Do you have perfect posture?
The Perfect Posture?
Improving posture of the most sought after “goals” that we come across, but actually defining “perfect posture” is not as straightforward as we think.
The classic definition that comes to mind is your parents/grandparents getting stuck into you about “pulling your shoulders back and sitting upright at the dinner table” (bloody hypocrites).
After working with thousands of bodies and constantly being challenged by the complexities of the subjective nature of human movement whilst chasing the most suitable answer, this is our definition.
Ideal posture is possessing the ability to put your body in whatever shape necessary to perform the desired movement at maximum efficiency.
So yes, it is broad and complex and not as simple as “shoulders back and chin up”.
To help you understand what we are getting at, here are a few examples:
When squatting, your spine should be able to extend and hold the extended position to ensure the load is transferred into the big joints of your knees and pelvis so the big muscles can generate the required force.
When tying your shoelace you should be able to bend over and round your spine and perform the fine motor skills without any worry.
When cleaning your room and reaching under your bed to grab the stray socks, you should be able to twist, roll bend or extend your spine to get your hands on whatever it is you’re after.
When carrying a bag upstairs, your abdominals and obliques do the right thing to keep yourself squared and centered, not hunched over to the one side.
Where most people fall short is that they spend a long time in one posture (sitting in a chair) and then think they can simply hop up and perform movements that require a load of complex body organisation skill - social sport players are a classic.
Think of it like this, randomly hopping up and thinking you can play a game of social sport, start getting into your running again or flog yourself senseless in a HIIT Circuit class is the same as hopping up to play “Wonderwall” in front of 50 of your colleagues and friends and you’ve never played guitar.
There is a good chance you’d probably go for a bunch of guitar and singing lessons before you have to do that, well learning to move your body properly and safely before you try and lose weight and get fit is just the same.
How do we propose to do this?
Stop thinking about training as just training, rather consider it as learning.
You have one body and one life, if you want to make the most of it, make sure you understand it. Seek out an expert in movement - exercise physiologists, exercise scientists, experienced and skilled personal trainers are all a great place to start.
Don’t wait for the system to break before you fix it.
Prevent it from breaking and save yourself a lot of time, money and pain.
Future you will thank yourself.
#teamSOF
