Exercises to Improve Posture – Introduction
What are the best exercises to improve posture and change the way you look and feel?
Face it, modern living is bad for your posture.
Working at a desk, hunching over your phone, driving, and prolonged sitting mean many people have hunched shoulders, inwardly rotated arms, and a rounded upper back.
Unfortunately, many of the causes of poor posture are unavoidable. They are part and parcel of your everyday life.
However, there are exercises you can do that will help correct your posture.
This article reveals seven of the best exercises you can do to improve your posture, plus provides you with a simple home workout to try.
7 Best Exercises for Better Posture
Your body adapts to the positions it has to hold the most often.
So, if you sit with a hunched back, that’s the position your body will naturally gravitate toward, even when standing.
Most postural issues are caused by weakness or muscle tightness. The following posture-specific exercises address both of these issues.
#1. Doorway chest stretch
Target muscles: Pectoralis major, deltoids.
When it comes to better posture, any chest stretch is good.
However, the doorway chest stretch is a particularly effective exercise as it allows you to stretch your chest deeply and comfortably.
Do this exercise several times a day, and use going through a door as a reminder to stretch your chest.
How to do it:
-
- Stand in an open doorway.
- Place your forearms against the vertical frames so your elbows are roughly level with your shoulders.
- Gently push your upper body forward between your arms to stretch and open your chest.
- Hold for 30-60 seconds, stretching deeper as you feel your muscles relax.
Alternative door frame chest stretch
#2. Seated chest opener
Target muscles: Pectoralis major, deltoids.
Prolonged sitting is a leading cause of poor posture.
However, because of work, mechanized transport, and leisure, sitting is often unavoidable.
This exercise can be done while you work or even in your car, so it’s the perfect antidote to all that posture-wrecking time spent sitting.
How to do it:
- Sit up tall and pull your shoulders down and back.
- Place your hands on the back of your neck.
- Next, press your elbows back and out to open your chest.
- Push your head into your hands and lift your chest.
- Hold this position for 30-60 seconds, and then relax.
Deep hack chest opener
#3. Prone floor angels
Target muscles: Trapezius, rhomboids, deltoids, erector spinae.
Prone exercises are performed while lying on your front.
The prone floor angel targets the muscles in your upper back, which are responsible for holding you in good posture against the unrelenting pull of gravity.
It also provides a gentle but welcome stretch for your chest, making it an excellent postural twofer.
How to do it:
- Lie on your front with your arms by your sides and your forehead resting on the floor.
- Your palms should be flat on the floor.
- Raise your chest a few inches off the floor to engage your lower back.
- Lift your hands and then sweep your arms forward so they meet above your head.
- Return to the starting position and repeat.
- Lower your hands to the floor between reps or keep them raised as preferred.
Prone snow angels
#4. Band pull-aparts
Target muscles: Trapezius, rhomboids, deltoids.
If there is one exercise everybody should do to fix their posture, band pull-aparts are it.
This exercise is straightforward yet extremely effective.
It targets the muscles between your shoulder blades that are often weak and a common cause of poor posture.
Keep a resistance band close at hand or nearby to your desk so you can do this exercise anytime that you have a few moments to spare.
How to do it:
- Hold a resistance band with a shoulder-width, overhand grip, or even better, an underhand grip (see video below).
- Raise your arms so they’re parallel to the floor.
- Open your arms and spread the band out across your chest.
- Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.
Do this exercise EVERY SINGLE day – Resistance Band Pull Aparts
#5. Resistance band face pulls
Target muscles: Trapezius, rhomboids, deltoids, biceps.
Face pulls might sound like a childish exercise, but they’re actually a very effective move for fixing your slouch and strengthening your upper back and shoulders.
Do sets of this exercise between push-ups or bench presses to improve your posture and balance your upper body development.
How to do it:
- Attach a handled resistance band to a chest-high anchor.
- Take one handle in each hand and, with straight arms, step back to tension your band.
- Use a staggered stance for balance.
- Bend your arms and pull the handles into either side of your head.
- Keep your elbows up and your arms parallel to the floor.
- Return to the starting position and repeat.
Fix your slouching with these posture exercises
#6. Wall neck bridge
Target muscles: neck extensors.
Most postural exercises focus on the shoulders and lower back, but the neck is often neglected.
Sitting in front of a computer means that many of us stick our heads forward to get closer to the screen, resulting in what is sometimes called nerd neck.
This exercise is the solution.
How to do it:
- Lean against a wall so your butt and the back of your head are touching it.
- Your feet should be 18-24 inches out in front.
- Place a folded towel behind your head if required.
- Press the back of your head into the wall and push your butt away.
- Hold this position for 30-90 seconds, and then relax.
- Alternatively, you can do this exercise for reps.
Neck Bridge Against Wall
#7. Cat cow pose
Target muscles: Erector spinae, rectus abdominis, neck flexors, neck extensors.
Sitting in bad posture puts a lot of stress on your spine.
It’s no coincidence that a large and growing percentage of adults suffer from chronic back pain.
The cat/cow pose from yoga (aka Marjaiasana-Bitilasana in Sanskrit) helps floss your spine and gets it moving again, breaking you out of that troublesome fixed posture.
This exercise is not only good for improving your posture but should provide some relief for stiff, immobile spines.
How to do it:
- Kneel on all fours so your hips are over your knees and your hands are beneath your shoulders.
- Keeping your arms straight, lower your head toward the floor, tuck your pelvis under, and lift the middle of your back up toward the ceiling.
- Hold for 3-5 seconds.
- Next, raise your head, tilt your pelvis backward, and arch your back to lower your abdomen down toward the floor.
- Hold for 3-5 seconds.
- Alternate between these two positions for the desired number of reps.
Cat cow pose – Best stretch for back pain
Workout for Better Posture
Doing any of the exercises in the previous section will do your posture nothing but good. However, you will get better results by following a structured workout for better posture.
Here’s one to try that you can do at home. The exercise descriptions can be found above.
But before you begin, make sure you warm up and prepare your muscles and joints for what you are about to do.
Begin with a few minutes of easy cardio, e.g., jogging or jumping rope, followed by mobility and flexibility exercises for your shoulders and lower back.
Then, when you are ready, perform the following workout.
Do it 2-3 times per week on non-consecutive days, e.g., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Recovery | |
| 1 | Doorway chest stretch | 1 | 60 seconds | N/A |
| 2 | Cat/cow pose | 2 | 10 | 60-90 seconds |
| 3 | Prone floor angels | 3 | 8-15 | 60-90 seconds |
| 4 | Band pull-aparts | 3 | 8-15 | 60-90 seconds |
| 5 | Wall neck bridge | 3 | 30-45 seconds | 60-90 seconds |
Best Exercises to Improve Posture – Wrapping Up
Postural training is not as sexy as building bigger biceps, sculpting a six-pack, or bench-pressing heavy weights.
However, it will probably do more for your appearance, function, and overall health than almost any other type of workout.
That’s because sitting or standing in poor posture makes you look older than you are, gives you a rounded belly, reduces your height and stature, and can even affect your confidence and self-esteem.
The good news is that poor posture is usually fixable. You just need to stretch whatever is tight, strengthen whatever is weak, and do your best to slouch less.
You won’t fix your posture overnight, but gradually, you will improve it.
Use the information in this article to sit and stand up straighter and look your very best.
