Sit and stand with proper posture and you will physically look 10 years younger and 10 pounds lighter. Psychologically, good posture conveys confidence, poise and leadership.
Use our App to learn about good posture, poor posture, what causes posture problems and how to fix and improve your posture.
How important is correct posture for overall health?
Correct posture aligns everything in your body. Bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons are all able to function optimally when you sit or stand up straight. Your organs assume their proper placement with good posture.
The best way to improve your posture is to focus on exercises that strengthen your core -- the abdominal and low back muscles that connect to your spine and pelvis.
Posture is the position in which you hold your body upright against gravity while standing, sitting or lying down. Good posture involves training your body to stand, walk, sit and lie in positions where the least strain is placed on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement or weight-bearing activities. Proper posture:
Keeps bones and joints in the correct alignment so that muscles are being used properly.
Helps decrease the abnormal wearing of joint surfaces that could result in arthritis.
Decreases the stress on the ligaments holding the joints of the spine together.
Prevents the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions.
Prevents fatigue because muscles are being used more efficiently, allowing the body to use less energy.
Prevents strain or overuse problems.
Prevents backache and muscular pain.
Contributes to a good appearance.
Living with bad posture can be a dangerous thing. The muscle and ligament imbalances that result from poor alignment can lead to all sorts of problems:
Chronic back, neck, and shoulder pain
Foot, knee, hip, and back injuries
Headaches
Stiffness
Fatigue
Muscle atrophy and weakness
Difficulty breathing
Digestion issues
Impingement and nerve compression
Sciatica
Carpal tunnel syndrome
But we're going to fix that right now! By understanding proper posture, you can learn about your own postural deviations and determine which corrective exercises will work best to improve your alignment. With correct alignment and good posture, your lifts will be stronger, your muscles will work more efficiently, you'll help prevent pain and injury, and you'll look and feel a heck of a lot better
Many of the exercises that can teach you how to fix your posture are easy to perform and don’t require much in the way of equipment. This means you can discover how to improve posture from the privacy of your home and without investing a lot of money. Try some of these posture exercises to reach a new level of health and fitness.
Exercises with animated GIF pictures are included in this free App