Undo the effects of prolonged sitting with these exercises
What's the story
The front of your pelvis drops and the back rises — that's anterior pelvic tilt for you, often caused by long hours of sitting or a sedentary lifestyle.
This posture imbalance can lead to discomfort and aches throughout your body.
By strengthening and stretching specific muscles, you can help realign your pelvis.
Here are five exercises that target these areas, improving your posture and reducing discomfort.
Core stability
Strengthen your core with planks
Planks are an excellent exercise for strengthening the core muscles, which are essential for fixing anterior pelvic tilt.
By strengthening your abdominals, you provide support to your lower back and help realign your pelvis.
Start by holding a plank position for 20 seconds and slowly increase your time as you gain strength.
Remember to keep your body in a straight line from head to heels for maximum effectiveness.
Glute activation
Activate glutes with bridges
Bridges specifically target the gluteus maximus, which is often weakened by anterior pelvic tilt. Strengthening this muscle helps counteract the forward tilt.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Raise your hips off the floor by squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement, then lower your hips back down to the floor.
Complete three sets of 12 repetitions.
Hip flexibility
Improve flexibility with hip flexor stretches
Tight hip flexors are a major culprit in anterior pelvic tilt as they pull the pelvis forward. Stretching these muscles helps relieve this pull and encourage better alignment.
Step one foot forward into a lunge while keeping your back leg straight; lean forward slightly until you feel a stretch in front of your hip/thigh of the back leg.
Hold for 30 seconds on each side.
Posture correction
Enhance posture with abdominal bracing
Abdominal bracing trains you to engage your core muscles during everyday activities, improving posture and spinal alignment.
To practice, stand or sit up straight and pull in your belly as if preparing for a punch, but don't hold your breath.
Hold this engagement for 10 seconds while breathing normally; repeat this exercise several times a day.
Lower back strength
Strengthen lower back with supermans
Supermans strengthen both lower back muscles and glutes, crucial for fixing anterior pelvic tilt as they support the proper realignment of the pelvis.
How to do it:
Lie face down on a mat with arms extended overhead.
Simultaneously lift arms, chest, legs off ground as high as comfortable, then lower them back down slowly without touching the floor between repetitions.
Perform three sets of 10 repetitions.