Strength · Posture

Strength work for posture

Standing tall is a strength quality before it is a habit. These are the muscles that hold the ribcage over the pelvis, and the lifts that make them stronger.

What this trains

This page is about the upper back, the spinal erectors and the deep abdominal wall.

The lifts

  1. 01Face pull3 × 12–15

    Pull to the forehead and finish with the elbows behind the shoulders, not beside them.

  2. 02Prone Y-raise3 × 10–12, no weight or 1–2 kg

    Lift from the mid-back — if the neck is working, the arms are too high.

  3. 03Single-arm dumbbell row3 × 8–10 each side

    Let the shoulder blade travel; rowing with a locked scapula trains the arm instead.

  4. 04Dead bug3 × 8 each side, slow

    The lower back stays flat on the floor. The moment it lifts, shorten the reach.

What this page can't tell you: Posture is also position, load and how long you hold still — strength is one input, not the whole answer.

Other regions

Desk workthe hip flexors, the glutes, the upper back and the neck extensorsHipsthe glutes, the abductors, the adductors and the deep external rotatorsHamstringsthe back of the thigh — biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosusBack and spinethe spinal erectors, the lats, the deep trunk and the muscles that resist rotationNeck and shouldersthe rotator cuff, the scapular stabilisers and the neckCore and trunkthe abdominal wall, the obliques and the deep trunk
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