{"id":2809,"date":"2025-07-11T11:04:17","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T11:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hiddenhealthysecrets.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/working-out-can-make-your-posture-worse-heres-how-to-correct-that\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T11:04:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T11:04:17","slug":"working-out-can-make-your-posture-worse-heres-how-to-correct-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hiddenhealthysecrets.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/working-out-can-make-your-posture-worse-heres-how-to-correct-that\/","title":{"rendered":"Working out can make your posture worse. Here\u2019s how to correct that"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: <\/em><\/strong>Dana Santas, known as the \u201c<\/em>Mobility Maker<\/em>,\u201d is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and mind-body coach in professional sports, and is the author of the book \u201cPractical Solutions for Back Pain Relief.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been hitting the gym regularly and feeling stronger \u2014 but also stiffer and more slouched \u2014 you may be overlooking key elements that create balance in your workouts. <\/p>\n

Despite good intentions, many people unknowingly reinforce poor posture with their strength-training workouts, leading to tight muscles, restricted mobility and even chronic pain. <\/p>\n

A few simple adjustments can help you train smarter so that your workouts boost your strength while improving your posture, leaving you moving better in and out of the gym. <\/p>\n

How workouts can hurt posture<\/h2>\n

Your posture reflects how your body balances and supports itself during movement. Ideally, that balance includes a fluid alignment of your head, shoulders, spine and pelvis. Having poor posture \u2014 with slumped shoulders, a rounded back and a forward head position \u2014 stems from muscular imbalances, in which some muscles are overworked and tight while others are underused and weak. <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, many common practices in strength-training workouts can reinforce these imbalances. <\/p>\n

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Related article<\/span> Getting older doesn\u2019t have to mean getting stiffer. 5 ways to keep mobile as you age<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Consider a training plan heavy on bench presses, push-ups and crunches. These moves all strengthen muscles on the front of your body, including the chest, abs and hip flexors, without addressing muscles on the back of your body that help support upright posture, such as the mid back, glutes and hamstrings. Over time, this imbalance can pull your body forward into a rounded, collapsed position. <\/p>\n

Even when your workouts are balanced, lifting with poor form, such as letting your shoulders hunch during rows or squats, can ingrain postural dysfunction. This issue becomes especially true when you perform the exercises repeatedly under load. <\/p>\n

How to train smarter, not stiffer<\/h2>\n

The good news is you don\u2019t have to give up your favorite exercises. Try making these three strategic adjustments to keep building strength in a way that also improves your posture and mobility. <\/p>\n

1. Balance pushing and pulling exercises<\/h2>\n

One of the simplest and most effective ways to support good posture through strength training is by creating balance in your workouts. For every pushing movement, such as push-ups or overhead presses, include a pulling movement such as rows or band pull-aparts. <\/p>\n

Pulling movements activate the muscles in your upper and middle back that help counteract the forward-pulling effect of dominant front-body muscles. If, like most people, the movements of your daily life include a lot of reaching, pushing and sitting, ideally, you should include more pulling than pushing exercises in your workouts. <\/p>\n

You also should balance lower body training to ensure that you are strengthening both the fronts and backs of your legs. Squats and lunges are great for your quads (upper front-leg muscles) and your glutes, but it\u2019s also important to incorporate hinging movements, such as dead lifts and hip thrusts, which emphasize hamstring (upper back-leg muscles) strength. <\/p>\n

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Related article<\/span> Stay motivated to work out by using mottos or mantras<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

2. Incorporate mobility exercises into your routine<\/h2>\n

Mobility work is not just for warm-ups or recovery days \u2014 it\u2019s a critical part of training to maintain healthy posture and keep you moving well. Tight muscles from strength training can limit your range of motion. Without mobility work, you may start compensating in ways that increase joint stress and postural strain. <\/p>\n

Add mobility drills that target commonly restricted areas, primarily the back, hips and shoulders. Even just five minutes of yoga or other intentional mobility work before or after your workout can reduce stiffness and enhance movement patterns. <\/p>\n

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Related article<\/span> Spend 5 minutes a day moving like this and you\u2019ll move better for life<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Three of my go-to mobility exercises to include in strength-training programs are: <\/p>\n

\u2022 Wall slides to activate postural muscles in your mid back and counteract overactive muscles in your neck and chest. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Three-way hip flexor release to mobilize your hips and reduce lower back tension. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Windmill twist to promote thoracic and shoulder mobility while opening your chest, releasing low-back tension and stretching the backs of your legs. <\/p>\n

3. Use proper form to reinforce good posture<\/h2>\n

Form matters, especially when it comes to posture. Practicing proper alignment during workouts reinforces good movement patterns that carry over into daily life. <\/p>\n

That means paying attention to: <\/p>\n

\u2022 Head and neck position: Avoid jutting your chin forward or tensing your neck. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Shoulder positioning: Keep your shoulders down and back, not shrugged up toward your ears. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Spinal alignment: Maintain a neutral spine, avoiding excessive arching or rounding. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Breathing: Exhale during the effort phase of exercises (e.g., the pushing-up phase of a push-up) to support core engagement and help maintain stable posture. <\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re unsure about your form, consider working with a certified personal trainer or filming yourself to check alignment during exercises. Try not to rely solely on mirrors, which, as you crane your neck to see yourself, can sometimes encourage unnatural head positions that throw off your posture. <\/p>\n

Making these small changes to your workouts will deliver big benefits. By training smarter, you can more effectively build strength that supports good posture and healthy, pain-free movement. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n

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Editor\u2019s note: Dana Santas, known as the \u201cMobility Maker,\u201d is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and mind-body coach in professional sports, and is the author of the book \u201cPractical Solutions for Back Pain Relief.\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hiddenhealthysecrets.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hiddenhealthysecrets.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hiddenhealthysecrets.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hiddenhealthysecrets.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hiddenhealthysecrets.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hiddenhealthysecrets.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hiddenhealthysecrets.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hiddenhealthysecrets.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hiddenhealthysecrets.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hiddenhealthysecrets.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}