Get Better Posture the Hard Way

August 10th, 2009

I tried every trick in the book to improve my posture. None worked. So I asked my doctor why I’ve had such a hard time straightening up.

“Because you’re lazy”, he answered matter-of-factly.

I was expecting a more textbook response. Nevertheless, he was right. If getting good posture was easy, everyone would do it. The truth is it requires hard work and a significant, long-term change in your physiology, surroundings, and mentality. When you’ve let your posture go, correcting it isn’t a weekend project. However, it is a relatively straightforward process if you dedicate yourself and take a few simple steps.

The Bad Posture Picture

With so many jobs moving out of the field and into the cubicle, society as a whole is reassuming a fetus-like shape: shoulders folding together in front of the chest, chin lowering towards the pelvis. On an individual level, this doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of neglect and poorly adjusted postural positions. While some may be genetically prone to slouching, that’s typically no reason to accept it.

There are two main things happening when you slouch:

1. Some muscles elongate and weaken, particularly in the back
2. Other muscles shorten and tighten, particularly the front-facing muscles (e.g. chest, neck, abdominal).

To oversimplify, the muscles of the back become stretched out and weak, the front tight and constricted, pulling your torso into a crescent shape.

Perfect Posture Procedure

For improving run-of-the-mill bad posture, three initiatives are required:

1. Strengthening the weakened muscles
2. Stretching the constricted muscles
3. Correcting the circumstances that caused the bad posture

In some cases, posture problems are complex and require medical treatment. Everyone’s situation is different so make sure to approach these techniques with prudence and common sense. Consulting with a doctor is advisable in all cases.

1. Strengthening the weakened muscles

First things first: get into the regular, consistent habit of exercising. The innumerable benefits don’t stop at posture. Then, as part of your usual exercise, incorporate back-strengthening movements.

Areas to focus on include the lower, mid, and upper back. These regions tend to be underutilized and become weak, allowing the back to overarch and the shoulders to slump. Many gyms offer weight machines that are specifically designed for working the back muscles, however, these muscles can also be exercised with manual movements (such as in yoga), free weights, or the help of basic home equipment (e.g. a roman chair).

Working the legs and glutes (a.k.a. the butt) to help support the entire postural system is also important. These areas are often overlooked in favour of more glamourous muscles like the biceps or pecs.

2. Stretching the constricted muscles

As part of a safe and responsible exercise routine, stretching is essential to avoid injury. Fortunately, this period before and after workouts can also be used to help correct poor posture.

The muscular bands running down the front sides of the neck sometimes become constricted, causing the head to thrust forward, out of line with the spine. Counteracting this movement in a controlled stretch can help alleviate the problem.

The chest is a notoriously constricted area in slouchers. The tightness in the pectorals encourages the shoulders to slouch inwards, in front of the chest. This is an easy and important area to stretch with the help of a wall or a doorway.

The back of upper thighs (hamstrings), and glutes tend to shorten, which often causes people to tilt their pelvises and sit on their tailbones. This is an especially big problem with people who spend a lot of time sitting. Doing simple hamstring and glute stretches make it easier to achieve a 90 degree angle at the hip when sitting.

3. Correcting the circumstances that caused the bad posture

The circumstances that caused the bad posture in the first place are quite individual and often deeply engrained. The most obvious example is your job. If you work in a cubicle farm, changing careers to better your posture may not be a workable option. You will have pragmatic solutions.

Perhaps your desk has a panel that prevents you from tucking your legs far enough under to reach the keyboard without slouching? Change the location of the computer. Perhaps your chair doesn’t suit your body type? Get another one. Perhaps you have a boney butt and find sitting upright uncomfortable? Do some squats.

Whatever the case may be, it’s important to take any possible measures to encourage better posture. This isn’t a nice-to-have step. It’s an important part of the process. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

If poor posture can be attributed to a particular bad habit, consider working to break the habit once and for all.

The Best Posture Resource

The best posture resource I’ve found online comes from exrx.net’s Common Postural Deficiencies page. It does a commendable job of outlining the usual suspects in poor posture, illustrating many beneficial stretches and exercises. The kinesiology jargon may occasionally be intimidating but the site isn’t, with simple illustrations throughout.

Bad posture is usually a simple thing to fix. If you follow basic steps, regularly performing stretches and exercises that target the problem areas, your stance will gradually improve. The difficult part comes from making the necessary life changes and sticking with them. So suck it up, get exercising and make your mom proud by finally standing up straight!