10 Minute Workout to Improve Your Posture

Technology has brought us many wonderful benefits. But there have been costs. One of them is posture. All of that hunching over phones, tablets and laptops has led to an epidemic of bad posture. This, in turn, leads to skeletal problems that can plague you for the rest of your life. However, there are things you can do about it. In this article, I present you with a quick 10 minute workout to improve your posture.

The Exercises

Child’s Pose

1. Get down on the floor on your knees, with your butt on your heels. 

2. Bend forward at the hips and reach forward with your hands as you drop your head to the floor.

3. Walk your hands out to full extension.

4.  Breathe in and hold the pose for 30 seconds.

Forward Fold

1. Stand with your feet together and arms at your sides. 

2. Bend your knees slightly, bend your torso down to the floor as you run your hands down your legs toward your ankles. Feel your spine lengthening as you do this.

3. Tuck your chin into your body.

4. Hold the extended position for 30 seconds.

Face Pull

For this and the next exercise, you will need a resistance band.

1. Secure a resistance band to a secure upright at waist level. Hold the band in both hands with palms down at shoulder level about four feet from the upright, facing toward it.

2. Maintaining a neutral spine, pull your arms up to your forehead, allowing your elbows to flare out to the sides. 

3. Return to the start position.

4. Do 12 reps.

Single Arm Traps

1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and a resistance band under your right foot. Hold the other end of the band in your right hand, with your arm extended at your side.

2. Without bending at the elbow, shrug your arm up to bring your shoulder towards your ear. Lower and repeat. 

3. Perform all reps on one side and then repeat on the other side.

4. Do 10 reps on each side. 

Upright Row

1. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart and a resistant band looped under your feet. Hold the other end of the band in your hands with an overhand grip, hands close together in front of your body. 

2. Now pull the band directly up to your chest level. Lower to the start position. That is one rep. 

3. Perform 12 repetitions.

Plank

1. Position yourself face down on an exercise mat, resting on your elbows and your toes. Maintain a straight line from your head to your toes as you hold for the required length of time. 

2. Contract your core and do not allow your butt to rise up.

3. Hold for 30 seconds. 

The Workout

Perform this workout as a circuit, where you go from one to the other with no rest. Once you have completed all six exercises, rest for 30 seconds and then go through neither round of the six exercises. Do 3 rounds of this workout to complete your posture workout.