How Poor Posture Sabotages Your Results (and What to Do About It)
You want to lose fat.
Build muscle.
Move with confidence.
Stay pain-free.
Feel stronger for life.
Most people assume that means they need to train harder. Lift heavier. Push more.
But one of the biggest factors holding them back isn’t about how much you’re doing.
It’s how well you move—and how well your body is set up to move in the first place.
And that’s where posture comes in.
Why Posture Matters More Than You Think
Posture isn’t just how you sit at a desk or stand in line. It’s the alignment of your head, shoulders, spine, and hips—and how that alignment supports every movement you make.
When posture is off, even slightly, it causes:
- Muscular compensations
- Joint strain
- Movement inefficiencies
- Overuse injuries
- Slower recovery
- Poor muscle activation.
That means more time dealing with soreness, tightness, and frustration—and less time making actual progress.
If you’re wondering why you’re still getting niggles during training, struggling to recover, or not seeing the results you expect… start here.
The Posture-Injury Cascade
Here’s how it happens:
- Poor posture → weak stabilisers and tight postural muscles
- Your body compensates by overusing the wrong muscles
- That causes tension, tightness, and inflammation
- Your range of motion gets limited, and movement becomes inefficient
- You’re more likely to experience joint pain or injury
- Recovery slows down and training becomes less effective
- You get stuck or plateau (and it’s not because you’re not working hard)
This cycle affects everything from your squat to your sleep.
The most common signs?
- Forward head posture
- Rounded shoulders
- Tight upper traps
- Weak glutes
- Lower back discomfort
- Recurring shoulder, knee, or neck pain.
Sound familiar?
Why This Affects Your Training Results
Posture doesn’t just affect how you feel. It changes how you move—and how well your muscles can activate during lifts.
If you’re benching with internally rotated shoulders, your chest can’t contract fully.
If you’re squatting with poor hip stability, your knees compensate and your glutes stay quiet.
If your spine can’t stay neutral during a deadlift, your lower back takes the hit.
So even if you’re doing the “right” exercises…
You’re not training the right muscles. You’re not getting the intended results. And you’re on a one-way path to burnout or injury.
That’s why we coach people to build from the ground up—starting with posture and stabilisation.
What Actually Fixes Poor Posture (Hint: It’s Not Just Stretching)
Improving posture is a nervous system issue, not just a muscle issue.
You don’t just need more mobility or foam rolling. You need to rewire your brain and body to move well again.
That means:
- Activating stabiliser muscles (rotator cuff, rhomboids, mid traps, glutes, etc.)
- Using controlled tempos to retrain movement patterns
- Programming compound lifts with supporting postural work
- Adding restorative training (like yoga, breathwork, sauna, or parasympathetic-focused routines)
- Building structural balance over time
Static stretching helps—but it’s not enough on its own.
You need to integrate posture work into every phase of your program.
How to Integrate It (Without Doubling Your Workout Time)
You don’t need to overhaul your whole program. You just need to make your warm-ups and accessories smarter.
Start with:
- 1–2 postural drills in your warm-up (e.g. Cuban presses, wall slides, trap raises)
- Superset them with your big lifts (e.g. rotator cuff before bench, glute activation before squats)
- Focus on slow tempos and proper form—not just loading the bar
- Keep training full-body 3x per week to hit all key stabilisers consistently
You’ll feel stronger, move better, and actually recover between sessions.
What Results Can You Expect?
Here’s what clients experience within weeks:
- Reduced aches and stiffness
- Stronger lifts with better muscle engagement
- Less reliance on physio or pain meds
- More confidence in their body and movement
- A genuine feeling of freedom and flow in training
- The bonus? You’re far less likely to burn out or get injured.
It’s not about doing less.
It’s about doing it better.
If you prefer to learn visually, watch the full deep-dive on this topic in our Level Up Live training here
Want to train in person? If you’re local, our personal trainers at 5th Element Wellness in Fitzroy North can help. Book your free consultation here.
Not local? I coach clients online worldwide. For more practical training and nutrition strategies, follow me on Instagram: @thesammyroberts
About the Author: Sam Roberts
