Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Exercise

Chat to other fitness enthusiasts on our Exercise forum.

What exercise is good for posture

17 replies

mismomary · 26/08/2025 11:54

Just been looking at photos from my wonderful beach holiday this summer. Happy times BUT i look ancient and it's because im suddenly all stooped and hunchy. Im early 50s, no problem with weight or figure but im feeling old and stiff and clearly now have bad posture.

So what should i do? Pilates? I currently do nothing but am fully aware I need to take action!

OP posts:
ladybirdsanchez · 26/08/2025 11:55

Pilates, both mat and reformer is probably the best.

Ballet/barre workouts are good too.

Saponarium · 26/08/2025 11:56

Yoga, Pilates ,strength training

MadameCholetsDirtySecret · 26/08/2025 12:08

Reformer Pilates.

mismomary · 26/08/2025 12:55

Thank you. Will do as many classes as I can to undo the damage!

OP posts:
heldinadream · 26/08/2025 13:01

Specifically Iyengar Yoga emphasises alignment and balance of form within postures, if you decide to do yoga.

Shavasana · 26/08/2025 13:06

Yoga is brilliant for posture

Thissickbeat · 26/08/2025 13:07

Pilates, dance and martial arts.

Redburnett · 26/08/2025 13:07

There is lots of advice on Youtube from various practitioners, including specific exercises for round shoulders.

ParmaVioletTea · 26/08/2025 13:23

It's about body awareness and alignment. Proper ballet is exce;lent for that, as is Pilates, but you need to have an instructor who is hands on.

But really, you can fix it yourself - you just have to engage your core and abdominal muscles - your abs operate as a kind of corset if you engage them!

You need some body awareness - proprioception. Close your eyes, stand with your feet under your hips. Think about pulling your spine out of your pelvis, to create space between the bottom of your ribs and the hip bones (iliac crest) that jut out. But do this without raising your shoulders or pushing your chest forward so your back goes into a hyper arch - don't arch your back!

Get your shoulder girdle positioned over your pelvic girdle and aligned with a straight spine. Exert a gentle pressure to suck your navel to your backbone - again, don't do this by pushing out your chest, raising your shoulders or arching your back - you want a neutral spine and pelvis.

Think about the weight distribution through your feet - equally across the front foot pad and the heels - weight neither too far forward or too far back.

If you've been standing badly or without thought for most of your life, this will be hard to get - try what's called "constructive rest" (or semi-supine position) - lie down on your back with your knees bent and pointing up to the ceiling and your feet flat on the floor. Try to flatten out and expand your shoulder girdle on the floor. Have your feet at a distance from your butt that allows you to get your whole spine pretty much flat on the floor, and try to think of your ribs melting and flattening out into the floor. From there you can do a number of Pilates-based exercises in moving and working your pelvis, buit the main thing is to feel what an aligned & neutral spine feels like.

deadpan · 29/08/2025 17:19

Lean your back/hips against a wall with your head resting against the wall too. Have your feet about a foot away from the wall and bend your knees like you would if you were skiing. Stand there for a while and repeat each day.
That's an exercise a physio told me to do to improve my posture

BogRollBOGOF · 29/08/2025 18:53

Yoga/ pilates/ ballet are all a great starting point because they're good for body awareness.

Long term some weights also help.
DH was always somewhat round-shouldered, but has straightened up from gym work as the muscles have become stronger. Weights are positive for flexibility (if you're not doing polarised body building routines) because strong muscles can hold themselves in a larger range of motion.

Tygertiger · 29/08/2025 19:26

Look online for Tom Morrison who has a programme called the simplistic mobility method. He has lots of free content on YouTube you can try to see if you like his stuff before you go for the SMM if you want any to. It’s a one-off cost (about £70 I think) for lifetime access and there’s a supportive Facebook group too. It’s transformed my posture.

davidjhon · 04/09/2025 12:08

mismomary · 26/08/2025 11:54

Just been looking at photos from my wonderful beach holiday this summer. Happy times BUT i look ancient and it's because im suddenly all stooped and hunchy. Im early 50s, no problem with weight or figure but im feeling old and stiff and clearly now have bad posture.

So what should i do? Pilates? I currently do nothing but am fully aware I need to take action!

Totally get this, I felt the same in my 50s. Pilates was a game changer for me, really helped open up my posture and ease that stiff, hunched feeling.

Misbella · 11/09/2025 09:41

@deadpandid it work and how long did it take to see a difference. Did you do it every day and for how long each time

deadpan · 11/09/2025 09:48

@Misbella I did it every day for about 10 mins, holding the position for 1 or 2 and then doing it again. The physio said she could see a difference in about a month.

Misbella · 16/09/2025 11:24

deadpan · 11/09/2025 09:48

@Misbella I did it every day for about 10 mins, holding the position for 1 or 2 and then doing it again. The physio said she could see a difference in about a month.

Is it like a wall sit ?

deadpan · 16/09/2025 12:34

I'm not sure what one of those is like but your things should be slanted and not horizontal. And your back should sit as flush to the wall aa it can and not arched.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread