How To Improve Posture

The first thing I decided when I became determined to improve my posture was that I would just remember to sit up and stand up straight throughout the day. I set a reminder on my phone, on my computer, sticky notes... geez, it was like I was nagging myself!

After a few days, the reminders got a little easier to ignore. I still figured out that holding myself up all day (I work at a computer like most people), was exhausting I was still spending a majority of my day with less than perfect posture. I knew this strategy just wasn't going to be what worked for me long term.

Next I reasoned that the best way to improve posture meant that I needed more "support" if I was going to be successful. I changed my pillow on my bed to one of the wavy kinds, I bought a little lumbar pillow for my ride into work, and added some support to my office chair.

I have to say that for the first week, I thought I had done it! I thought, "Yes! I'm getting better posture!" My back felt great and felt supported in all the right places. The next week, I still felt pretty good, but just not as good. It was like the effect was wearing off. It was too early for the pillow to have gone flat, so I didn't get it.

There is a better way to go, and you can learn what I learned at ImproveMyPosture.com.

My next step was that I believed that I needed to get more aggressive with the supports. Maybe a pillow just wasn't enough. If I had an around the clock, always on posture brace, my posture was sure to improve.

You've probably seen the before and after pictures. In the "before" pic, the person has posture much like mine was. In the after pic, the posture is perfect! That's what I wanted!

The effect of the brace was noticeable immediately. My shoulders were, in fact, pulled back and in the right place. I could tell I looked better, and I sure felt better... again, for about a week.

One day, I go to take a shower, take off the brace and I can see that my posture is no better, possibly worse. What I realized at that moment is that my muscles were getting weaker.

Wearing a posture brace is a lot like wearing a cast on a broken arm. Have you seen someone right after they take off a cast? Their arm is smaller, not bigger. They got weaker, not stronger. I looked it up. It's called muscle atrophy, and it's what happens when your muscles aren't being used. Yikes!

Once it clicked for me that there was no real way to improve posture "with no work on my part," I just wanted to know how to do the least amount of work possible. I'm not big on going to the gym all the time.

When I do go, I wasn't totally positive that everyone there knew what they were doing anyway. There were lots of people with bad posture there, and they work out all the time! So getting my muscles stronger was going to be necessary to improve my posture, and exercise is the only way to do that.

Which exercises to do? I went through a lot of programs (and there's good ones out there), but finally settled in with Posture-Exercise.com. I wanted the information now and wanted to be able to watch it immediately and get the help I needed.

My posture has never been the same! You can learn how to improve posture, just go to ImproveMyPosture.com.