Rounding your back and shoulders over long periods of time—hello, text neck!—can put stress on your spine and weaken your core, chest, and back. And chronic poor posture can lead to injuries and trouble breathing Half-Kneeling Anti-Rotation Isometric Hold, Forearm Plank, Farmers Carry.
But the bright side is that there are some easy exercises you can do to build up your core and back muscles to prevent poor posture from occurring in the first place. Noam Tamir, C.S.C.S., CEO and founder of TS Fitness in New York City, created this six-move circuit to do just that.
How to do it: Tamir recommends breaking up the six exercises into two separate circuits for a solid workout. Do three rounds of each circuit. (The amount of time to do each exercise varies, see below.)
Circuit 1: Danielle Zickl for Runners World and Bicycling
Circuit 2: Half-Kneeling Anti-Rotation Isometric Hold, Forearm Plank, Farmer’s Carry
Forearm Plank
Start kneeling on all fours. Lie your forearms on the ground, palms facing down, so that your elbows are directly under shoulders. Engage your core, then step both feet back to a plank position. Your hips should be in line with shoulders so body forms a straight line from heels to head. Hold for 30 seconds.
“It’s an anti-extension exercise, so it helps to keep your core strong and works on stabilizing the lower back,” Tamir says.
Alternating Bird Dog
Start on all fours, knees under hips and shoulders over wrists. Keeping back flat, extend right arm and left leg straight out. Draw right elbow and left knee toward each other, hovering just above the floor. Repeat on the other side (left arm and right leg), alternating 20 times total (10 per side).
“This anti-rotation exercise is great because it works on unilateral work,” Tamir says. “Our bodies are naturally imbalanced, so working with alternate sides of the body helps.”
Deadbug
Lie faceup with your arms extended toward the ceiling. With knees bent at 90 degrees, keep your shoulders down and feet flexed. Engage your core and extend your right arm and left leg away from you. Return to the starting position. Repeat on the other side (left arm and right leg), alternating 20 times total (10 per side).
“This is a great exercise for keeping your transverse abdominals strong,” Tamir says. “The stronger your deep core muscles.”
Glute Bridge
Lie faceup, knees bent, and feet planted on the floor. Drive through heels, contracting the glutes to send hips toward the ceiling. Your body should form a straight line from shoulders to knees. Lower back down and repeat 15 times.
“This focuses on keeping the pelvis in a neutral position and strengthening the glutes which helps [posture],” Tamir says.
Half-Kneeling Anti-Rotation Isometric Hold
Start in a lunge position with your left knee in front and right (back) knee on the ground to the right of cables or resistance band. Rotate to the right, grab band with both hands, rotate to the left to pull it to the middle of your chest. Extend both arms straight out in front of you, hold for 30 seconds, then bring them back to your chest. Repeat by starting on the left side of cables or band.
“This is another unilateral exercise,” Tamir says. “The resistance of rotation makes you stabilize with your obliques, glutes, and shoulders.”
Farmer’s Carry
Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding a kettlebell in each hand at side. Keeping back straight, chest high, and shoulders down, walk forward without allowing weight to cause an imbalance in your posture. Turn around walk back with balanced posture. Walk for a total of 45 seconds.
“This exercise is an anti-lateral flexion of the torso, and when done properly, it requires you to keep a nice upright posture,” Tamir says. “It forces you to keep your whole body engaged.”
