Before you head to the gym, do you think about which portion of your body you’re going to exercise? Maybe you’re having a ‘leg day’ or maybe you’re heading into a yoga class for some much-needed stretching?
Instead of focusing on which part of the body to workout or how hard to sweat, do you ever make a conscious effort to include good posture exercises?
‘You’ll get up to 20 per cent more from the exercises you do if your body is aligned correctly,’ explains Higgins, co-founder of London’s BodySpace gyms and the name on the lips of those in the know on Hollywood’s fitness scene. ‘Maintain a good baseline and anything is achievable.’ According to Higgins, 90 per cent of people have postural imbalance from spending hours sitting at desks, in cars or on sofas (look for rounded shoulders, a forward thrusting chin and limited hip flexibility) or from overusing certain muscle groups during exercise, which leads to one side of the body being stronger than the other, tightness and inflexibility. When you have poor form or simply bad posture, you prevent your muscles from working out efficiently.
So Women’s Health tasked Higgins to put together a set of good posture exercises so your workouts give you better results overall.
Exercises for better posture
Leg lift
Targets: core, glutes
Do: 20 reps on each side
a. Start on all fours with your hands directly below your shoulders and your knees below your hips.
Pull your shoulders back and down so you feel tension under your armpits. Make sure the creases of your elbows are pointing forward. Pull your hips and ribs closer together than feels normal to keep you stable. From here, stretch your left leg out straight behind you. Apply a little pressure to your back foot and rock back slightly.
b. Slowly lower and lift that foot for 20 reps. Make sure you’re squeezing your left bum cheek as you do so. Switch sides and repeat with your right leg. Again, make sure it’s your glute that’s doing the heavy lifting.
Tip: You want a natural arch in your back – try to maintain tension in your stomach.
Lying leg circle
Targets: core, glutes
Do: 20 reps on each side for each step
a. Lie on your right side with your knees bent, supporting your head with your right hand. Lift your rib cage off the floor and push your hips down, towards your feet.
Roll slightly forward. Extend your left leg out, keeping your right leg bent. From here, move your left leg backward and forward in a kicking motion from the hip. Make sure you’re squeezing your left glute as you do it. Repeat for 20 reps.
b. Now, return to your starting position and circle your leg slowly clockwise for 20 reps. Your squeezed glute should be doing the work. Reverse to circle your leg slowly anticlockwise for 20 reps. Switch sides and repeat from the start.
Tip: There should be a little tunnel between your waist and the mat.
Pigeon
Targets: hip flexors
Do: hold for 30 secs on each side
a. Starting on all fours, stretch your right leg out behind you, with your toes resting on the floor.
Bring your left leg forward in front of you, crossing it underneath your body so most of your weight is resting on it. You should feel this in your left glute.
b. Sink down, with your elbows bent underneath your shoulders. Rock from side to side, then hold. Now, repeat on the other side.
Tip: The calf of your left leg should be at 90° to your right leg. You should feel this in your left bum cheek. Make sure you remain slightly elevated – don’t sit down.
Core activation and rotation
Targets: core
Do: 20 reps on each side for each step
a. Lying on your back, bring both legs up into tabletop with your arms out to the sides, making a crucifix position. Lower your feet to the ground, bracing your abs as you go. Then return to centre and repeat for 20 reps.
b. Place a towel between your knees and bring both legs up into tabletop again with your arms out to the sides, making a crucifix position. Roll your legs to the right as you look to the left, then return to centre and roll them to the left as you look to the right. Repeat for 20 reps on each side.
Glute stretch
Targets: glutes, hip flexors
Do: hold for 20 secs on each side
a. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Cross your left ankle over your right knee. Bring your right leg up 90° and clasp your right thigh. Hold for 20 secs, then swap sides.
Done? Hug your knees to your chest for 10 secs.
Child’s pose
Targets: back, hip flexors
Do: hold for 30 secs
a. Starting on all fours, rest your bottom on your heels, with your arms reaching forward and your toes pointed behind you. Drop your head and breathe. Now hold that position.
Tip: If your arms feel too tight, you can bend your elbows.
Back fixer bridge
Targets: core, glutes – good posture exercises for your back, core and glutes
Do: 10 reps
a. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, about a foot’s length away from your bum. Place a towel between your knees and squeeze it tightly.
b. Roll your body up, lifting your bum and lower back off the ground. Then slowly roll back down.
Tip: Imagine that you have a tattoo of the numbers one to five running down your lower back – put each number down in turn, with one (on your bottom) being the last to touch the ground.
Hip flexor stretch
Targets: core, hip flexors
Do: 10 reps on each side for each step
Switch back to your starting position for the final time and reach forward, then rotate your upper body to the left, opening out your arms. Move back to the centre.
Do 10 reps, swap legs and repeat. Phew – finished at last.
This article originally appeared on Women’s Health UK.
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