3 Exercises to Reverse Bad Posture Which You Probably Have as a Writer

Three exercises to correct bad posture caused by sedentary work

Working from home has become more and more common and popular over the years. Recently, due to epidemics, many people have been forced to work remotely. While such work is sometimes comfortable, this is not the way we are genetically made to live. A sitting lifestyle leads primarily to slouching and lordosis, and it’s a simple fact. Naturally, it is not healthy, so it leads to many disturbances in our body’s functioning as a whole.

A study “Postural awareness and its relation to pain: validation of an innovative instrument measuring awareness of body posture in patients with chronic pain” published in NCBI connect bad posture to pain.

Habitual postural patterns are associated with musculoskeletal pain, and improving a maladaptive posture requires postural awareness to lead to clinical improvements. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of an innovative postural awareness scale.

There is a lot of research on this subject, and I think that it does not shock anyone. Personally, I had quite big problems with slouching and lordosis. Even as a child, I used to sit a lot at the computer, and from the age of 19, it was my job- i work from home for nearly 6 years so far. I haven’t had much physical activity in my life, and obviously I haven’t exercised regularly.

Three years ago, I have changed that, and take better care of myself. Although I have been getting better and better results and have been able to perform advanced exercise programs for some time, my figure has not knocked down. At first, I thought it was genetics or diet to blame. I have never had contact with personal training or physiotherapy. I practiced at home for myself in the form of a break from work.

Finally, I realized that it was the fault of almost only posture. Of course, I’m not and won’t be a bodybuilder because of genetics but that is another story. The diet is acceptable since I exercise just to feel better in my everyday life. I am not getting ready for any competition, and don’t have any ambitions in fitness industry. Anyway, the posture failed me all this time, especially when it came to lordosis. Even though I was able to do over a dozen pull ups correctly when doing my training on the bar or doing “advanced abs workouts”, my abs wasn’t good at all. Despite the strength gained, it did not look very good, which took away some motivation.

I have tried many exercises over the past month to fix that. Finally, I picked up three favorites that I regularly perform at any time during the day.

1. The first one is “Over-and-back” with a band, towel, or a stick

That is an exercise for slouching, which works much better with the stick in my case. A simple mop stick or brush is enough. We do the exercise by carrying a towel, band, or stick behind our back, as shown in the video below, and returning to the starting position. It can be done at any time of the day, preferably in the morning and after sitting work. Initially, it is best to hold the stick quite wide and gradually taper the grip daily. When doing the exercise, you should keep an eye on your posture, push your pelvis forward, tense your buttocks, and keep your abdomen slightly tense.

In my case, I do this exercise in the form of warm-up and learning the correct posture daily.

Explanation and example of an exercise on Fit Vision twitter:

2. “Kneeling hip flexor stretch” for lordosis correction

That is one of the best exercises that I’ve tried to fix my lordosis. We do the exercise by kneeling with a lunge on one leg, pushing the body forward through the chest movement. It is essential that our starting position is, correct (you can do this in front of mirror), and the mat is recommended. The exercise has to be done on each side. It is quite a painful stretching, but in my case, it gives the best results.

3. Learn and practice the correct posture wherever you are

The third way is to maintain a correct body posture as often as you are aware of it. Stretching or exercising will be useless if you don’t learn the proper body posture. What does correct posture mean?

While standing, the pelvis should be pushed forward, the buttocks and belly slightly tense, chin slightly receding, and the shoulders in line with the body. Is it uncomfortable? Probably yes, if you are used to a loose posture. I recommend that you practice this posture in front of a mirror and try to hold it as long as possible, learn to breathe freely with such tension, and not wrestle with yourself.

The advantage of this “exercise” is that you can do it almost anywhere — waiting in line at the store/bank, waiting for the water to boil in the kettle, or standing with a cup of coffee on the balcony. The more you are aware of this, the faster you will learn the correct posture and benefit from it.

In my case, posture correction improved my figure’s visual aspects, but it also improved the training. Now I pay a lot of attention to body position during workout. That translates into better results but also a less probability of injury. I am not a personal trainer, so let me end here. I just wanted to share my knowledge and what worked well for me hoping that someone will take advantage of it.

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