My mother had always told me to, “stand up straight, don’t slouch” and with being a dancer, it wasn’t acceptable to have a hunchback.
Well, it just so happens- there’s a reason for that.
Having good posture means that your muscles are in balance and your body is symmetrical. If you have a deviation, it makes it more difficult for the muscles in your body to hold the needed position (usually, due to lack of strength).
Posture is super important for your performance and well being! Most people will just look the other way when it comes to someone telling them to straighten up. If you’ve been ignoring those who tell you that, this is especially for you…listen to the facts right here, right now.
Good posture is very important to your health. Posture is what keeps your organs in place and allows them to properly function effectively and efficiently! Take a look at this example: if you have a rounded upper back or rounded shoulders you’re actually constricting your chest cage; therefore, making it more difficult for your lungs to completely fill with oxygen (as it should be able to). Being able to use your lungs to their full capacity is vital if you’re an athlete or performing fitness activities.
Among other things, your posture affects how you walk, run, jump, and lift weights.
Example time: let’s just say you have rounded shoulders… your arms may be slightly in front of your body instead of hanging alongside of your body and because of this, while you’re lifting weights, instead of your intention to lift your arms sideways directly overhead; you’re actually lifting your arms up and in front of the body. This action will end up changing the muscular movement and also the movement pathway (so what you think you’re working out, you’re not).
Another duty of lovely posture would be to prevent and rehabilitate back problems. With good posture, you’ll be able to strengthen and stretch the necessary muscles to prevent and rehabilitate injuries. In certain cases, fixing your posture could alleviate or cure the back problems you may be experiencing! Pulling your head back into the proper alignment is sufficient to produce the normal curvature of your vertebral column. With lifting your head and looking forward, you’ll be able to activate your lower back muscles to hold your spine in place and alleviate your problem as well.
The main key to having a well- aligned, balanced body is to proportionally develop muscles on one side of the joint along with the muscles on the opposite side. This will allow your muscles to keep your joints in the natural state and not allow any deviations to occur!
To those who work in an office setting or those who are seated throughout the day during long periods of time- this is for you!
Maintaining good posture isn’t something that should only be noticed during physical activity. It’s actually most commonly overlooked in day-to-day, routine, activities. Those who train regularly, often look at any problem they may get and blame it on the stress from their workouts- which may not always be the case, here’s why:
Everybody spends a fairly decent amount of their day sitting down, what you fail to realize is that it has a negative effect on your spine, which happens when you are in this position for an extended period of time.
While sitting, the pressures that are placed upon your vertebral disks are actually higher than when you’re laying down. Some experts actually suggest that your pressure when you’re seated is up to eleven times greater than when lying down…that’s tremendous!
….and you want to blame your back pain on standing….. HMMMPH!
Think of it this way- when you’re standing, your body weight is distributing itself over a wide variety of structures (muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints). When you sit down, your abdominal “corset” will relax and this is what causes a lot of your body weight to load on the disks.
Most of the time you’re not going to feel any pain when this happens; however, over time the constant, increased load placed upon your disks can result in a mess of problems. If you’re job is behind a desk, take some time in your day to stand…or walk around. Limit your time sitting down as much as you are able.
Some other ways you can reduce the amount of pressure on your spine are to:
- look into some fancy chairs with lumbar supports that can help maintain the normal sway of your spine
- use a chair with armrests
- sit in a reclined position (not fully reclined, I’m almost positive your boss wouldn’t like you laying down….LOL!)
- keep your knees opened when sitting (when your knees are close together it makes you more prone to slumping in your seat)
- have an adjustable chair (due to different sizes of each individual)
- arrange your desk so that your forearms will rest on your desk with your elbows at a 90 degree angle close to your sides.
Having good posture will make you feel good. There are so many benefits to maintaining a good posture. I understand that nobody is perfect, I have a problem myself with bad posture on occasion, but I am trying to be more aware of how I’m standing or sitting or even the amount of time I am sitting. With good posture comes ease of movement, good balance of muscle strength, proper positioning of the spine, flexibility, proper functioning of your organs and again…. you’re feelin’ good!
Posture should be a prime focus in your fitness activities and you also want to make sure you’re strengthening key muscles that hold you there! Because when you’ve got good posture you’re ready to perform!