Exercises to strengthen upper back and improve posture

Maintaining good posture all day, every day, is hard. For many of us, slouching and generally sitting and standing with poor posture is a bad habit that's developed over years of sitting (throughout school and then at work). As I type this, I'm frantically straightening up—but most of the day, I'm not thinking about it and end up reverting to a hunched position.

While yes, thinking about it and consciously trying to break the habit is important, so is building back and shoulder strength. "The back muscles support us in an upright position," Aleks Sulik, a AFAA-certified personal trainer and StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor at Life Time Athletic at Sky, tells SELF. When your back and shoulders are strong, holding them up just feel easier. (A strong core is important here too, which includes your lower back). Combined with some mental reminders to stop slouching, building strength can help improve your posture over time.

Also, having a strong back and shoulders helps you do a lot of everyday things better. Your back is a huge muscle group, and you use it every time you push or pull anything—that includes something as simple as lifting things up and taking things down from a high shelf. Or pushing a revolving door. Everyday activities like these are easier when your back is strong.

Sulik created the workout below to help strengthen your back and shoulders. The moves are meant to hit the muscles from different angles so that you can get the most from this workout. "By taking an all-around approach, you benefit by not just working your back but all the muscles around it," Sulik says. This helps maintain balance in muscles that work together so that you can avoid overcompensating with one or another. Some of the moves are also good for shoulder stability—the shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body, and keeping it stable is essential for avoiding injury.

Ready to start training? Check out Sulik's back and shoulders workout below.

Here's how the workout is set up:

Rest for 30 to 60 seconds between each move and 60 to 90 seconds between each set. Do 2 to 4 sets.

• Halo — 5 reps each side
• Overhead Press — 8 to 12 reps
• Renegade Row — 8 to 12 reps each side
• Bent-Over Row — 8 to 12 reps each side
• Crawl — 20 steps
• Side Kick-Through — 8 to 12 reps each side
• Side Plank With Flye — 8 to 12 reps each side

Here's how to do each move:

THE BEST BACK EXERCISES TO SCULPT YOUR BACK AND IMPROVE POSTURE

Training your back muscles not only makes you look amazing in a backless dress but it also helps you realign the spine and stand up taller. A strong back is a great foundation for a healthy and strong body and these 10 exercises can help you achieve just that. So show your back muscles the same love that you give your abs, glutes, and legs and get all the aesthetic and functional benefits of training.

1 DEADLIFT UPRIGHT ROW

The deadlift upright row targets the back of the body and strengthens the hamstrings, glutes, calves, back and shoulders. This exercise improves your posture and helps prevent injuries in the hamstrings and lower back.

2 PILATES SWIMMING

The pilates swimming strengthens your back muscles and improves posture, mobility, and stability. This exercise challenges the core and engages the deep abdominal muscles, which enhances body alignment.

3 LAWNMOWER PULL

This modified version of the dumbbell row trains the muscles of your back, strengthens the core, legs and shoulders and helps define the waist.

4 COBRA LAT PULLDOWN

The cobra lat pulldown targets your lower and upper back, lats and chest. This is a great exercise to strengthen the back muscles and prevent lower back pain.

5 BOW AND ARROW SQUAT PULL

The bow and arrow squat pull works the muscles of the upper back and helps to sculpt your shoulders, arms, lats, core and legs. This exercise not only strengthens and tones your whole body, but it also gives you a great cardio boost.

6 BACK EXTENSIONS

Adding back extensions to your workout routine helps to strengthen the back muscles and improves posture and balance.

7 BENT OVER LATERAL RAISE

The bent over lateral raise targets the posterior portion of your shoulders and also your upper back muscles. This is a great exercise to add to an upper body strengthening routine when your goal is to tone and sculpt your shoulders, arms and back.

8 BIRD DOGS

The bird dog is a great exercise to strengthen your core and improve posture and balance. This exercise can also improve the stability of the lumbar spine and prevent lower back pain.

9 DUMBBELL BENT OVER ROW

Adding the dumbbell bent over row to your workout routine helps to sculpt your back, shoulders, biceps, and forearms.

10 SUPERMAN

The superman targets your lower and middle back and helps to strengthen the core. This exercise also improves your posture and flexibility, and stretches the upper body.

TIP 1 – Begin with a 10 minute upper body warm up.
TIP 2 – Do 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions and choose weights that challenge your muscles. The last reps should be tough.
TIP 3 – Stretch your upper body at the end of the workout.
TIP 4 – Do 30 minute cardio workouts at least 3 times a week and add upper body, core and lower body workouts to your weekly schedule.
TIP 5 – Eat as clean as possible and, to build and maintain your muscle mass, eat 20-30 grams of protein per meal.

Top 10 BACK Exercises For Women: Sculpt Your Back & Improve Posture!

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