Chances are, if you have an excellent posture, you are unaware of the role it plays in your everyday life, and how impactful it can be in hindering some of your most basic movements if you were to lose that natural body alignment. However, since most of us sit at our desks and stare at our phones most of the day, there’s a high likelihood of messing up that wonderful posture.
But fear not! There are simple, effective, and incredibly fun ways to prevent that from happening and keep improving not only your stance, but also your endurance, balance and protecting your spine health for years to come.
Learn the deadlift
Ladies and gents, the mother of all exercises and a posture-builder that will help you tone your body and correct your alignment is, of course, the deadlift. And although it’s called conventional, there’s nothing conventional about it. Now, no need for heavy weights, but practicing the movement even with an empty bar or a dumbbell is more than enough to activate all the right muscles, teach you to belly-breathe and keep your core tight, and learn the right pattern to pick things up on a daily basis.
Even if you’re not a gym member, you can practice it at home without any weights – the number of reps and keeping your spine aligned will be. The essence of the movement is as follows: the bar should be above midfoot, bend your knees to reach for the bar right outside your knees, push your shins into the bar without moving it, straighten your spine and your neck and pick up the bar in a straight line while straightening your knees and pushing your hips inward at the same time, without bending your back.
Try the warrior dance
While it might seem like a strange combination, Capoeira has found a way to mix two most contradictory expressions ever – dancing and combat. Due to its complex nature and endless versatility, you won’t even know that you are working on your posture and your balance at the same time. The movements practiced as a regular part of this martial art are also strength-builders, they will improve your flexibility and help you boost your endurance.
Soon after you start your lessons, you’ll feel as if you were lighter on your feet, and for a good reason – Capoeira is also a brilliant way to unwind and detox from daily stress, and it will naturally teach you to utilize your core muscles and spinal erectors in everyday activities without realizing it!
Get techy
If you have been searching for a perfect excuse to hop on that fabulous purple hoverboard, your search is over – experience has shown that using one of these handy gadgets to cruise around the city is in fact a dream come true for your spine. Not only are they affordable and eco-friendly, they also challenge your body to stay in balance, which improves your coordination and in time, your posture.
It’s very simple to learn how to use it, as it only takes a few rides to master all the fine details of turning, slowing down or increasing your speed, while your legs and your spine work together to keep you upright and your core remains engaged.
Hit the hood
No matter your age or your professional calling, there is a child within you eagerly waiting for a perfect opportunity to have fun! If you live in a calm neighborhood and even better, if you have access to a park with a skating range, nothing should stop you from getting that dusty old skateboard out of your attic and practicing some of those fun moves.
Just balancing on the board will be a tough exercise on your core and spine, teaching you to keep your pelvis aligned and using your abs to stand straight and perform all kinds of stunts. When colder weather sets in, you can always move on to ice-skating, which is a perfect replacement that will be equally demanding on your posture.
Exercise no longer has to be limited to a stuffy gym or the same jog route around the block. You can include innovative activities into your workout to shake things up a little, have more fun and of course, build a great posture that will help you express your confidence and make a great addition to your healthy lifestyle!
