How should your posture be when walking? Fraser Richardson<\/p>\n Exercise and sports scientist, Protein Works<\/p>\n Fraser has a BSc in Sport & Exercise Science and works with Protein Works<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMost people think about posture as something that matters when you\u2019re sitting at a desk, but rarely when they\u2019re out walking,\u201d says Richardson.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n \u201cThe truth is, posture when walking is just as important, if not more so, because it impacts not only your muscles and joints, but also your digestion, breathing and energy levels.\u201d<\/p>\n Richardson adds that when your body is in motion, gravity \u201camplifies\u201d the impact of poor alignment, like a forward-leaning head or slouched spine. This strains the joints and could compress your organs. Instead, there are a few tweaks you can make to help you walk better.<\/p>\n \u201cPosture walking is the practice of walking with deliberate, upright alignment\u2026shoulders relaxed but open, head stacked directly over the spine (not leaning forward), core gently engaged, with a smooth and balanced stride,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt\u2019s about being mindful of how you move, not how far, how fast, or what gear you\u2019re using.\u201d<\/p>\n And there are some benefits to straightening up your stance.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Shutterstock)1. Better digestion<\/p>\n \u201cWalking with a slouched posture can compress the stomach and intestines, slowing gut motility and worsening issues like bloating, reflux and constipation,\u201d says Richardson. He advises keeping your spine tall with your head stacked over your body, which also helps you avoid tech neck<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cPosture walking gives the gut more room to function, helping food move smoothly through the digestive tract and supporting overall digestive health,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n 2. Improved breathing<\/p>\n \u201cGood posture allows the diaphragm and lungs to expand fully, increasing oxygen intake,\u201d Richardson explains. \u201cBy avoiding that diagonal neck tilt\u2026you free up the airways, boosting stamina and reducing fatigue.\u201d Most importantly, you can breathe better using a more expansive breath.<\/p>\n 3. Reduced pain<\/p>\n \u201cHunched shoulders and a forward head posture put extra stress on the spine. Walking tall with the head aligned above the shoulders encourages spinal alignment, reducing the risk of aches and chronic pain,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n 4. Boosted energy and mood<\/p>\n Richardson reveals perhaps the most surprising benefit of walking with better posture, and it relates to your mood.<\/p>\n \u201cResearch<\/a> shows posture can affect hormone levels and mood. Walking upright with shoulders back can increase confidence, lower stress and improve overall mental well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n 5. More efficient movement<\/p>\n Turns out you can be more energy-efficient by aligning your body better, according to Richardson. \u201cAn aligned body moves more smoothly, wasting less energy. Proper posture engages the core and glutes, helping you burn calories more effectively while lowering injury risk.\u201d<\/p>\n Personally, I wouldn\u2019t bank on an increase in calorie burn<\/a>. It\u2019s a number that\u2019s hard to quantify and subjective based on a person\u2019s physiology and a number of other factors, so I would focus more on walking efficiently and playing around with factors like cadence or terrain if you do want to increase intensity.<\/p>\n Why improved posture matters<\/p>\n Many of us spend time hunched over tech and sitting at desk jobs, myself included. The result? Over time, poor posture can become more permanent and translate over to other areas of your life, including exercise.<\/p>\n \u201cIf color walking<\/a> is about what you see, and rucking<\/a> is about what you carry, posture walking is about how you move,\u201d Richardson says. \u201cIts rise suggests a shift toward health-first walking, where the benefits go beyond cardio fitness and calorie burn to digestion, spine health and even mood regulation.\u201d<\/p>\n Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News<\/a> to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.<\/p>\n More from Tom’s Guide<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you didn\u2019t already know, poor posture can negatively impact your gut, digestion, energy and breathing during exercise,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104975,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[6647,102,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-104974","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104974\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Fraser](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/x3b7uMtYEuGcQ396eyVLnV.jpg\")
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