Including proper posture exercises in any well rounded fitness plan is going to be one of the best ways to ensure that you are putting forth a maximum effort to improve you posture and reduce you risk of injuries.
Performing simple exercise three to four times a week for about a month is all it takes to start seeing dramatic changes in your overall posture stance.
This then translates to you looking much more confident to others, as well as feeling a great deal better about yourself as well.
Here are the top exercises you should consider.
Bent Over Rows Bent over rows are one of the primary upper body lifts and are going to stimulate a high number of muscle fibers at once, really giving you the 'biggest bang for your buck' during your workout.
They are great for torching calories as well, so if fat loss is something you're interested in, this is definitely an exercise to include.
The bent over row is primarily going to work the upper back muscles as well as the lats, which will help you maintain the upper back position you're looking for.
Lateral Pull-Downs Next up you have lateral pull-downs.
This movement is also targets the lats extremely effectively, which will help keep the shoulder girdle in place when trying to maintain a proper straight back alignment.
Be sure when doing your lateral pull-downs as part of your exercises that you don't lean too far forward or backwards while doing them.
This will place a strange pattern of stress on the body and could actually lead to an injury itself.
Shrugs The trapezius muscles are ones that are often extremely tight, particularly if you lead a stressful lifestyle.
Shrugs make a good posture exercise because after these muscles are worked they will be maximally relaxed, helping to reduce any tension in the neck area that could be causing improper posture.
Further, when they are strengthened, they will be less likely to seize up when you do become stressed, leading to better posture all the time.
Shoulder Rolls Just as shrugs help ease tension in the neck muscles, shoulder rolls do an excellent job at this as well.
You can perform this posture exercise either with or without weights (hold dumbbells at your sides if you're going to use weights), giving you plenty of options for doing these at home or in the gym.
Be sure to roll both forwards and backwards to fully balance out the muscles and provide maximum relaxation.
Supermans Lastly, supermans are an exercise where you lie stomach down on a mat with a weighted plate placed just behind your head.
From there, slowly rise up as far as you can go, lifting the upper body off the mat.
Hold that position for up to five seconds and then lower back down to the floor once again.
By incorporating these posture exercises into your workout program on a regular basis you will see maximal results in terms of improved posture as well as total upper body strengthening.