Good Posture: How And Why To Fix Bad Posture (15 Exercises)

Have you got bad posture?

If so, that’s something you probably want to work on.

But then again, you’re here, so I’m guessing you do.

And why is that?

Well let’s start with some of the benefits to having good posture:

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15 Good Posture Benefits And Why You Want One

The benefits of a good posture are many:

Improved mood – Bound to happen.
Confidence – Also likely.
Better joint, muscle and bone health – Hard to say no to.
Improved breathing – Very beneficial.
Fewer headaches – Invaluable if you’ve got those.
Stronger core and back muscles – Good stuff.
More attractive – Who doesn’t want this.
Improved range of motion – Posture to the rescue.
Less injury-prone – Because injuries suck.
Less fatigue overall – Energy = good.
Improved circulation and digestion – Posture is the boss.
Less TMJ pain – Relevant for some.
More attractive – Welcome for most.
Appear taller – In case that’s something you need.
Greater self-esteem – Nice.

And with all these you probably realize why you want good posture yourself, especially since it’s something that doesn’t cost you much.

Which brings us to:

How To Improve Your Bad Posture (2 Ways)

I’ve experimented with improving my posture extensively over the years, much due to a breathing problem that I got from a tonsillectomy in my early 20’s.

There are two main ways to go about this posture thing, and they are to either try to constantly try to keep good posture and remind yourself of this, or to do exercises regularly and make your environment more ergonomically correct.

You can of course do both, but my clear favorite of these two, is number two.

Either way, we’re starting with #1:

1. Constantly Focusing On Your Posture

With this method, you’ll want to find, and perhaps experiment a bit, with various cues that can be used for a better posture.

People recommend different things regarding this, such as imagining a string on the top of your head pulling you gently upwards, lifting your chest up or puffing it out a bit, trying to keep a straight back, keeping your core active or your belly or belly button tucked in, shoulders back, and so on.

Feel free to try a few of these and see if they help you out.

And then, number 2:

2. Doing Certain Posture Exercises Regularly

Again, this one’s my favorite.

You don’t have to be as constantly focused on this as with number 1.

You simply do your sets and reps of a few exercises, switch to some more ergonomic conditions at home and work, and voilá.

You can tailor the exercises to the areas you need to fix most, and then start reaping these postural benefits rather quickly.

You can still definitely try them both to see what works best for you.

And since the first of the two methods of correcting your posture above is mostly lined out already, let’s move on to the exercises that it takes for number 2, my more preferred method.

Exercises To Improve Your Posture

The exercises to improve your posture are many, but since you’re supposed to be doing a lot of these already, for your health, it shouldn’t be that much of an extra hassle (see functional exercise).

Let’s just start though with saying that it’s good to focus on your entire body to sort of bulletproof yourself against bad posture, although there’s also lots to be said about focusing in on certain problem areas for a more taialored posture correction.

Anyways, first we have:

1. Squats

These can be really helpful for hip mobility and for a stronger, straighter back.

Good news is that you can do it both at home with bodyweight or dumbbells, or at the gym, weighted if that’s your fancy.

You can also try static squats, which are like planks but standing.

2. Deadlifts

Deadlifts are another hunchback corrector, focusing in on your lower back and glutes that often need work for posture.

Do it both weightless (touching the floor), and with free weights.

3. Military press

This one’s great for opening up your chest and shoulders. And although you can do a few weightless ones for good measure, you do want to do it with weights as well, whether with dumbbells at home or at the gym.

No bench though (see below).

4. Lunges

These can be done effectively with your own bodyweight, and with dumbbells if you want to advance it a bit.

Great for your glutes.

5. Standups

Getting down on and then up from the floor is a great full body exercise that not too many are doing.

A shame, since it’s easy to do on a yoga mat and compensates well for our later tendencies of using chairs, tables, beds etc and not interacting with the floor anymore, at all barely.

6. Pullups and chinups

Get a good pullup bar if you’re not at the gym a lot or want to get a better at home workout.

Well worthy investment.

7. Rows

Rows are a great one too, since they, like pullups, can open up your chest and strengthen you back. You may need dumbbells for this though.

8. Back bridges

This one’s great for your back and spine, and thus makes the list.

Think of the possessed woman from The Exorcist, but no demon.

9. Weighted carries

Weighted carries are amazing for functional and core strength.

Lots of carry-over to real life with this one.

You may need (a sandbag) and then you can carry it in your hand, near your chest, on shoulders or even on your head, for time or for distance.

10. Chin tucks

Chin tucks are amazing for how simple and low-effort they are, and deserves a definite spot on this list.

Great to counteract too much screen time and the resulting forward head posture.

11. Shoulder rolls

Rolling your shoulders a bit, backwards but perhaps forward too, should be helpful for neck and shoulder issues.

12. Swimming

Swiming is a good full body workout for your posture, albeit perhaps not as convennient as the other exercises on this list.

13. Cycling with an ergonomic bike

A standard bike may not do you any favors posturewise, but a more upright and ergonomically correct one can.

14. Yoga and dance

Yoga is very likely to improve your posture, and so is dancing freely to music.

Try my own intuitive yoga for fairly quick results, just know that with regular yoga, as with exercise, if you do the wrong exercises it can have the opposite effect of what you want.

15. Stretching

Stretching tight muscles will also do wonders as long as you do it often enough.

Focus on muscles that are tight and at addressing any postural imbalances.

At Home Exercise Equipment For Better Posture

For an effective at home workout, to improve your posture and/or just work out, you might need some good and affordable equipment.

Here’s what you need:

With these you can get pretty much an as good a workout as in the gym, and with all free weights for additional benefits to your core strength, balance and posture.

Because some exercises are better skipped there, including bench press and pushups, situps and crunches and most of the machines, regular running.

So, which and how often do you need to do your exercises?

How Often To Do Posture-correcting Exercises?

I’d say that meanwhile you have a problem, you can do them often, maybe 2-5 times a week, and some of them daily.

It’s also important to understand that you may have restrictions in range of motion and from very tight muscles that hinder you, so it’s not a given that you’ll be able to completely eliminate your postural problems.

Ergonomic Changes And Healthy Fashion To Improve Posture

An easy way to improve your posture is through making sure your environment is ergonomic enough to promote it.

For example, you can get a standing desk (here’s a good and cheap one), use a good chair cushion when seated, use supporting shoes and so on.

As for clothing, that’s a whole area in itself, but basically means to avoid clothes that mess up or compromise your posture, including low-sitting jeans and pants, suboptimal shoes for the occasion, ill-fitting or too tight t-shirts and sweaters, and so on.

Avoid these clothes and you’ll be working on your posture passively, too.

And now:

Personal Anecdotes

From my personal and anecdotal experience, posture is very important and impactful.

10 years or so ago I realized that my posture had deteriorated and started looking to improve it once again (I had had a fairly good posture growing up due to being pretty athletic, despite hours in front of my video games.

I started focusing on my posture and adopted the cue of imagining something, a string, pulling my chest or sternum right up.

This, interestingly enough, made a big difference in how I felt, my confidence, motivation and drive, and appearance.

I started getting interested in Tinder, as well as traveling and using Tinder as my main way of meeting and hanging out with new people, and it went well.

I was perplexed enough to research why this was, online, and stumbled upon Harvard professor Amy J.C. Cuddy’s study in power poses.

Basically you increase your testosterone from doing powerful poses, and I had a feeling just keeping a good and open posture could count as one.

This was when I first did medical tourism, and my testosterone test levels were actually off the charts (outside of normal range).

Why did I stop?

Doing this with my posture, I mean.

Because it made me very injury-prone when working out, and changed me and my personality a bit much, behaviour wise.

I did this for years though and learned a lot from it and the importance of posture.

Experimentally, when I chose not to do this with my posture (chest up), my dates generally didn’t go anywhere, while when I did, they did.

I also had pretty bad health problems by then and also wasn’t very experienced romantically.

I did certain exercises for my posture then too, but nowadays I just stick to many of the above exercises rather than constantly focusing on a certain cue.