Posture exercises – a set of exercises for a healthy back - Be healthy!

If you have problems with posture, do exercises daily to strengthen your spine

I advise you to work out all the curves of the cervical, thoracic and lumbosacral spine every day. It takes no more than 15 minutes, and with regular exercise, your posture will improve within a week.

First exercise: imagine that your head is moving forward and moving back (like a drawer from a closet). Second exercise: lift your chest as if trying to reach the sky. The gaze should also be directed upward. Try to turn your shoulders outward. Third exercise: feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Move your pelvis forward and up, then back and up.

All exercises should be done 10-15 times and the warm-up should be completed with general strengthening of posture. To do this, stand against the wall so that the back of your head, shoulder blades, buttocks, calves and heels touch it. Stay like this for three minutes, and then move away and remember this body position. Try to keep it for as long as possible.

What is posture?

First, let’s figure out what the word “posture” actually means. This concept is usually used to denote a familiar, relaxed manner of holding one’s own body. And correct posture
means maintaining the curves of the spine created by nature. Man is an upright creature, so his spine constantly has to withstand vertical loads. Because of this, over time it turned from a straight line to a curved one, with bends forward (cervical and lumbar lordosis) and backward (thoracic kyphosis). These deflections are needed for better shock absorption. If the curves are modified, a violation of posture occurs.

Choose your workouts wisely

Dancing (sports and artistic), ballet and gymnastics have a positive effect on posture. Girls who are actively involved in such training spend a lot of effort on establishing correct posture.

But there are sports that asymmetrically load the muscles and worsen posture. The impact on an adult with mature muscles and skeleton will be minimal, so this most often affects children.

Correct posture is worsened by training during which the load is transferred to one hand: tennis, throwing sports.

And also exercises in which a person takes an unnatural position (for example, speed skaters suffer from this).

Many people believe that swimming has a positive effect on posture. In fact, most athletes (especially girls) have a stooped posture due to overdevelopment of the muscles involved in rowing.

Consequences of poor posture

With incorrect posture, the head extends beyond the longitudinal axis of the body (lowered forward or thrown back), the shoulders are hunched, the back is stooped, and the stomach is protruded.
With this posture, the muscles become tense, which leads to damage to the joints and a feeling of discomfort throughout the body, as the intervertebral cartilaginous discs are compressed and deformed. Recent changes lead to pinching of the nerves extending from the spinal cord. Therefore, headaches, circulatory disorders, the appearance of cramps in the legs, arms, back and the development of some eye diseases occur. Due to incorrect posture, the abdominal muscles weaken and the chest shrinks, which leads to difficulty breathing.

Incorrect posture can often be the cause of rapid fatigue, because those who do not control their body spend much more energy when moving. And so, incorrect posture can cause the development of a variety of diseases.

If you experience discomfort in your muscles, then something is wrong with your posture. If your body is in an uncomfortable position for a long time, the result will affect your posture.

Desktop

For children I recommend a modular table. You can always change its height and the angle of inclination of the working surface, as well as adjust the chair to the desired parameters. It is important to choose the right table height.

Place your child at the table and ask him to place his hand on his elbow - with his middle finger he should reach the outer corner of his eye. In this case, the back must be flat!

The table must be at least 1 m long and at least 80 cm wide, the distance to the monitor must be at least 60 cm. Try to choose a table with a matte surface in plain pastel colors. A glossy surface can cause additional strain on vision.

Unique ballet exercises

Ballerinas have poise and grace that absolutely everyone admires.

Systematic training with exercises related to ballet will make your back straight and your gait flying:

Head and neck: stretch your neck as much as possible, contracting the muscles of the right and left parts in turn, turn your head to the sides. Raise your face up, tighten your pectoral muscles.
Back. The main rule is to keep your back straight. Turn to face the support, fix your hands on the bar at chest level, lower your shoulders, pull in your stomach and tighten your buttocks. The correct position is easy to determine: you need to let go of the support and raise one leg - the balance of the body should not be disturbed.
Do exercises 1 and 2 together.
Make exercise 3 more difficult: take turns moving your legs to the sides, transferring your weight to one leg. Retract the limb smoothly, without jerking or swinging.
Lifting onto high half-toes. Position: heels together, toes apart. Let's do it smoothly.
Squat. Facing the support, distribute the center of gravity evenly, with your feet as in the previous exercise. Perform the squat slowly, having reached the lowest point, do not stop, but rise to the starting position. The execution consists of one continuous movement.
Throwing the legs with a push to an accessible height. At the same time, do not allow your back to relax.

We advise you to study - Ankylosing spondylitis - diagnosis and treatment

Do exercises to relax your back throughout the day

There are several simple universal exercises that are suitable for tired mothers and those who work in the office. The first is bending forward towards your feet. Perform them at least 60 times per approach. If you haven't exercised for a long time, you can start with 30 reps.  

The second exercise is bending to the side, repeating 30-40 times. Another way to relax your back is to alternately lift your leg with your knee bent from a standing position (at least 50 movements with each leg).

Complete the warm-up with circular movements of the pelvis in each direction (50 times). Do the exercises the number of times indicated in the material. Only then will they be effective!

Important: During the first 2-3 days, back pain may increase, so do all movements slowly and carefully.  

Beautiful posture

Correct posture is not only beautiful, but also good for health. It provides a state of comfort in which it is easier to breathe and move. A straight back makes a person taller, more confident and slimmer. Posture even helps you see the world differently, because when you slouch, you won’t notice anything except dust in front of your shoes. By maintaining the natural position of your spine, you will maintain your health.

Benefits of good posture

A straight back allows you not only to look better, but also to take care of your health, but that’s not all. By keeping your back straight, you improve:

breathing, because by straightening the chest, you allow the diaphragm to move more freely;
attention – with deep breathing, more oxygen enters the body, which enriches the cells with energy, and makes you more concentrated;
the condition of the spine, because a straight back makes the load on each vertebra minimal and even, which prevents pain in the back and chest, as well as displacement of the spinal discs;
self-esteem, because it has been proven that a proud posture makes a person more self-confident and courageous;
impression of yourself - a person with beautiful posture and easy gait always stands out from the crowd and attracts many admiring glances.

These five points should be more than enough to make you think about the condition of your spine and stop slouching. An even posture helps you become not only taller, but also slimmer, because in order to keep your back straight you will need the efforts of all the muscles of the body, i.e. the abs as well.

Straightening your back

It will take a lot of time to make your posture beautiful in adulthood, because in all the previous years you haven’t even thought about what your back looks like from the outside. However, with proper persistence, results will be noticeable within a couple of weeks. So, what needs to be done:

Start doing this exercise several times every day: press the back of your head, shoulder blades, buttocks, shins and heels against the wall. After standing in this position for a while, try to move away from the wall, keeping your back straight and walk around a little. Walking with a book on your head will also be a good exercise - this will not only force you to straighten your back, but also strengthen your neck muscles and get rid of a double chin;
The army takes more stringent measures to develop good posture, but you can also try one of these. For example, tie a small block to the back of your shoulders, and place plastic cups of water on the edges. When walking, the liquid should not splash. This way, you will learn to keep your shoulders straight, which will make your gait even more attractive;
It is also very important to keep your spine straight at work, as this is where you spend most of your time. To do this, set yourself a reminder on your phone or on your PC, which will prompt you every 15 minutes to stop slouching. Eventually you will get tired of it, and you will be able to control yourself;
Also, at work and at home, watch how you sit. Whether it is a sofa, an armchair or a chair, it is important to maintain the angle of the body in relation to the legs at 1350. Remember that you need to sit, creating not a right angle, but an obtuse one - this was recently discovered by Canadian scientists. It is in this sitting position that the spine experiences minimal stress, and all organs function normally. And by the way, if the object on which you are sitting has a back, then sit in the very depths so that the weight is evenly distributed throughout the body, transferred back;
How you stand is also important. Make sure that your legs are parallel to each other, because by crossing them, you bend your spine, your body weight loads only one foot and all this negatively affects the condition of your back;
Play sports - this is not just banal advice. Any physical activity strengthens muscles and has a beneficial effect on the body. Specifically for the spine, swimming, exercises with a fitball, yoga, Pilates are very useful;
It is very important what you sleep on. If you like to bask on a soft feather bed, then all your back pain is completely justified. A healthy spine requires a hard bed, so buy yourself an orthopedic mattress and use it to maintain your health and well-being.

A straight back is a sign not only of self-esteem, but also of mental balance. Pay attention to your posture, and your life will immediately change for the better.

Exercises for beautiful posture

For beautiful posture, you need to strengthen your back muscles. The following exercises will help you with this:

Lie on the mat on your stomach, fold your hands with your palms under your chin, and place your toes on the floor. Raise your buttocks 20 times.
Starting position as in the previous exercise. Raise your hips and move them to one side or the other (they should touch the floor). When finished 20 times, lower them to the floor.
Lie on your stomach again, stretch your arms forward. Raise your head and chest, placing your hands behind your back and connecting them. You have to kind of reach back. This will strengthen your upper back. You also need to do 20 repetitions.
Starting position: lying on your stomach. Raise your head, arms and legs at the same time. Try to make every effort, since the exercise is not easy, but it works the back muscles as much as possible. 20 repetitions will be enough.
Get into dog pose with your knees and palms on the floor. Fully bend and arch your back to feel every vertebra. Do 20 times.
Sit on the mat, legs bent at the knees, back slightly back, hands resting on the floor. You need to raise your hips to chest level so that your body imitates the shape of the table. Repeat 20 times.

It is advisable to perform 2 or 3 sets of each exercise, but this depends only on your physical fitness. Also, after training, do not forget to stretch your muscles, because they should not only be strong, but also elastic.

Exercises for beautiful posture, video

This set of exercises will allow you not only to strengthen all the back muscles, but also to make your posture straight and your gait easy. Also, after just a couple of workouts, you will notice that you have become more cheerful, cheerful and active.

Treat chronic diseases

All acute diseases clearly affect the formation of posture. Conventionally, if you have a stomach ache, it is extremely difficult to maintain good posture. But most chronic diseases of internal organs spoil correct posture. If a person has gastritis, it is more comfortable for him to slightly bend his back. With osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine, a person will try to reduce the load by tilting the body back. In general, all diseases of the musculoskeletal system affect posture.

Efficacy and prognosis

Practice has shown that exercise therapy complexes provide significant relief in the presence of unpleasant symptoms, and are also an excellent prevention of various scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis and other diseases. But these theses are true only if a person exercises regularly and does not exceed the limits of permissible loads, starting with small numbers of repetitions or dumbbell weights. In this case, the forecasts are the best.

On the other hand, those who practiced on their own without prior consultation with a doctor or instructor often encountered the fact that the disease developed more intensely instead of being corrected. This can be easily explained: either the set of exercises was chosen incorrectly, or they were performed with the wrong amplitude and to the point of pain. Such an impact obviously leads to overstrain of certain muscle groups, causing curvature and a negative impact on the spine and posture in general.

Watch our video for 10 rules for ideal posture for a girl:

Children and posture

Children are the flowers of life and another reason for poor posture. During pregnancy, a woman's body is reconstructed and prepared for childbirth. The ligaments become softer, the nervous system constantly sends different impulses to the muscles, and they have an even greater impact on the musculoskeletal system. And it’s good if the girl was completely healthy before pregnancy. If she had any problems with the spine or pelvis, then the body will suffer even more.

After childbirth, a woman needs recovery. At the same time, she constantly carries a baby in her arms, who is growing by leaps and bounds. Have you ever noticed the back of a girl holding a child in her arms? She has a very strong arch in the lower back, her pelvis is forward, and her shoulder blades go far back. A question mark appears.

Yes, it can help visually straighten your back, but many in their reviews call it an “instrument of torture.” The fact is that it helps to straighten only for the period of wearing it, and after removal, the atrophied muscles, which have not worked all this time, curl even more strongly.

Don't mock yourself, but rather sign up for our updated basic marathon. It is designed in such a way that it is ideal for any girl (even pregnant women). We note which exercises are best not performed by pregnant and nursing mothers.

The marathon will not take you much time (from 5 to 30 minutes a day) and you can easily fit it into your busy schedule. And in the end you will receive not only straight posture, but also bonuses - smoothed wrinkles, improved vision, accelerated hair growth, restored libido and much more. Sign up quickly!

Plank row

-Stand in the plank position on straight arms with dumbbells in each, or in a simpler variation, put your feet on your knees if the full plank is not yet very easy for you. The abs are tense, the navel tends to the spine.

- Bend your right arm at the elbow and pull the dumbbell up to your right thigh, hold for a few seconds and smoothly return it to the starting position. Do the same with your left hand. A total of 20 full repetitions, 10 on each arm.

We wish you a pleasant workout, and we wish your body to always remain fit and healthy!

Author: Yulia DOLZHENKOVA