Taking the back road to good posture

This is a great way to build strength and endurance in your back muscles. In combination with abdominal crunches, the exercise will help create balanced strength in your torso muscles, which can improve your posture and help reduce your chance of injury.

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1 Lie facedown on a large stability ball, with the ball supporting your abdominals. Bend your legs slightly behind you, with your toes touching the floor. Place your hands behind your head and look down.

2 Contracting your back muscles, slowly raise your upper body away from the ball until your head and shoulders are parallel to the floor. (The movement will be small.) Relax your neck as you continue to look down. Pause for a few moments at the top of the lift, then lower yourself to the start position. Do eight repetitions, rest for 20 seconds, then do another set of repetitions.

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-- Karen Voight