Mom posture happens to all of us. Just think about how many hours a day we spend holding the baby, feeding the baby, and wearing the baby. The hours add up quickly! This leads to slumped shoulders, flat booties, and poochy tummies. That is mom posture at its worst.
I remember recently looking at myself in a sibling’s wedding photos. I could definitely see the mom posture, mostly in my slumped shoulders. That was a wake up call for me to start working my posterior chain, or more simply, all the muscles on my backside- running from the upper back all the way down to the calves.
Since I started focusing on my mom posture and posterior chain, I have noticed several positive changes. For one, my back feels better. Stronger backs makes less achy backs, especially when holding those small children so often! Secondly, my shoulders no longer automatically slump forward. This makes such a huge difference overall. Just try this out. Go stand in front of the mirror. Stand there with your shoulders slumped. Now, look at your stomach, and then turn around and look at your booty. In contrast, force your shoulders back and down. Engage your core muscles. Now, look at yourself in the mirror again. That, moms, is good posture. It opens up your chest. It engages your core. You don’t have to tuck your butt in. Does it look different to you? It sure does to me!
I know everyone is focusing on their glutes these days, but honestly, the glute muscles are important. They are a large set of muscles that generate a lot of power. Think about all the times you use your glutes. You do when you are lifting your baby out of the crib, or lifting the car seat, or pushing the stroller up a hill. The last thing I have noticed about working my posterior chain is that the stronger glutes I have, the more efficient my movement is in general. So whether you are going for that big booty or just better posture in general, the exercises I am about to share will help you. Let’s have super-mom posture!
So, now we must train our bodies to not automatically revert to that slumped, flat, poochy look. I am going to share how to start strengthening and engaging those posterior chain muscles. It will be up to you to incorporate that into your daily life as you take care of your children.
I would suggest you try to do these exercises at least two times a week. Do three sets of 10 for each exercise. You can do these exercises at home or at the gym, so you have no excuse not to do them!
1. Bridges
This is one of my all time favorite exercises. It will go far in keeping your glute muscles strong. And I never get bored of them because there are so many variations. I showed you a one leg variation in this video. Add weight if it’s too easy, and really squeeze your glutes at the top!
2. Back plank
This works your whole posterior chain at one time! Make sure you don’t cheat on this one. Squeeze your glutes so your body doesn’t sag. Start with trying to hold for 15 seconds. Repeat for a couple of rounds. Work up to a minute at a time if you can!
3. Face pulls
I tell my moms in my workout class to squeeze their shoulder blades together all the time. That is the feeling we are going for here. Pretend like you’re trying to hold something between your shoulder blades and you don’t want it to fall out. Every time you pull back, do that squeeze. Note my elbows come out for each repetition.
4. Lat pulldowns 90 degrees
I bought a set of mini bands when Covid happened. I still use them! They are very handy for shoulders and backs, and booties too for that matter. They are cheap and you can take them anywhere. Buy some!
When you do these, squeeze those shoulder blades again. Keep your shoulders back and down. In the video, I show this exercise from the front and back.
5. Wall sit
When I do a wall sit, I like to take the opportunity to work on my mom posture. With my back flat against the wall, I will raise my arms to the 90 degree position. That forces me to keep my back flat. Try to work up to holding for one minute.
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