If you clicked on this post, you’re probably sick of your hunched back but still haven’t found the solution for the problem.

I feel you sis, believe me. Until recently, I was going crazy trying to find a real solution to this bad habit.

That’s also the reason that from the first second I put my hands on the genius Upright patent, I decided it deserves its own post on the site.

Upright succeeded where many failed, and finally helped me maintain a proper and healthy posture, with just a short training session every day in my natural environment.

Most of us spend most of our days sitting – on the road, in front of a computer at work, bent over our mobile devices or sitting on the couch watching TV at the end of the day.

We got used to sitting hunched and that affects our bodies even when we walk or stand, which means that we really got used to being slouched most of the day. This horrible posture usually leads to back pains we learned to ignore {until it’s so bad that it’s impossible}.

We all know that our bodies should be upright and not slouched, but as they say ‘bad habits die hard’ and sometimes it seems like the habits we adopted along the time are impossible to change.

Over a month ago I watched in amazement how my one-year-old niece watched videos on her mommy’s iPhone while sitting up straight like a dancer.

I automatically thought to myself – when did we stop sitting straight, and how, if even possible, can we turn the clock back?

I don’t know how old I was when I “lost” my posture and started standing, walking and sitting slouched – but my parents, and especially my mom, always bugged me that I have to “straighten up”.

I’m sure you’re familiar with this scenario – how annoying it was to hear over and over again to straighten up!

My situation was even worse – since I hated sports classes so much at school and I used to get an exemption from them regularly {you probably remember that from here}, my sports teacher asked me to simply sit through the whole class with my back straight. That’s how bad it was.

Over the years it obviously only got worse – sitting for hours in front of the computer, aggressive use of the cell phone {have I already said that I’m addicted?} and the regular hangout in front of the TV at night definitely did the job.

So it’s true that I try working out regularly {need motivation?}, but what’s an hour of physical activity versus a full day of standing and sitting slouched?

You have no idea how many bad consequences there are when you have poor posture! While searching for a solution for my problem, I came across this TED video which illustrates the problem, and useful solutions for it, in a very cute way:

Apart from all of the horrible consequences on our health, poor posture also has an impact on our appearance and on the way we’re perceived by others. Studies indicate that body language, which includes our posture, has a great impact on the first impression we create.

Think about all of the times you judged people just by the way they carry themselves – people who stand tall project more power and confidence than people slouched over, right?

Besides, standing straight simply looks better and even gives the illusion of a slimmer silhouette – so how the hell do you improve posture?!

When I became aware of the problem, I asked people close to me to tell me when I’m hunched.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a great solution – even if they told me once in awhile, and I would try to change my bad posture, it wouldn’t last for a long time – after all, I spend most of the hours of my day sitting slouched across a computer or with my iPhone, exactly like you’re sitting right now.

I tried many other creative solutions, like sticking a note to my laptop screen reminding me to sit up straight every time I look at it, but I always got distracted so it never really solved the problem.

Over the last year I started feeling more and more pain in my lower back as a result of sitting bent over for more than 8 hours a day. A month ago I got to a point where the pain was unbearable, and even the magical Tiger Balm didn’t help, so I had to take pills for the back pains.

Seems so absurd to me! Why should someone young like me who exercises regularly suffer from unbearable back pains?

I decided I had to find a solution for the root of the problem, and not just one that eases the symptoms.

The long awaited change in my posture started surprisingly from an ad that popped up on my Facebook feed.

I usually scroll through the sponsored posts on Facebook quickly, but something about the Upright advertisement, the Israeli gadget to improve posture, managed to catch my eye and even click on the link.

Upright is a simple and genius gadget and doesn’t try selling “magical solutions” for your posture, simply because there aren’t any. It offers something much better – to train the body, and especially the brain, to adopt a new habit of correct posture that will improve the quality of life.

Don’t let the word “train” scare you – it’s not something you have to put a lot of effort into or clear your daily schedule for.

It’s a small clever device that trains the user to sit straight. The device itself is small, pleasant and easy, and sticks to the back with a special sticker {comes with the product} and it reminds the user to straighten up every time they’re slouched. Its big advantage is that it manages to change all of our posture habits within three weeks.

There are many reasons that make Upright a product every house needs in my opinion. These reasons include :

It’s easy to use. Yes, everyone can break the bad habit of a hunched posture easily by using the product and the related applications. Upright provides healthy living habits in an easy and user-friendly way.

Upright’s customer service is one of the best I’ve come across! Any question I had about the product was answered within minutes via the company’s mobile app { even on weekends and holidays }. You can contact them at any hour through the app and e-mail and also by phone and Skype during business hours.

From the first time you use the product, the company mails you excellent tips on how to use the product and reminders that urge the user to keep up the training at least four times a week.

Unlike other temporary solutions to improve posture, Upright teaches the back and ab muscles how to maintain good posture – so after the training program, while maintaining a short training only once a week, the body gets used to standing straight even without the device.

The company guarantees to return your money within 30 days of receiving the product in case you decided that this product isn’t good for you { which probably won’t happen since it’s really a winning product and the helpful customer service will guide you and tell you exactly how to use the product for the best results }.

There is a year warranty on the product.

True, it isn’t cheap – but it’s a relatively small investment compared to the result. Besides, think how much you’ll save on pills and treatments against back pains because of this!

HOW DOES IT WORK ?

Upright is part of the wearable computing gadgets trend that gained momentum in recent years. The way Upright works is seemingly quite simple – every time you start slouching, the Upright stuck on your back with a special sticker starts vibrating, and reminds you to straighten up and return to your correct posture.

Think about it as a small robot sitting on your back saying “bad girl!”.

Upright comes in a well-designed package, including the device itself – a small silicon, light and pleasant to touch, 60 stickers to stick the device on your back, a small amount of alcoholic pads to clean your back {helps sticking the device to your back – I personally didn’t feel the need to use them}, a small desktop charger, a charging cable and some cards with information about the company and an explanation about the application {for Androids and iPhones}.

Using Upright is very simple and comes with clear explanations with short videos on the application available after you sign up. In the app you have to fill in your personal information like, gender, age, weight and height, and according to that they build a 21 day personal training plan. Within a few minutes you’ll understand how everything work and you’ll be able to start your first session.

The first training session is very short – a total of 5 minutes sitting straight. Sounds easy, right? You’ll be surprised to hear that after this session I realized how bad my situation was! Who would have thought it would be so hard to sit up straight for 5 minutes in a row? I suddenly started feeling all of my core and back muscles in action!

After the first two sessions, the training became less difficult and I really noticed a positive change in my muscles.

The app shows you graphs of the anticipated training program {length of sessions increases gradually until the last training sessions which last a full hour} and the time left to complete each session.

The company recommends doing the short training session during the first days {5-10 minutes}, but in more advanced stages, you can continue training beyond the daily recommended time by pressing on the “over time” button, as long as you don’t feel like you’re straining your back or causing pain.

Currently, you can train with the Upright device only when seated, but the developers say that the proper posture translates to walking and standing, too. I really feel a difference in my posture – I stand and sit with my back straight, even when the device isn’t on me.

I felt the change in my muscles and awareness during the first days and this feeling strengthened a lot after two weeks of training. I’m not saying that miraculously my back straightened out like a soldier in the British royal family, but the change was noticeable and I really believe that if I make sure to train one day once a week, as recommended by the company, I’ll manage to keep this great habit over time.

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