Article also featured on DC Alumni Sports.com
Happy New Year! I’m back with new ideas and ways to help my fellow warriors. I’ve mentioned balance and/or posture in some of our previous discussions on DCAS, but in ALL cases you can’t have one without the other. I figured this would be a good topic to examine because most of you may not even know how to attain postural stability.
What does good posture look and feel like?
If you were to take the most ideal posture in it’s purest form, you would see a direct line starting at the back of your ear and extending through the top of your shoulder down to the outside hip bone, knee joint and the outside ankle. Just like this picture from the American Physical Therapy Association.
Now, I have to add a disclaimer here by saying that NO ONE on this planet has good posture…not even me.
The importance of posture
- I’ve stated time and time again that static postures locked in for a duration longer than 30 minutes will cause muscle metamorphosis. This leads to muscle breakdown because, when you try to sit up, your muscles will have shortened. Worse, when you try to perform fitness activities, there is an increased risk of injury.
- POSTURE IS THE NUMBER 1 KILLER FOR ELDERLY. Ok I can’t state this as a fact. Really PNEUMONIA IS…I’m now going to tell you why posture and pneumonia are linked. Slouch over your keyboard and try to take a deep breath. What you should experience is that your lower abdominals are working but you are unable to take in a full breath to the top of your lungs. This evidences that, over a long period of time, the air at the top of your longs will stagnate. Stagnant air plus the moist hot air in your lungs proves to be the ideal breeding grounds for nasty bacteria. Oh Yes! The kind that can kill you. SO start now…quit the slouching.
What can you do?
Start at wellness revolution 101. I’ve got tons of exercises and stretches to start affecting some change in your life.
Secondly, be mindful of your feet placement . Consider the bottom of your feet as having three points: one at your heel and two points on the inside and outside of your balls of your feet. Try to evenly distribute your weight on this triangle with one-third of your weight spread evenly over each point. Most people have actually learned to stand on the balls of their feet, which forces their calves to work harder. A special note to the ladies: save your backs and your posture and donate your high heels to some poor sucker that thinks they look “cute.”
Many of us walk hunched over and basically fall forward to have our feet catch us. Moreover, most people initiate their gait pattern by throwing their momentum forward and walking on the balls of their feet, or by shuffling and landing flat on their feet. When you walk, remember, proper posture dictates striking your heel first and moving in a pattern towards your toes. The correct way is to transfer that energy length wise from the back of your foot to the front. This will, in turn, create a strong mechanical force to keep your posture aligned upright. IN essence, your legs will be helping your trunk “glide” through the environment versus “bull dozing” through it. Walking with correct form will strengthen and stretch the correct muscles naturally. There’s a reason experts have recommended 10,000 steps per day - equivalent to about 5-6 miles - of WALKING. I bet you didn’t know that.
Here’s a suggestion: try walking a briskly on the treadmill for 10 minutes focusing on extending your stride and striking with your heel first. You’ll feel most of your muscles loosen up and your posture improve immediately.
Bottom Line warriors!
- Work on your posture everyday. It’s really as easy as putting 15 minutes in daily. Try my daily programs that can be found here.
- Change that static computer posture and get up every 30 minutes at least.
- Walk with LONG STRIDES AND HEEL STRIKE.
- Ditch the bad footwear
I’m Back for a new year of education. Warrior Nation, keep showing me some love,
Justin Lin
Justin is a featured columnist for DCAS’ “Weekend Warrior,” a practicing physical therapist in the DC metro area and founder of Wellness Revolution 101. If you wish to learn more, please visit his site and read his biography.