Author: Jonathan Wong, Singapore Personal Trainer And Fitness Expert
Posture: Tall, Thin, Double Chin
There is ALOT to know about posture and alignment of the human body. If you read books like "Anatomy Trains" by Thomas Myers, "The Diagnosis And Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndrome" by Shirley Sahrman, or "Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System" by Donald A. Neumann, there are thousands of things to consider when looking at a persons posture or patterns of movement.
Posture is critical because posture determines how we function (because its the starting point of movement) and incorrect function leads to what's called dysfunction, that may not mean we need surgery but it does mean we might have chronic pain and inefficient movement.
But as in all things, nobody cares if I have read 2000 pages about posture, movement and function. Its how my clients and readers can benefit that matters most. So for regular standing posture I have broken it down into 3 VERY simple coaching cues which also RHYME how cool is that!
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Tall - Make yourself as "tall" as possible. You know like in your school days when you were made to check your height each year? Yup Just like that, we all made ourselves as "tall" as possible. This cue opens up the chest, gets rid of slouching, rotates your upper arms externally (as opposed to internally when we are driving, typing, reading etc), points our chest forward and get our head up and straight.
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Thin - Make yourself as "thin" as possible. Imagine you are buttoning the worlds tightest pants. You suck your belly button in to make your tummy as small as possible. This activates the deep muscles of the abdominals that keep your hip and spine alignment good. It prevents lower back problems and helps keep your pelvis level so that all the muscles around your hips can work in the most efficient way.
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Double Chin - I would say that the majority of people have rounded upper backs and a forward head position. That means that when they enter a room, their head enters before their chest. No matter your gender or pectoral development, you chest should enter a room before your head. To help fix this, make yourself a "double chin". This will be HARD for those of you who have been having the forward head position for a long time but work at it.
In future articles we will look at corrective exercise strategies that can help you fix postural problems.
Written For www.CoachJon.com Singapore Personal Trainer & Fitness Expert
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