How to improve your posture

[FlyJ]

With our modern culture of sitting and slumping, our postures are suffering more than ever. Since good posture is associated with a more positive life outlook, and a poor posture encourages pain and higher cortisol levels, it is a good idea to take note of these *** tips that will help you feel and appear more confident.

 

Roll your shoulders. Sounds simple enough, no? Many of us stand with our shoulders curved forward — so that our palms no longer hang parallel to our sides, but in front towards our thighs. This slumping is often the result of too much computer time and poor sitting habits. While they need to be stretched and strengthened in one way or another, your shoulders can be quickly readjusted with a simple fix — roll them back. Just as you would roll your shoulders up to your ears and down your back before working out, give them a few rotations to loosen out the kinks. Then, once they’ve slid down your back, keep them there. Feel the openness of the front of your chest and the strength in your upper back. By keeping your shoulders in this general positioning as much as you can, you’ll retrain your upper body on how to hold itself. Eventually, with conscious effort, your shoulders will set into their natural place without a second thought.

 

Aim to keep your palms parallel to your side, rather than in front which is a sign that you’re hunching over.

 

Use your butt.

 

With all of the sitting we do, our gluteal muscles are prone to become inactive and can begin to atrophy. But, our butts play a huge role in supporting our lower backs. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that a ‘J’ shaped spinal curvature is what we should aim for — not an ’S’ — which places even more importance on our backsides. Many cases of low back pain in adults is caused in one way or another by weakness or imbalance in the gluteals. So, use your butt more. Consciously activate it when you are power walking, or set aside time to perform specific gluts-isolating exercises. Your butt surrounds the base of your spine — if you don’t have a solid foundation, the rest of the spine has nothing to go on.

 

Source

[Calllaris]

I patronise the box press ups and arm/ leg raise, for improving posture and boobs outlook. Gets you all sweaty after my reg. warm-ups.

The box press-up is an easier version of the full press-up.However, it is still a good exercise for toning your chest and your shoulders.

 

BOX PRESSUP

 

STEP ONE

Place your hands underneath your shoulders with your fingers facing forward.

Rest your knees and your feet on the floor. Make a box shape with your arms, your body, your thighs and the floor. Be on all fours

 

STEP TWO

Bend your elbows and lower your chest towards the floor.

Try not to go lower than two inches from the floor.

Aim to make a right angle with your arms but stay within your own limits.

You should feel your chest and shoulders working as you push back to your starting position.

 

STEP THREE

Make sure you keep a straight spine. Try to avoid forcing your bottom into the air and also arching of the back.

The rhythm should be smooth throughout the exercise.

The exercise can be performed in a number of ways to add more variety by varying the width of the arms:

The closer your hands are together the more the exercise will work your triceps. Tuck your elbows in for a better techniqueThe further apart the hands are means there is more emphasis on the chest and firming your boobs.

 

2. ARM AND LEG RAISE

 

* On the floor, on all fours, place your hands shoulder width apart and your knees, slightly apart (arms and thighs should be vertical)

* Stretch one arm forward in front while stretching the opposite leg out behind. Count slowly to 10 and change weight to the other arm and opposite leg. Repeat 10 times. (5 each)