The heroic sitting posture🪑

Hi U!

You have been working hard all day behind your screen, you stand up to grab a cup of coffee and all of a sudden you feel a small pain in your neck and back. Remember what your mom told you as a kid? “You need to sit straight”, “ be aware of how you sit” or “make sure to have a good working posture”. But what is a good posture actually and why is it important? 


Muscles have a rule. That rule is, muscles adapt their length to the position you spend the most time in. Have you ever broken your arm? After you took your arm out of the plaster the mobility was significantly reduced, right? That’s because the muscles that flex your arm have become shorter. Why is this a problem? Because short muscles relocate your joints, leading to compromised bone-aligned. This causes all sorts of problems such as pain and the reduction of power output.

Sitting posture 🪑

First of all, there is no best way to sit but there are guidelines. Long day ahead of you? Try to get up out of your chair for at least 5 minutes every 45 minutes. Also, consider getting a standing desk. If you do sit, do the following: Put your feet flat on the ground, this will help against slouching. Second, position your monitor and keyboard in a proper position. Monitor on eye height, keyboard close to you. Third, when sitting down, push your butt against the back of your chair and slide down. This will lock your pelvis in a proper position. 

Are you, like us, the type that loses attention to their posture sometimes? Set a reminder in your calendar! We put a reminder every 40 minutes to be aware of our posture. 

You can find this and other habits that improve your posture on NewU!

Looking forward to seeing you there. 

Warm regards, 

Bart & Gijs from NewU