and not down or up

*This should be a quick reset you can do anytime you want to fix your posture.

Exercise #2: Face Pulls or Rear Delt-Flyes

When you go to the gym, typically what do you see?

Bros on the bench or squatting or doing a whole host of exercises besides neglecting the ones that matter.

Actually, it seems that there are often so many push exercises in a training routine and a neglect of pulling exercises (the ones that truly allow you to master your body.)

Perhaps, this is because the beach muscles are typically an excellent chest and core, but on the other hand, the functional postural muscles come about with pulling.

Even less performed is anything for the rear delts and the posture at large.

That is until you start implementing the Face Pull or Rear Delt Flye into your exercises routine.

The Face Pull

An easy but very useful exercise is the face pull.

All you need to do is perform them on days with heavy pushing.

Anytime you feel as though posture is lacking perform face pulls with one of these sets and rep schemes:

• 12–15 repetitions followed by 3–5 mini sets of 3–5 reps (15–30 second break)
• or 3 sets of 10–15

The face pulls exercise should be performed in a higher rep range as it is about correcting your posture and opening up your shoulders.

Rear Delt Flyes

I recommend doing these on an intensive shoulder day as it is going to work the shoulders more and help you create posture post overhead pressing.

Use the same set and rep scheme from above, and yes it is a harder exercise but it is well worth it.

Exercise #3: Focusing On Your Chest Instead Of Back

When most people think about bad posture, they think about hunched forward shoulders and a rounded back.

Correct your posture with the first two exercises will make a huge impact, but something often forgotten is that sometimes the problem lies in not where it seems to show.

In fact, a lot of people have very tight front delts and chests that pull their shoulders forward leading to tight upper traps and backs, but they attribute bad posture typically to needing to pull the shoulder blades back.

If your chest is tight, pulling your shoulder blades back will not work.

Instead, take a lacrosse ball, softball, or baseball and roll out the tissue that is your middle to the upper chest.

This will help to ensure that it isn’t the resistance in your shoulders and chest that is keeping the first two exercises from working properly and you from actually standing up straight.

Every other day you do chest or shoulder work, or just feel tight in general, perform this rolling out technique and watch as you feel everything relax and open up.

Well, this isn’t all you can do to fix your posture, this is a great start.

Perform these exercises and let me know how they went below!

-Austin

Originally published at heightenedliving.com on June 30, 2016.