Fix Yo Shit! (Correct your Posture)
Nah, it's a fallacy.
Our bodies are made to be worked. We carry our stressors literally on and in our body. Stress binds muscle fibers, distorts fascia, inflames organs, alters breathing patterns and directs mood pretty quickly.
All of this is absolutely normal. Don't be afraid of discomfort, just pay attention to it. You may not realise it, but the body is very good at communicating its needs.
But I must say, if your body is so distorted it is causing constant daily pain and dysfunction then you had better "fix yo shit"
Every single person that gets assessed on my plumb line during a physical assessment seems to self diagnose poor posture. How do people judge this?:
I'm getting a dowager's hump, I have rounded shoulders, I stoop, my bum has disappeared, my knees knock together, my feet are flat, someone told me I have a sway back.
I have heard it all.
So what is Good Posture?
A state of muscular and skeletal balance, which protects the supporting structures of the body against injury or progressive deformity. The posture where the human muscles function most efficiently.
There are obviously many reasons why we have poor posture, especially now more than any other time in history.
We sit too much, we don't move/exercise enough, but the issue I really like studying is the
"Do what you are made for" concept.
Why the hell are we bipedal? (on two legs). 250 species of primate happen to be more comfortable getting around on all fours. We now for a multitude of possible reasons are designed to be upright on two legs. No need to be up trees, have the ability to carry babies and travel, throw objects, trek long distances with more efficiency?
We exist in constant defiance of gravity. Being constantly "tippy", we are always unconsciously adjusting balance.
We have supple backs, ingeniously angles thigh bones, precision feet with spring like arches, super mobile shoulders, massive hip sockets, hands with opposable thumbs, hundreds of amazing muscles, joints and a huge brain (usually). There surely is a reason for our design and function?
Do you really think this amazing design is made for sitting 8 hours a day, wearing designer shoes, living on packaged food and then expecting therapists to fix your ongoing pains?
The fact is, we have a responsibility to use this very sophisticated machine. There is already a big trade off between the amazing amount of mobility we are born with to drive available mechanics to survive as our ancestors would have done on a daily basis and the potential risk for damage and early deterioration.
I always talk about the pains and stiffness you experience being like spot welds to protect an area of misuse, weakness, or major imbalance. So now the body has found a temporary way to keep you alive and functioning at some simple level. Stiffen the Achilles tendon because you don't squat well enough, tighten the hamstrings to protect a poor bend pattern, lock up spinal joints to shut down rotation forces on the disks (you have not thrown a spear at an animal in a long, long time), freeze the shoulder to protect the most mobile joint in the human body, and lock up the neck to protect the spinal cord (you have side mirrors now and no need to check the environment)
So how do we get out of this mess?
Just go to the gym and jump on the treadmill, add a few machines and finish with a plank??
Hell no!
The reason why I ditched fitness classes at my gym was because people do not require huffy puffy fitness over posture, mobility and real life strength.
Our classes and teaching prioritize a system that correctly restores structural balance before high end movement.
Flexibility, stability, strength, then power.
I use the word MOBILITY a lot because it summates flexibility, stability and strength together.
BECOMING "LONG AND STRONG" IS THE NEW FUNCTIONAL!
Certain muscles react to postural dysfunction by tightening and becoming overactive, others react by lengthening and weakening. This must be restored first.
This is why getting assessed by a professional is crucial to the success plan.
You will get a personal stretching, mobilising, activating warmup routines. How different this can look from one person to the next is astounding. Why are we so different from person to person? It is almost like we have sub-species amongst us.
It makes sense when you consider physical roles of men vs women, people from hot climates vs cold climates, people that hunted vs those that foraged. We have adapted and evolved to meet the demands of our environment. We need variant muscle fiber types, energy systems, sizes and shapes.
What and where are you made for?
I have had dancers that I have had to stop stretching because they were so flexible and unstable and builders that are seemingly tight all over requiring a full time mobility/ stretching routine.
As a health note; when your posture starts to improve you can expect to feel benefits in all kinds of bodily areas:
- Less joint aches
- Better organ function
- Better circulation
- better mental outlook
Remember: Everything is connected
'No less than two hours a day should be devoted to exercise and the weather should be little regarded. If the body be feeble, the mind will not be strong'
Thomas Jefferson
So how are you going to make up your two hours per day?
This is where I can help.
Creating a week of workouts is fun. It can be 10 minute workouts, 60 minutes, on/ off days, walking days, sport/ recreation days and a great list of corrective/ prophylactic exercises.
Strength routines that tick off the primal movement patterns:
(Illustration from Paul Chek's book: Movement that matters)
- Squat, lunge push, pull, bend and twist.
Plus Gait patterns that give you your 5-10,000 steps:
- Walking, jogging, running, sprinting
A mobility routine (fix yo shit list):
- Posture exercises that involve joint stabilisers, deep abdominals, spinal musculature
- A 5-10 minute daily mobility fix it list eg/ Hip 90/90, spinal mobilising and decompression, yoga and hanging from a bar.
What does a weekly routine need equipment wise in a modern day world to mimic what we would have experienced in a past generations?
I like a good mix of equipment:
Cables, swiss balls, dumbbells, bars, gymnastics rings.
Mimicking a functional environment needs to involve unstable and stable apparatus, multiple implements, varied time under tension, various speeds and a good mix of loads.
So what is the big takeaway?
When you decide to move with more respect for our amazing bodies,
When you get great advice for a great weekly personalised movement routine,
When you finally fix yo shit,
When you realise it's not about perfection, but the pain Doctor will let you know what you need,
Good Posture will show you the gateway to a life of fun & freedom
Health Coach
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