
Ask HN: Tricks to improve posture? - throwaway062819
I&#x27;m sitting in front of a computer at least 8 hours every day and have noticed that my posture is terrible, constantly hunched over especially when I&#x27;m at my desk. Has anyone developed any tricks or tips about improving posture? It seems like a simple problem but requires constant reminding, otherwise you will fall back on your old slouched posture. Thanks!
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Imanari
Wall slides [1]

They are quick and easy to perform and surprisingly effective. After 20 of
them I fell my back and neck muscles kind of "activated". They wont fix
everything but they are a good immediate action and will also make you more
aware of your posture and muscles.

[1]: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apk-
frSspcU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apk-frSspcU)

------
cocoa19
Yes. Strength training, especially back and shoulder exercises such as
deadlifts, rows and shoulder press.

I'd advice doing whole body training though, rather than focusing on posture
only.

I've tried a posture brace before. It helps to remind you to straighten up,
but it didn't feel like a permanent solution. I eventually went back to bad
posture when I stopped using it.

------
twoquestions
Proper heavy deadlifts are one of the best exercises to help posture. It's
impossible to get a good amount of weight off the floor slouched over, and
after a few weeks of training this movement you'll have good posture habits
drilled well into your head.

...at least once this whole virus situation clears up. In the meantime, maybe
farmer carries with heavy book bags or somesuch? If you're not in proper
posture it will hurt, but correct form will challenge your grip strength more
than your back. Planks are also wonderful for building up the strength to keep
good posture.

Farmer carry demo:
[https://youtu.be/cBv3NcxqhPM](https://youtu.be/cBv3NcxqhPM)

~~~
Noumenon72
One form cue from deadlifts that's very helpful is to "hold the ceiling up
with the top of your head" to finish. When a lot of people "stand up straight"
they are pushing their sternum forward and arching their upper back. What good
posture really is about is taking the force of gravity and distributing it
straight down among all your joints, then resisting it with all your muscles.

Your feet are pushing into the floor, your knees are pushing into the tops of
your tibias. Hips, ribs, vertebra, head. When you feel the downward pressure
on your skeleton it means your muscles are pulling you _up_. Like a circus
tent pole surrounded by guy wires, you're in a perfect balance between tension
and compression.

I don't know if there's one weird trick for it. Ice skating helps you develop
the feel.

~~~
andrewflnr
I think this is the same thing a karate instructor meant when she told me to
imagine I'm being pulled upwards by a string attached to the top of my head.
Not exactly a "one weird trick", but a very effective mental image.

------
foxyv
I use meditation. I spend 20-30 minutes sitting on the floor focused on my
breathing and muscle tension. Without anything to support myself, as I relax,
I'll slowly find a pretty good posture. It's hard to hunch over when you
aren't leaning on a keyboard. I find that it tends to translate over to the
rest of my day.

------
mntmoss
In two parts:

1\. Fix the underlying ergonomics. Put your monitor higher and your keyboard
closer. The position you want is like the rest position of a dancer: elbows
nearly against your sides, relaxed. (Taking an actual dance class will teach a
lot about posture habits). A small change of a few degrees here and there can
make a big difference. If you are a laptop user and have been actually resting
it on your lap, try putting a shoebox or similarly sized object under it.

2\. Train mobility. The hunch develops as a result of persistent overtraining
in one direction. You don't need a lot of additional strength to start to
correct this, just mobility.

Look up Youtube channel "Calisthenic Movement" \- there are some very good
mobility routines and I have incorporated parts of them into my everyday
workout. Some of them use a pull-up bar but most are pure bodyweight and the
floor or a wall.

If you want to stock a home gym I suggest going for resistance bands - they're
small, light, cheap, more forgiving than weights and hugely versatile.

~~~
Symbiote
A laptop user should either buy an appropriate stand (I have [1]) and keyboard
and mouse, or a monitor. Or both.

This is so essential to a reasonable posture that it's essentially required by
workplace safety regulations in Europe. (In other words, in Europe your
employer should buy these things, including for working at home.)

[1] [https://www.therooststand.com/](https://www.therooststand.com/)

------
bananamerica
There are not effective "tricks". Strength training will "magically" solve the
issue.

Try this: [https://hundredpushups.com/](https://hundredpushups.com/)

~~~
bloodorange
While the parent post might appear dismissive, I've found that strength
training is indeed the best way to improve posture. Once you learn to lift
weights in good form, the body tends to naturally stay in good posture even
when you are not doing your exercises. I've found that no amount of conscious
effort to observe oneself and maintain good posture is even remotely as good
as just doing exercises to strengthen one's body. Of course, mobility and
flexibility help too and I'm assuming one is doing enough stretching as a good
way to cool down after the exercises.

------
bigbossman
Try a $20 upper back brace. Wear it for 20 minutes at a time while you're
working. It conditions your upper back to straighten up and become less
rounded.

[https://www.amazon.com/Posture-Corrector-Men-Women-
Truweo/dp...](https://www.amazon.com/Posture-Corrector-Men-Women-
Truweo/dp/B07DKHTKP3/)

~~~
jahn716
$20 is really cheap for this kind of value prop.

Have you tried it yourself? Not doubting, just always have some skepticism of
reviews on Amazon haha

~~~
cweagans
I got an el-cheapo one from Staples. Same idea, same shape, etc. It helps a
lot, but it takes some fiddling to dial in the right amount of tension pulling
your shoulders back.

------
brailsafe
I second everything about hitting the gym, seeing a physio, and focussing on
back and glutes etc.. but for some tricks and cues, I recommend getting a
great chair that you love, positioning your screen slightly higher and maybe
closer than you normally would, get a MS sculpt keyboard which positions your
shoulders outward more comfortably, pretend you're James Bond or some badass
woman when you're walking around, and position your car seat at right angle if
you drive. Also tell your partner if you have one to poke you when you slouch,
and think abiut squeeezing your abs when you walk

------
cowb0yl0gic
All of the above/below. It's a complex problem (which I share) caused by a
lifetime of habit, and it takes a long-term, multi-pronged/phased approach. A)
Physical fitness: proper conditioning will allow you to hold posture for long
periods of time without fatigue/strain (this is something you work towards
over time). B) Physical environment: everything must allow you to maintain
posture without excessive leaning/reaching/craning; don't hold a fixed
position continuously, but your base state should be strain-free. C) Habits:
take frequent stand/stretch breaks (sometimes I stand up if I am reading
something that will take a minute or more; also remember to rest your eyes
periodically; look out the window; engage in brief social interation; standing
desks are great (alternate with sitting), especially if you get restless). D)
Triggers: develop reminders about posture (if I see my reflection from the
side or when I'm sitting in front of a TV...; I try to be (not self-)conscious
of what an observer would see); when you stretch, use that to "reset" your
postural expectation (through repetition, it will become your "natural state",
and you will be aware of when you're out of sync with it); if I don't feel
like I'm standing up _really_ straight, then I'm not. E) Mental state: if you
feel tired, depressed, preoccupied, etc. then you will lose track of all of
this; it won't seem important, and you will regress; pick it back up again and
move forward (it's about improvement/maintenance, not "fixing"). HTH.

------
tra3
I've been sitting on the floor, resting my laptop on the coffee table. When I
get tired, I put the coffee table on the dining room table and stand. I used
to fatigue quite quickly and go back to regular desk, but after 3 weeks of
this, that's how i spend the majority of the working day. You can't use your
chair's back support when you're on the floor or standing so you're forced to
engage your core muscles.

~~~
vladvasiliu
How do you sit on the floor? I used to this a while back but I would have a
hard time keeping a straight back and not slouching.

~~~
tra3
I either sit in half lotus, or 90-90 style stretch. When I started I had a
hard time sitting like that for more than 10 minutes, so I had to change
position frequently, but it's better now. I'd switch from sitting to standing
( dining room table + small coffee table). When I got really tired, I'd sit
down and start slouching. I slowly increased my sitting time.

------
thorum
I've had good success with the Upright GO.

It's a little device that you stick on your upper back and connect to your
phone via Bluetooth. It detects when you're slouching and buzzes your back
with a slight vibration to remind you to sit up straight.

[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0747YHYZF/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0747YHYZF/)

------
nhemsley
This is a problem I faced which contributed to giving up my day job in front
of a computer. The ongoing solution for me started by going to an exercise
based physiotherapist.

Simplified, the anterior muscle chain (muscles along the front of your body)
are over activated and are not working in balance with your posterior chain.
The muscles in front are shorter and stronger. In back they are weaker and
elongated. This especially in hunched forward posture and neck tension.

The muscles in front also work harder to hold your body upright as you are
probably used to 'thinking' with the front of your body. Instead of being
evenly balanced and distributed properly from the hips and up through the
spine.

This is a simplification and each muscle in the body tends to have
complementary and opposing muscles. Each individual will manifest problems in
different areas and require strengthening and stretching accordingly.

My current physio has a Pilates studio and focuses on strengthening and
stretching tailored to me. Not cheap but for me it has helped to identify and
rethink how I move in an intuitive movement focused manner. 60 per week for an
hour session so not prohibitive.

Also Alot of problems tend to have issues rooted in the glutes and hip
flexors, I.e. an imbalance down there at the body's structural core manifest
up through the spinal and muscle chain. This being the case with me I do a lot
of glute work and hip flexor work as well as upper and lower back
strengthening etc.

Eventually going to a gym or something similar being the goal, i suggest to
start with a good excercise based physio, ones who do Pilates seem to have the
right science & body mechanics approaches, to establish good form (which can
be quite non intuitive if you have under active and over active muscles)..
starting out at the gym may be overreaching and may compound imbalances... a
good instructor may help but start at the physio imho.

Good luck!

------
wishinghand
I agree with the strength training mentioned here, but I also found out I was
sitting wrong. I always had my hips tilted too far forward, as if I was
slightly slouching. Often made me hunch my upper back and my lower back would
ache if I worked for too long.

I forget where I learned it, so unfortunately I can't provide professional
guided advice, but I saw an article about sitting better and making sure your
hips aren't too far forward or back. It took some getting used to as I had
been sitting poorly for years. I needed time for certain things to stretch a
bit so that it became natural, but now I've even had compliments on my posture
while sitting.

Getting a split keyboard helped too. Being able to spread the two halves
prevented my shoulders from pinching together in the front.

------
ssivark
One easy-to-forget factor is lateral symmetry. Especially with asymmetric
multi-monitor setups (including laptops), it’s easy to spend hours with the
body facing straight, but the head tilted slightly to the side. This is
probably very unhealthy for the neck/spine.

------
chrisbennet
If your chair allows it, lean back.

 _A new study suggests that sitting upright for hours at a time -- for
example, when working at a computer -- may lead to chronic back pain. Instead,
the best position for your back is somewhat reclined, sitting at a 135-degree
angle rather than the 90-degree angle most office chairs are designed for._

[https://www.webmd.com/back-pain/news/20061129/back-pain-
ease...](https://www.webmd.com/back-pain/news/20061129/back-pain-eased-by-
sitting-back)

------
g5becks
In the near future, I plan on purchasing one of the chairs
[https://www.komfortchair.com/](https://www.komfortchair.com/) . But for now,
I am using this
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0167NBDYU/](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0167NBDYU/)

------
yellow_lead
There's a lot of information here, lots of people saying to work out. If you
don't workout and start, I would advise starting slow and using proper form,
also getting the advice of a professional or at least something that really
knows what they're doing is paramount.

I'll throw out something that helped me - strengthening my upper back. My
upper back was weak and not doing it's job which was causing my lower back to
suffer.

------
yodsanklai
You need to make sure your desk is properly set up (screen, keyboard, chair).
There shouldn't be any reason to slouch if it is properly set up.

~~~
peterbozso
So much this. Also give standing desks a try. That helped me to fix my posture
a ton (not only while working on the computer, but while standing/walking/etc
overall) and also made half of my lower pain back go away.

~~~
yodsanklai
How long do you manage to work standing up? do you switch positions throughout
the day?

~~~
peterbozso
Yes, I switch every hour. Also, when I have a meeting where I don't have to
present my screen, I always make sure to switch to my phone and walk around.
That's another very important, but often overlooked exercise.

------
ryanchants
Working from home for the past month+, I started using an active learning
stool. It's basically a height adjustable stool that wobbles around. It lows
me to sit on it, or lean against it. This keeps me from slouching in a chair
all day and has done wonders for my posture.

I'll probably request one from work once we return to the office.

------
mbushey
What worked for me is ditching the pillow to sleep when I'm on my back. I keep
the pillow in the vicinity and use it if I switch to my side. People used to
comment how bad my posture was, I don't get that anymore.

------
dexwiz
Do core workouts. While doing the work-out, really concentrate on keeping your
core stable and your breathing in sync with your motions. Learning how to
brace your core unconsciously will help more with your posture than anything
else.

All those ergonomic solutions force you to position yourself well, but they
won’t work unless you have the strength to hold it.

------
TechBro8615
I've got the opposite problem. I would like to sit in one place for 8 hours...
or even 1 hour. But I can't sit still for more than 20 minutes. Anyone got any
tips for that?

I've been prescribed adderall before (I basically asked for it), and it was
good, but I've cut it out since I don't like what it did to my personality.

~~~
ssivark
Consider it a blessing in disguise (look at all the articles about how sitting
for long periods is awful), which prevents you from wrecking your
posture/health. It’s good to keep moving around! Some folks use Pomodoro
timers to stretch/flex/move regularly :-)

Maybe what you want is a way to maintain focus — not necessarily hold still.
Don’t mean to be patronizing; I’m trying to change my habits to move around
more.

------
onenuthin
Stand up. Sitting all day just isn't natural, no matter what. Learn to do your
desk-work from a standing position, barefoot, no shoes, and with a lot of
little movements and stretching from time to time. And the workout ideas
already mentioned are also great - build up your core. This is the way.

~~~
bigmit37
I think sitting is more natural than standing. Hunter-gatheres sit around a
lot but they don’t sit on chairs. On the other hand they don’t stand on one
place for too long and usually are on the move.

[https://www.sciencealert.com/hunter-gatherers-are-as-
sedenta...](https://www.sciencealert.com/hunter-gatherers-are-as-sedentary-as-
us-but-how-they-sit-makes-all-the-difference)

------
treebog
8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0979303605](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0979303605)

This book fixed my posture. After reading it, I understood for the first time
what it actually means to have good posture.

------
Voyiatzis
I am 52, male. Started wearing wooden clogs a couple of years ago, as I was
experiencing similar symptoms as OP. Life-changing experience, this has been.
My advice to OP: dispose of your sneakers and all of your comfy shoes. Wear
nothing but wooden clogs instead.

~~~
knopkop_
I think you live in the flat above me.

------
runjake
Stand more, sit less. Stretch frequently, and do the basic calisthenics:
pushups, unweighted squats, crunches, maybe even burpees.

Don't do a bunch of reps, just 5-10 or whatever is comfortable, every couple
hours.

------
mx24
Start regularly attending yoga classes. This has improved my posture
significantly over the past year. I personally enjoy power yoga classes that
are more strength focused but all yoga will help with posture.

------
askafriend
Weight lifting is the only reliable medicine. Everything else is a band-aid.

------
new23d
Got myself a 75cm exercise ball last week to sit on. Improved my lower back in
just 2 days and can see myself sitting up straighter. $10 ball so much better
than a $1000 chair.

~~~
wallflower
Be careful, you may want to invest in a more expensive burst-resistant
exercise ball that will not pop like a balloon.

[https://fitter1.com/products/classic-exercise-ball-
chair](https://fitter1.com/products/classic-exercise-ball-chair)

~~~
new23d
Yes, I did get a birthing / maternity / pregnancy ball. They go by these names
rather than gym / exercise / swiss ball. Thicker material, non-slip and burst
resistant.

~~~
wallflower
Excellent, thanks for following up!

------
Gibbon1
^F stool... phrase not found.

My strong suggestion is raise your desk to 36 to 42 inches and buy a good
quality lab stool with a foot rest. A stool forces your to sit upright and not
slouch.

------
lol666
i have 'lordosis', ive found some simple excercises to sort it out - like
pulling "my ass down" which makes my back straight. make sure to get your
posture diagnosed and possibly get excercises from physician, if you cant then
there are some books and good videos on youtube (sic! i know), just choose
someone u can verify as knowlegable person if you cant physically get to doc.

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rawgabbit
You might try a standup desk. I have a varidesk.com. It is sturdy and lets you
stand or sit.

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gshdg
Raise your monitor high enough that you have to sit upright and hold your head
up to look straight at it.

------
whytaka
Mounted or raised screen and a yoga/exercise ball. Also, do squat exercises.

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thisistheend123
Long duration walks (1-2 hours) with an upright stance has helped me a lot.

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thorin
Press ups. Yoga. Moving about.

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cvaidya1986
Yoga.

