The Effect of Posture on Abdominal Muscles

The plank can help strengthen your abdominals to improve your posture.
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Posture and your abdominal muscles are a two-way street, as good posture helps to strengthen your abs, while doing exercises to increase the strength of your abdominal muscles also improves your posture. Standing tall helps you to appear more confident, more attractive and in better physical control of any situation. Work on your posture to increase the strength of your abdominal muscles, and you will soon see benefits in other areas of your life.

What is Good Posture?

Good posture means that you sit or stand with your shoulders back, your abdominal muscles held in, and your head tall. Slouching is considered bad posture, and creates the appearance that you are less confident than when you have proper posture. With good posture your core muscles are engaged, meaning that they are working at all times. Your core includes not just your ab muscles, but also those in your back, hips, butt and pelvis.

Importance of Good Posture

A person with good posture is stronger and less prone to injury than an individual with improper form. You will experience less lower back pain on a daily basis if you have a strong core and good posture. This is because your spine is stabilized in the way that it is meant to be, so you are less likely to feel pain or hurt yourself doing normal daily activities.

Posture and Abs

Your posture is greatly affected by the way that you handle your abdominal muscles. Standing straight requires that you pull your abs in toward your spine and hold them there for extended periods of time. Letting your stomach hang freely often contributes to a sagging, slouchy appearance. Standing or sitting up straight is a great way to engage your ab muscles to exercise your core on a daily basis, by hardly doing anything at all.

Other Considerations

Exercise is the best way to strengthen your core and improve your posture. Holding your back straight helps to strengthen your abs by itself, but a full-body workout that emphasizes all of the muscles in your core area will do much more for your posture over time. Try doing an exercise program that focuses on building your core muscles, such as Pilates or yoga, at least two times per week for 30 to 90 minutes per session.

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