I’m going to show you how to fix your posture with 5 simple yet effective exercises. We’ll cover a few causes, go through some posture correction exercises, and combine this all into a 10-minute posture ‘workout routine’ with instructions. By the end of this video you should feel immediate relief from your rounded shoulders posture and will have a 10 minute go-to routine packed with posture exercises – to keep these improvements for life.
First, we need to cover where this rounded shoulders posture came from. Your body is an adaptation machine. In as little as 3 months of prolonged sitting and standing in hunched over positions, your body will adapt to become more “efficient“ at being in that position all day. Combine this with the fact that we tend to worsen the problem when we workout. We focus on training the muscles we can see in the mirror while neglecting the ones we can’t (“backside muscles”). This leads to a really tight front side that pulls our back forward and a really weak backside that can’t straighten it out.
To fix this, we’ll use a method proven effective in multiple papers: a 10 minute corrective routine that involves 2-parts. Part 1 of the posture correction exercises will focus on mobility to loosen up the back. The first exercise will extend the back upright, the second will rotate the back, and the third exercise will teach your body how to move in its new upright position. Then in part 2, to maintain this new posture long term, immediately after the mobility we’ll use two exercises to activate and strengthen the weakened muscles in our back.
This is what your posture ‘workout routine’ will look like:
Mobility:
Prayer’s Stretch: 2 sets of 10 reps
Quadruped Reach: 2 sets of 6 reps
Shoulder Dislocations: 1 set of 10 reps
Strengthening:
Pull Aparts: 2 sets of 10 reps
YWT’s: 3 sets of 6 reps
The routine works either on its own if done consistently at least 2-3 times a week or even as a warm up right before your upper body workouts, as long as you implement it while making an effort to get up and move frequently the rest of the day.
So. The first of the posture exercises we’ll do is one focused on mobility. It’ll help extend your back upright. And it’s none other than the prayer stretch. Avoid cheating by bending the lower back instead of the upper back when you perform these. You should feel a deep stretch in your upper back and lats. Next, we’ll use a rotation exercise to loosen the back even more with the quadruped reach. Grab a pillow or foam roller, get on all fours with your knees under your hips and hands under your shoulders, and squeeze the pillow or foam roller between your legs. This will help prevent you from cheating. Breathing throughout each rep is essential for fully opening up your upper back, so make sure to inhale on the way down and exhale on the way up rather than holding your breath.
Now that our upper back is in a better position from the last 2 exercises, we then want to re-teach it how to stay, and move, in this new upright posture. The exercise we’ll use is called ‘shoulder dislocations’. If you don’t have a band, you can use a bed sheet instead with an overhand grip. From there, bring your arms over head and down towards your butt, and then back overhead to the starting position to complete a rep. You should feel a deep stretch in your chest and your upper back muscles working to stabilize your arms. Remember to avoid arching your lower back and sticking out your gut as you perform this particular exercise.
When it comes to how to fix your posture, the key to long-term success lies in activating and then strengthening the back muscles that are weak. The first exercise we’ll use is the pull aparts. Avoid arching the lower back or shrugging your shoulders up as pull the band apart. If you don’t have a band, you can perform the scarecrow instead. Now we’ll add a little more difficulty with the YWT’s. Try not to allow your arms and hands to touch the ground throughout.
Ok so now you’ve got your corrective routine to straighten your back, but maybe you need help with other muscle imbalances or maybe you could use some help with losing fat and building lean muscle. To check out our training and nutrition programs that’ll help you do just that, take the analysis quiz to discover which science-based program would be best for you and where your body is currently at below:
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