I have a little "exercise" for you the next time you get your sweat on. Before you start, go look in the mirror and see how your standing. What is your posture? Are you standing nice and tall with your shoulders pulled back, or are you a little slumped forward in either your shoulders or your neck?
Right about now, I can hear my 4th grade ballet teacher yelling (at least that's how it felt to me) at me for not standing tall. 😬 She had her work cut out for her trying to make me graceful 💃. But the combination of aging and texting/computer work has made me far more aware of myself and those around me who are a little "slouchy".
So what is good posture is and why does it matter so much?
Most of us don’t normally give much thought to our posture. It’s automatic – we rely on our muscles to take care of it for us. There are a lot of muscles that are involved in maintaining proper posture, and paying attention to them 24/7 would be overwhelming!
Think of your body like a mountain, with its base as your feet. 🏔 The mountain rises up tall through the front of your body – your shins, quadriceps, core, chest and shoulders – and then goes down your back, hips, hamstrings and calves. All of those muscles work together to hold your body in place, keep your balance, etc.
They even can affect your breathing! For example, if your shoulders are rounded forward and your chest muscles are tight, it can be hard to expand your lungs for a deep breath. That’s why it is super important to think about your posture when you exercise. After all, you are working to make your body STRONGER 💪🏻, and you want to make it stronger in an upright, aligned posture, right?
Back to that extra “exercise” I mentioned above.
The next time you pick up a set of weights, crank out a set of core exercises, go for a walk or jog, or do any kind of workout, take a good look at your posture. If you can’t do a quick posture check in a mirror, take a moment to at least think about it or even ask someone else what they see.
Are you standing tall with your core engaged? Are you practicing good body patterns: shoulders back, chest up, and legs strong? Or are you reinforcing patterns that you don’t love so much, with your shoulders rounded or your joints locked?
When you start training your body the way you want it to look, you’ll reinforce your mind-muscle connection and you’ll reap the benefits. Your posture will start to improve 24/7 (even outside the gym), your core will get stronger, fast – and there’s a good chance you’ll notice a boost in your confidence, too. Who doesn’t want that!?
If you aren’t sure about YOUR posture or you need some guidance, we’re here to help with an assessment or guidance on your workouts. It usually just takes a few muscle/balance corrections and a plan to get you standing tall! #standtall #goodposture #itdoesmatter