Improving your bad posture is important for fitness because it sets a stable foundation for building functional strength. A strong posture also means you will look better because if you’re upright it exposes your best features.
If you are slouched forward your chest will sink in and no one wants that – it’s the area everyone in the gym is trying to grow.
How to form a strong fitness foundation with good posture
In my How to Build an Exercise Program guide I share back and posterior chain exercises such as pull ups, deadlifts and dumbbell rows which all improve your posture.
Pull ups is also the best exercise for developing the Latissimus Dorsi muscle which gives off a slimmer waistline aesthetic.
The movements strengthen the back musculature by pulling your skeleton into place, because the muscles of the front e.g. the chest are pulling everything forward. By ignoring the back and building the front you will only add to the problem.
You need to perform these exercises with good technique and posture. Keep your chest up, back straight and core tight so that you are not hyper extending the back.
You should sit and walk with good posture too, don’t slouch over. Otherwise it becomes habit and your spine eventually molds into a curve.
