These 6 Exercises Will Help to Fix Your Posture After Days on the Couch
Men’s Health/Eric Rosati
If you’re stuck inside during the coronavirus pandemic, you’re probably spending the bulk of your time sitting down. That also means that you might have been the type of person who logged your work days seated at a desk before quarantine. That’s all to say that you’re used to planting your butt in a seat looking at a computer for hours on end—which isn’t the best thing for your posture.
Get up, get moving, and get yourself in a better position with this set of exercises from trainer Charlee Atkins, C.S.C.S., who is always eager to help guide her office working clients to better posture. She knows how tough it can be to get right, after all—the trainer was once a SoulCycle Master Instructor, so she’s spent her share of time in hunched over the handlebars.
“Attention desk warriors: Are you doing these exercises?” she asks. “Let’s face it, we sit at desks and look at phones all day. Here are my favorite exercises that you can do at home to help train your posture.”
You don’t necessarily need dumbbells to take on the workout, like Atkins uses in her demos. Try using everyday items you have around the house like water bottles or bags of salt if you don’t have traditional weights handy, and focus on your form.
Perform each exercise for 45 seconds, then rest 15 seconds.
Carries – “Great for the core and posture. My favorite cue: Puff your chest out like you’re walking out of the gym on chest day.”
Rows – “These work you back muscles, and help to retract and depress the shoulder blades.”
Y-Raises – “Great warm-up drills to do before any upper body day. In fact, you should do these before the start of any day.”
T-Raises – see above
Scapular Pushups – “Mobilize the shoulder blades.”
Around The Worlds – “Use a light weight and take the arms through their full range of motion. Tip: Try the exercise kneeling to eliminate the ankle and knee joints so you can put more focus on your arms and core.”
Run through the series once as a warmup for an upper body day, or three times through for a quick standalone corrective series.
Want to learn more moves from Atkins? Check out our series full of her workout tips, Try Her Move. You can also take on her new 30 day challenge in our streaming All Out Studio app, check out her Le Sweat workout app, and follow her on Instagram to find out when she’s hosting live workouts from her living room.
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