What is the Best Exercise for Good Posture?

Question

I sit in an office chair all day long. I try to keep good posture, but I find myself in any number of bad positions throughout the day.

Is there any particular exercise that would help maintain good posture for longer periods of time?

Answer 1

Deadlifts! http://www.criticalbench.com/exercises/deadlift.htm

They've made a world of difference in the amount of back pain I experience.

Answer 2

This isn't an exercise, but one posture test I've heard: Stand against a wall. Your nose, chest, and belly button/belt should all be touching the wall (i.e. in a straight line).

If they're not, it means you're hunched over (or have a big belly :-) ), and try adjusting until they are.

Answer 3

The best workout I've ever had for my muscular skeletal system was yoga by far. I'm sure taichi, pilates, and lots of other things are just as good. The main point is probably just to get out there and do something which is known to be healthy and not worry about picking the best.

The main problem with doing weights and other forms of resistance training with respect to improving posture is that the muscles that need to be strengthened are typically unaffected by resistance training. Having a strong core will be good for you, but it's important to understand that your balance muscles need to improve as well.

The balance muscles are hard to improve if you just go to the gym for 30 minutes a few times a week. I'm having a hard time finding the source where I learned this. Workouts like yoga and pilates force you to practice balance and they really do force you to work on these small muscles that traditional gym workouts tend to miss.

Answer 4

A lot of people here sit on those exercise balls. In an office of 15, I believe we have 7 who use them, some all the time.

Answer 5

I would agree with Jason. I do Yoga every morning and it's worked the best for me so far. Also Pilates is good for improving posture.

Answer 6

Deadlifts seems quiet dangerous if you have not trained for a long time. At least I will recommend you to get advise from the staff at your local gym and start with little weigth.

I found that dorsal and lumbar exercises can make a difference.

Answer 7

At the local gym, you should be able to find a machine that will exercise the muscles just below your shoulder blades (next to your spine).

I've found that anytime I use that machine, my posture changes immediately (as the muscles tighten).

Just don't overdo it. That's not a fun place to be sore.

A rowing machine also does the trick quite nicely.

Answer 8

Strengthen your core (back and abs). Replace your chair with an exercise balls is a good passive way encourage core strength.

Answer 9

Pilates made a major impact for me and helped to control my lower back pain.

http://www.easyvigour.net.nz/fitness/h_P2_pilates_instructions.htm

Answer 10

I find that swimming is great is a low impact but all-around good form of exercise. Just be careful to stop well before being exhausted (it is easy to overdo it and not realize it until your back/chest muscles are in serious pain - as I managed to do a few days ago).

Answer 11

Long-term computer/scholarly activity tends to cause people to develop a hunched over posture. This is not simply a habit but a physical change in the person's body. Various tendons and ligaments throughout the system lengthen or shorten to conform to your new hunched over posture. Pulling oneself out of this hunched over posture, once it has become the norm, will actually require active and constant resistance. You are finding it difficult to maintain a good posture now because your body has potentially spent years adapting to the bad one.

Unfortunately, tendons and ligaments take years to adjust. A few hours of exercise a week are not going to undo what years of your computer/scholar posture have reinforced and will continue to reinforce.

Far better to find a scheme that enforces your desired posture passively.

By the way, "good" and "bad" are very subjective terms. There's little evidence that sitting upright is actually better for your body than slouching/hunching comfortably. All that a person's "good posture" does is appeal to the reptilian part of our brains that interprets slouching/hunching as weakness.

Answer 12

Not really exercise, but more of a note: Sleep on your back or on your side with a pillow in between your legs. It promotes good posture while you are catching Zzzzzs.

Answer 13

There's a good set of simple exercises described in this Men's Health article. I found the exercise ball, the stretchy cable things, and the small dumbbells relatively cheap at Wal-Mart.

Also, take a few minutes to fiddle around with all the levers and knobs of your office chair. It can make a huge difference in the way you sit.

Answer 14

Look at Alexander Technique.

Answer 15

Start doing weights (at a gym, not at your desk). Strengthening core muscles like lower back does wonders for back pain, helps you support your posture better (not to mention having more energy to code).

Answer 16

Personally, I never really believe in 'strengthening muscles' as a solution. If you want to sit in a good posture, you have to be able to be able to relax in that posture.

What is most important, in my view, is to become more aware of which muscles are tensed, and could be relaxed, how you support the weight of your arms and head, and how all these forces work through your body. Then, you can try to make small changes. Maybe try to move your head back a bit, and try to balance it on your spine without using any muscles. You might find that your spine is a lot more flexible than you thought.

YMMV. For some people, stronger lower back muscles might be exactly what they need.

Oh, and don't be too fixed on finding the single right posture. I benefit from moveing around in my chair a bit, don't be affraid to -- on some days or times of the day, your body might have different needs. Listen to it.

Answer 17

It's not an exercise, but investing in a decent chair did wonders for me. Herman Miller's Mirra is like the Aeron, only more configurable.

I wouldn't have believed what a huge difference a decent chair could make until I bought one.

Answer 18

My company actually has a physical therapist full-time who teaches classes on this stuff every month. She says that largest contributer to bad posture is muscle weakness, which will eventually lead to chronic lower back pain, and later in life a higher likelihood of rotator-cuff and knee injuries.

Basically, when the core and upper back are not both strong and flexible, your joints (your vertebrae, knees, and shoulder blades) have to bear more of a burden. Your muscles are made to quickly recover from stress, while your bones and tendons are not and will eventually wear out.

If your bad posture includes protruding your head forward and slumping your shoulders, it's usually a sign of weak, tight muscles in the back and shoulders. Unfortunately, unless you can do pull-ups (with your palms facing outwards) you have to use some form of weights or equipment.

If your bad posture includes not sitting up strait, it's usually a sign of a weak core. As others have mentioned, a way to improve core strength is to sit on an exercise ball at your desk once or twice a day for 30 minutes.

Also, pilates and yoga are good at strengthening your core and giving you added flexibility. My whole department has even started having (optional) lunchtime yoga sessions in a training room. We just stream a 10 or 20 minute video off of Netflix or Hulu and follow along (and yeah, we're all still decked out in our work clothes).

Also, if you do work out, free weights are better for your posture and balance than machines. Machines only work one or two muscles, while free weights work entire systems of muscles.

Answer 19

there is a program named "PostureMinderProfessional" alerts for breaks,water needed e.g. usefull but commerical it is....