We are all a little crooked, our posture that is. A snapshot of your postural alignment contains a lot of important information needed to customize a fitness training program that will keep you free of injuries and guarantee success. Here are 7 reasons why you should consider having a posture assessment before you start or continue your fitness program.
THE WILD WEST
The gym can be a wild place. I constantly see people performing exercises in the gym that are unsafe for them because their postural alignment needs restoration. I see people with terrible posture repeatedly performing the very exercises that will actually perpetuate their poor posture. I see people sidelined with workout injuries because they were performing movements their body was not prepared for. I see people over-exercising parts of their body that really need to be balanced. When we know how our joints are functioning we can program our fitness to restore poor posture and to optimize how we look and feel.
EVERY BODY IS UNIQUE
Your dream body and or your performance goals won’t be easy to achieve if you are sidelined with a workout injury, or if your program isn’t balanced. Your body will respond best to a training program that is customized specifically for it. This means we need to address your individual curves and rotations. We need to look at muscles that are overperforming and underperforming. It is important to know which joints are not aligned ideally.
These 7 reasons explain why a posture assessment will make your fitness program smarter.
- YOUR JOB IS BEATING YOU UP
Knowing what your body is exposed to every day in your job is important when designing a smart fitness program. Repetitive physical movements at your work may be destroying your posture. This could be large or small movements that you do frequently, or for extended periods of time. For example, if you spend a lot of time bending over (flexing your spine), you will want to include movements in your workout that involve the opposite movement (extend the spine). Your smart fitness program will incorporate balancing exercises to counter what you do all day long.
2.YOU ARE CROOKED
You might have muscle imbalances, where one muscle is excessively short and tight, while others may be weak and lengthened. Your job or hobby may include movements that are performed on only one side of the body or only in one direction. For example, swinging a tennis racket or golf club involves repeatedly rotating in the same direction. Using a mouse and answering a phone in an office setting are generally performed regularly on only one side of the body. Your posture assessment will reveal your asymmetries and your strength program must take these into consideration and include balancing exercises to correct them.
SEIZED UP?
Static positions held for long periods of time such a hunching at a desk, sitting, or standing on a hard surface can cause muscles to become overstretched and weak, or shortened and tight. Your posture assessment will reveal which joints are in a permanent state of being seized up. The appropriate prescription of strengthening or stretching is required for each muscle involved.
OLD INJURIES
Identifying old injuries is an important part of smart fitness programing. An old injury may be a source of weakness that has gradually produced a muscular imbalance. For example, a knee injury may have caused you to favor the uninjured side for several weeks causing the hip muscles on that side to become slightly stronger. This in turn can lead to a muscle imbalance and possibly a slightly rotated pelvis which can interfere with your ability to correctly and comfortably perform exercises such as lunges and squats. A posture assessment will identify any rotations and restrictions that will slow down your progress.
PAIN FREE WORKOUTS
Do some exercises cause pinching sensations or mystery joint pain? Some exercises are not as safe when you have certain alignment issues. For example, if you have rounded shoulders and head forward posture (anterior head carriage), it is not advisable to perform overhead pressing movements such as a shoulder press where shoulder impingement may occur. Make sure your program restores alignment before you load up the weights.
VANITY RULES
Most people have a tendency to train the muscles they can see or their ‘trouble’ spots. In addition, they neglect the places they can’t see. This means they spend a disproportionate amount of time on exercises to flatten their stomach, tighten the glutes, or for men, to build a bigger chest. In reality, the very exercises people spend so much time on are likely perpetuating poor posture by developing muscles that pull them out of alignment. Checking out how your joints line up with a posture assessment will ensure you add in the right movements to balance your neglected areas.
MOTIVATION
Poor alignment makes us look sloppy, and most of us are grossly unaware of how out of alignment we are. Seeing a photo of yourself is a powerful wake-up call and motivator. A digital photo posture will reveal just how far your head is drawn forward, how hunched your shoulders are, how high one shoulder is over the other. You’ll be motivated to get to work on those things with an intelligent plan.
GET ASSESSED
The good news is that a posture assessment is both simple and quick. A specialty-trained personal trainer can assess your posture using a plumb line, grid, and digital camera. They will identify any issues with your alignment that might affect your fitness success. A referral to a chiropractor or for X-rays can be included as part of a more comprehensive analysis or when a basic analysis identifies more serious alignment issues.
Stay pain free, love your workouts and get your best body ever!
-Shari
TalkBack Questions
Do you experience pinching sensations or mystery joint pain during certain exercises? Which ones?
Have you had a posture analysis? What did you learn about your posture?
I started pumping iron and drinking green smoothies in my teens. Now a 40+ mama with 25 years of experience working in the fitness industry, I do things differently. What I discovered during my personal healing journey made me pivot in my approach as a personal fitness and wellness coach. Now I teach people how to sweat, nourish and glow from an entirely new perspective.