Good posture is so important for your overall health. Over time, practicing good posture can help prevent back pain, neck pain, and headaches. For some, it can even help improve digestion and ward off issues like heartburn. Unfortunately, maintaining good posture isn't always easy, but water exercise can really help. That's right — enjoying a few water exercise sessions each week can help you maintain better posture, even when you're not in the pool.
Here are some of the key ways in which water exercise improves your posture.
Strengthening Your Back and Abdomen
If you are used to sitting and standing with poor posture, your back and abdominal muscles might be weak. Strengthening them will allow you to better use them to sit up tall with your shoulders back, as good posture requires.
Water exercise is wonderful for strengthening your back and abs. The support of the water makes working these muscles a bit easier than usual. Plus, exercising in the water tends to be fun, which allows you to push yourself a little harder without feeling overwhelmed. Swimming laps is great for your back and core. So are aerobic exercises like standing crunches and kicks. Even kicking along on a paddleboard for a few minutes will improve your posture over time.
Strengthening Your Shoulders and Upper Arms
Your shoulders and upper arms also need to be strong in order to maintain good posture. If you enjoy swimming, then the breaststroke and backstroke are both good choices for shoulder strengthening. If you're more interested in water aerobics, take some group classes that involve tossing a ball back and forth or clapping. Aqua jogging with your body fully immersed in the water will also help strengthen your shoulders and upper arms.
Improving Bodily Awareness
As you work out in the water, you often become more aware of your body. You become more aware of where your arms and legs are at any time, and you subconsciously have more control over your limb placement. This increased bodily awareness can help improve your posture. You may find yourself noticing more easily when you are slumped over with poor posture. You'll then be better able to quickly correct your posture, when needed. The more different exercises you do in the pool, the more aware you'll become of your own body position.
Improving Self-Confidence
Did you know that posture and self-confidence are linked? When you're feeling self-conscious or you have a lack of confidence, you're likely to start slumping over. This is your subconscious way of making yourself seem smaller. On the other hand, when you are feeling self-confident, you tend to sit with your shoulders back and your head held high. That's good posture!
Swimming and other water exercise can help improve your self-confidence, which in turn can improve your posture. With water exercise, you can set goals and work towards achieving them. When you do, you get a self-confidence boost. For many people, just knowing that they are doing something good for their bodies every day boosts their self-confidence and inspires them to carry themselves more proudly.
If you struggle to maintain good posture, exercising in the water can really help. Look for classes that sound fun, allow you to work out at your own pace, and incorporate a variety of core and upper body strengthening exercises.
Working out in the water is always more fun with the right apparel. If you need swimwear to wear as you work on your posture, browse the options from H2O Wear. From one-piece swimsuits, to unitanks, to separates, we sell chlorine-resistant swimwear designed for durability, comfort, and confidence.
