Here we go with an Ask Dave post about posture.
The question came up during one of the lunchtime sessions in my gym when one of the lads, Shane, popped the question out of the blue.
I promised to answer it, but he got busy training, I got busy coaching around the room and before we knew, we’d both forgot, he’d gone and I’m thinking, “bollocks, that would have been a fun question to answer”
So here it is in a video, because there would have been too many words to type.
Watch it, then scroll down as I’ve continued with a few more thoughts below:
So basically, “good posture” is nonsense.
ANY static position held for long enough becomes problematic, and any repetitive movement, if repeated often enough, with enough force, can also become problematic.
Forcing yourself into “good posture” will only create further problems down the road.
So what can you do?
The purpose of Anatomy in Motion is to help the body “find centre” This essentially means exploring the limits of movement in a very natural way so that the body recognises it’s own extremes. And until we know where the ends of something are, we can never find the middle.
If you’ve read my Hip Opening eBook, you’ll have seen some of the Anatomy in Motion style exercises. And if you’ve come in for an assessment, you’ll have experienced how the therapeutic application of Anatomy in Motion can allow a body to begin to heal itself.
Can you be more aggressive?
Sure you can.
You can “train” the weak / long muscles to pull tight. You can stretch the tight / short muscles to release. But these are often temporary fixes at best.
Best to use a reset like AiM to level the skeleton, or at least get it as close as possible, and then train on that new posture to dial it in.
You’re posture is your own. It is a reflection of your genetics and your training / activity history. Don’t try to change it unless you need to.
Aesthetics be damned.
Regards
Dave Hedges www.wg-fit.com