I love to people watch. I mean who doesn’t? The other day I got lassoed into going to the mall with my beautiful wife and kids and while my wife and daughter were in the women’s only underwear store (which is kind of weird, guys don’t have a guys only underwear store??? But if we did it sure wouldn’t be called Victor’s Secret). Anyway while sitting outside Victoria’s place I had a chance to observe mall life. We’re talking all kinds of shapes, sizes, styles and ways of life a true slice of red, white and blue Americana. I don’t think it takes a fitness professional to notice the poor fitness level of todays Americans. (As a little side note: congratulations we are no longer the fattest nation on the planet. The Land Down Under, Australia, is now officially the fattest nation ever. So I guess we can relax a little…ya right, second place isn’t that cool either.) Anyway, aside from the spare tires and muffin tops I witnessed I was blown away with the severity of poor posture. From the elderly to the young poor posture knew no limits. Our relatively sedentary lifestyle does a number on our spine. For the most part we do a lot of sitting, even if we are recreational athletes and workout religiously we still sit a lot more than our ancestors. From the moment we get up we sit down to eat breakfast, then sit in our car as we drive to work, at work we sit at our desk, then off to lunch where we sit, drive home sitting in our car and when we finally get home instead of working on getting our recommended 10,000 suggested steps in a day we sit down on the couch and watch Dancing with Stars. This seated position leads to rounded shoulders and a forward head. Poor posture leads to shortened muscles which leads to inflexibility and loss of strength, performance decreases and the likelyhood of injury increases. Not to mention neck, shoulder and back pain.
Look familiar?
So how do we ameliorate this condition? Simple, sit and stand with good posture. But, what is good posture? Here is a simple technique you can use to find this elusive position. In this video I’m working with a group of motivated rock climbers from the Momentum Indoor Climbing Gym. I usually recommend performing this “posture check” throughout the day to remind yourself what correct posture is. Once you become aware of correct posture and what it feels like, incorporate it into daily tasks. For example, practice sitting in your car at stop lights with perfect posture. When standing in line at the store or bank stand with good posture. Whenever you receive a phone call from your spouse, practice healthy posture during the conversation. My point is to find daily tasks that act as triggers to remind you to check your posture.
Careful, by correcting your posture your body will feel more alive. Things will just work better. Call it your Chi or just your inner energy, but your musculoskeletal system will function better. Which is one of the reasons I’m a posture nazi in the gym. Incorporating correct posture while exercising is one of the fastest ways to correct your posture.
Stay Fit
Mat “the trainer”
PS- Please comment on good posture and how it’s helped you feel more alive.
PPS- Pass this post on to anyone looking to improve their health, energy and physique.
PPPS- Word of the Day: ameliorate (uh-meel-yuh-reyt) verb. to make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory; improve.
Mat Gover BS, CSCS and Pam Gover CPT are Orem fitness boot camp instructors, personal trainers, and real world fat loss experts. They also own EXL Fitness & Performance, a personal and group training studio. To book Mat to speak at your Utah Valley company, club, or organization please contact him by email at matgover@mac.com or by phone at (801) 836.7185. For a free one-week trial to his Orem boot camp to experience the best personal training in Utah Valley please call Mat or drop by the gym (1623 N State St, Orem right next to Costa Vida).
Here is a full body, metabolism boosting boot camp workout with exercises I consider to be fundamental movement patterns. Most other exercises are some variation of these basic exercises. The advantage here is that it can be done virtually everywhere. The only piece of equipment required is the best piece of equipment you will ever own…your body. If you’re on the road traveling and don’t want to miss your workout or you can’t get away from the house to go to the gym. This 20 minute workout will really rock your world.
