5 Ways to Improve Posture and Core Strength

Like exercise, correct posture is necessary for maintaining health and fitness. By posture, we mean the specific position of the body. A posture in which bones, joints and other body muscles maintain a correct alignment is known as good posture. Correct body posture helps in reducing strains, injuries and fatigue. And good core strength helps in improving balance and alleviating stress. Therefore, you need both of these things.

Because of the modern day luxurious lifestyle, people fail to maintain good posture. Some people spend their entire day in offices and others in cars. As a result, they face headaches, arthritis and other health problems. Their posture suffers immensely and the inherent integrity of their musculature begins to deteriorate. Strengthening the core is a fantastic idea for correcting posture.

In this article, I have shared 5 specific ways for improving posture and core strength.

Are you ready?

Here, I go.

1. Perform Yoga/Pilates

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Yoga or Hatha Yoga contains various types of poses called Asanas. These exercises provide several physical and mental benefits. Pilates is a system of exercises performed using weights and balls. These are specifically performed for building strength and enhancing flexibility. Altogether, yoga and pilates help in improving concentration, balance and body alignment. For performing these exercises, you need to lie on your back with legs in the straight position. Then, breathe in the manner specified for each movement and acquire the positions required for different exercises.

“Together, yoga and pilates help

in improving concentration,

balance and body alignment.”

Here is an example of a posture that can not only help in relieving back pain but also to correct the alignment of the spine.

1. Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

1. Stand tall on the yoga mat with knees slightly bent and shoulders relaxed.
2. Raise your both hands above your shoulders and join the palms of both hands.
3. Raise your toes and fix your gaze straight ahead. It helps your balance to fix your gaze on a particular point.
4. Stay in this pose for as long as possible. Repeat 5 times.

2. The 100 (A Famous Pilates Move)

1. Lie down on your back on the mat and bend your knees, bringing your heels close to your butt.
2. Move your knees above your hip and align them in a tabletop position.
3. Inhale by straightening your arms.
4. Exhale by moving your arms up and down.
5. Perform 5 counts for both inhaling and exhaling.
6. Repeat 10 times.

“If you want to prevent yourself

from getting strain and injuries,

you need to identify the correct

body posture.”

2. Identify the Right Position

For this thing:

• You should take a mirror and see different body muscles
• Then, check that ears, hips and shoulders form a straight line
• If your shoulders are rounded, you should perform chest stretch and foam rolling exercises.
• If your lower back is curved, you should perform squats or leg lifts
• Apply all these tips to sitting and standing position.

For easily performing the daily-life activities, you need to identify the right position of the body. By correcting your body posture, you can spend a healthy and happy life.

3. Engage in High-Impact Exercises

Other than easy exercises; you should engage in activities that involve high strength and intensity. Well, I am not talking about aerobics and barbell squats. For improving posture, you should perform planks, crunches and back extensions. Plank is an ideal exercise for building core muscles. If you perform this exercise in a right way, you can also work your abdomen, shoulders and back. With crunches, you can work your obliques and abs. The back extension involves aligning of the head and the spine in the straight line. According to your preference, you can use dumbbells and weights in these exercises.

“By using weights with these

exercises, you can easily

strengthen the core and

enhance the body posture.”

Burpee (A Strength Training Exercise)

1. Stand straight width your feet shoulder width apart.
2. Acquire a squatting position i.e. put your hands on the floor.
3. Keep your hands on the floor and kick your feet back.
4. After performing a push-up, return to the original squatting position.
5. For one complete set, perform 15 reps.

4. Work on Your Spine

Most of the people face weakening in the muscles around the spine. If you want to improve body posture, you need to increase endurance in the spine and trunk muscle groups. You should perform exercises that target neck flexors, pelvic muscles and back extensors. Hamstring stretch, leg raises and ball bridges include modern spine straightening exercises. If you want better results, you can use exercise equipment places at gyms.

“If you follow these tips,

you will not face neck

and spine problems.”

1. At work, you should avoid sitting with support.
2. Before starting the work, you should adjust the height of the monitor.
3. After the work, you should get up and walk for 3 or 4 kilometres.

5. Perform Lifting Activities

Lifting activities are among the best exercises for strengthening the core and improving posture. According to your fitness level, you should lift particular weights and perform exercises. Deadlifts, planks and goblet squats are popular lifting exercises. If you want best results from these workouts, you need to learn specific tips and techniques.
Deadlifts are performed using barbells; planks are performed using balls and goblet squats are performed using dumbbells. However, if you don’t have enough strength to carry out these exercises, you can simply lift weights.

“Just by lifting weights,

you can avoid 

osteoporosis disease.”

Deadlift

1. Take a barbell and place it on the floor.
2. Attach weights to it (Beginners should start with a five pound weights)
3. Keep your toes in the outward direction.
4. Bend your knees and straighten your back.
5. Take a deep breath and hold the barbell.
6. Lift the barbell towards to your waist and hold it.
7. Hold the lift on the top briefly before lowering the barbell back down to your feet.
Perform 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps.

Conclusion

For improving posture, you need to work on your core strength. By combining yoga and pilates, one can improve balance, train willpower and attain spiritual relaxation. If you have the right body position, you can develop a wonderful sense of flexibility. High-impact exercises such as planks and crunches help in building core muscles, abdomen muscles and back muscles. Along with exercises, you need to follow some tips for straightening your spine. Simply lifting weights is also a better idea for improving the body posture. Follow these specific tips to strengthen the core and thereby improve your posture.

About the Author
Andrew is the founder and CEO at Aim Workout. As a passionate fitness professional and triathlete, there is no adventure he won’t embark on. From mountain biking, deep sea diving, rock climbing and cycling to boxing and mixed martial arts, Andrew has a penchant for the wild and extreme.

What are your favorite ways to improve posture and core strength?

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“Shared at a Life of Health and Happiness”