A very common question that I am asked is how to fix bad posture? How to fix your posture is not as complicated as it seems in theory, but it does take a lot of work and practice. In today’s post I address how to fix two very common postural imbalances: how to fix shoulder protraction and anterior pelvic tilt (kyphotic lordosis kyphotic lordotic)?

How to fix bad posture | FIX your posture in 4 MIN!!! | Improve Your Posture

Bad posture is big problem for many Americans and all people in general because we spend much of our lives in a flexed position. So how to fix bad posture is a major question. To further illustrate what I mean, imagine being curled up in the fetal position. This would be the ultimate flexed position, which is the opposite of good posture.

We spend a lot of time texting, on the computer, driving, etc. This all impacts our kinetic chain and we end up with bad posture. It’s important to start working on your posture because it will only get worse the older you get. Old people don’t develop the hump on their back and start looking like Quasimodo over night. They first develop the bad postures of shoulder protraction and forward head syndrome.

To fix bad posture one of the number one methods is to just stand up straight. That’s right what your mom has been telling you is the best way overall. If you practice sitting and standing straight all day everyday for 30 days; I promise you will be shocked by the results. Your posture will dramatically improve.

To find your normal posture take your shoulders and bring them all the way up and back and then let them hang down. This is your normal posture and a great way to work on shoulder protraction.

Shoulder protraction is caused by a tight chest, tight lats, and a weak upper back (rhomboids). The way how to fix bad posture problem would be working to strengthen the rhomboids twice as much as the chest and lats.
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Exercises such as barbell rows and reverse cable flies will greatly help you fix your weak rhomboids. Also spending a lot of time actively and statically stretching the chest and the lats to relieve some of the tightness.

A great chest stretch is done by holding your arms bent at 90 degrees and leaning against a doorway with your chest sticking forward. To stretch the lats hang off of a pull up bar relaxed for at least 20 seconds 4x.

An anterior pelvic tilt is caused by tight hip flexors that pull the pelvis down from the front. Tight lower back muscles pull the pelvis down from the back symbiotically creating a steering wheel turning effect on your pelvis. The glutes are weakened by the position that your hips are in, and are unable to pull the hips into the proper alignment.

The way we would fix this deviation is by strengthening the glutes through weight training exercises such as squats, lunges, bridges, and hip extensions. Also it is of even greater importance to spend a lot of time stretching the hip flexors and the lower back. Sit and reach is still one of the best stretches for the lower back.