Flexibility & Strength Training: Improve Your Posture & Reduce Back Pain

For many of us, we have a complicated relationship with our breasts. As women, we naturally carry more weight in our chest, which pull us forward and down. This can trigger chronic neck, shoulder, and back pain. Wearing a supportive posture bra with wide straps can alleviate pressure and provide important postural cues, which help position you into better alignment. But for lasting benefits beyond a posture bra as a training aid, it's important to condition your body through regular flexibility and strength training exercises. 

Madison Alexandra wearing Kinflyte's posture bra in the Freedom Bra Midi style
Madison in Freedom Bra Midi & Neo Pocket Leggings

Madison Alexandra is a NASM certified personal trainer and bra fitting expert who has been featured in Elle magazine, The Washington Post, and Forbes. Wearing Kinflyte posture bras and tops, Madison shares some of her go-to exercises that help improve your posture and reduce neck, shoulder, and back pain.

Madison wearing Kinflyte's posture corrector in the Rise Bra style
Madison in Kinflyte's Rise Bra & Neo Pocket Shorts

For ongoing posture benefits, let's dive into exercises that Madison recommends. Consult with your physician to see if these exercises would work for you.

"If you have postural muscle imbalances that affect your upper body posture, here are some recommended flexibility and strength training exercises. These are exercises you can do at home or at the gym. You'll want to stretch your overactive muscles and strengthen your underactive muscles, which are typically in your mid back."

Pro tip: you can use a medicine ball as you stretch each side of your body. Place the medicine ball under one hand, and place your knees on the ground. Slowly press your hand on the ball as you stretch each side.

Stengthening exercises using a medicine ball. 

You can do daily stretching exercises while in a seated position. Madison recommends stretching the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM), which is often an overactive muscle associated with the dreaded forward head posture. As part of this exercise, you'll be able stretch your trapezius muscle (traps) as well as your scalene muscles, which represent a group of three pairs of muscles located in the lateral neck region. 

Pro tip: Tuck and then rotate your chin towards the ceiling until you feel a stretch in your neck. Place your hand on your head to guide it, while placing your other hand behind your lower back.

Posture supportive exercises for posture correction improvement

Strengthening Exercises
If you like to hit the gym (or have a home gym), for strengthening exercises, you can use weight training machines with a weight stack.

Pro tip: Use a bike grip when lifting weights while in a seated position.

Posture correction exercises to strengthen middle of your back using gym equipment 

Alternate your strength training exercises in both seated and standing positions to focus on different parts of your body.

Strength training exercise using a weight lifting machine in standing and seated positions.

As we have a tendency to sit for hours (i.e. in front of our computers, at a desk), this can lead to weakened back muscles. Consider the average person spends 6.5 to 8 hours a day sitting. Weak back muscles exacerbated by hours of sitting can impair the mobility in your upper back, making it more challenging to move your shoulder blades fluidly. Madison recommends using dumbbells to help build strength in your back muscles, important for good posture. 

Strengthen your back muscles with dumbbells, as this will help with your posture goals. 

For more flexibility and strength training tips, along with bra fitting advice, follow @madisonxalexandra on TikTok and on Instagram. Before you engage in any new exercise activity, we always recommend you consult with your physician. 

Back to Striving