Good Posture and How to Get it
What is good posture?
Is sitting up straight and uncomfortable like a pencil in your desk for 8 hours a day good posture?
Be honest, which of these two pictures do you feel more comfortable sitting like?
Good Posture vs Bad Posture
If you're honest with yourself, the "good posture" picture doesn't scream "relaxing."
Whereas the "bad posture" picture looks a lot more relaxing.
And one actually is NOT better than the other. Actually, studies on this topic show people with "good posture" tend to have more pain!
Now, let's do a little experiment for why this could be. Try clenching your hand as hard as you can and hold it like that.
Hold it. Hold it... Hoooold it. How did that feel? A little uncomfortable, even a little painful right?
It's the same idea if you're keeping your shoulder blades clenched all day to achieve "good posture". Eventually we all give in and slump back into our regular, comfortable posture.
It's OK to slump sometimes, and I know, I may be the first physical therapist to say that to you. Good posture isn't something that you have to break your back for.
There's a saying that your best posture is your next posture. The most important thing is that you're moving in and out of different postures. Rather than staying in one posture through the whole day.
One great way to achieve this if you're working from a desk all day is to get a standing desk.
We've linked the standing desk we like below. It makes it easy to transition from sitting to standing whenever you like.
You can also watch this video to see how to make the most out of your standing desk.
Standing Desk Video for improving Posture and function throughout the day
So with that said let's get back to the question at hand, what is good posture?
Good posture will keep you upright, stable, and movable.
As in, you want to feel balanced while standing and doing any other activity. As well as be able to move in and out of different postures with ease.
So what are the main things that will actually help with that? You don't have to do 1 million chin tucks, I promise.
Ridiculous Chin Tucks
First is to work on the strength of your back muscles. Next is working on movements with a large range of motion and a twisting component. Finally, moving frequently throughout the day.
Back Strength and Good Posture
Strong back muscles help fill out your frame and keep you stable and upright. The best way to get these muscles is through lifting heavy weights.
Now, if you've never lifted weights before "heavy" is relative. Starting off with over 100 lbs is unnecessary and may lead to injury. The best method is to get on a consistent schedule of exercise that progressively gets harder.
Big, Twisty Movements and Good Posture
Next is doing movements with a large range of motion that also involve a twisting component. This helps the feeling of stiffness from being in one posture for long periods of time.
Moving in different ways is the big thing here. And, twisting and turning tends to be one of the first things we stop doing and lose proficiency in as we get older. Regular life doesn't seem to require as often as it does in sport, that is, until it definitely does.
But! Twisting movement does seem to be important for when we're caught off guard. Most actions that have a quick, sudden reaction have us bending and twisting in some way. This can lead to injury if you haven't been practicing these movements.
You want to take your joints through full ranges of motion, many times a day. But, not only do you want to move your joints fully, you also want to load them. This can mean lifting weights but often the only thing you need is weight bearing activity.
Moving More and Good Posture
Finally, moving more frequently helps joints and muscles adapt to different positions. It also helps blood and nutrients flow through the body.
And you can do this in whatever way you like, even walking is a great option.
On that note, the "rule" of 10,000 steps per day is a good goal but is not a one size fits all prescription. If you track your steps, figure out what your daily average is and try to increase it by 1000 for one week. After that, if you're feeling OK you can try to increase it another 1000 steps/day.
If you're only getting 2,000 steps per day and try to increase to 10,000 steps per day you'll be very sore.
What you can do to walk more throughout the day is go for a 10 minute walk after each meal.
I've linked video examples of exercises you can do to help with your posture below.
