Posture is a dynamic controlling quality. Optimum alignment of each segment of the kinetic chain is a cornerstone to any integrated training program. If one component of the kinetic chain is out of alignment, other components must compensate. This decreases neuromuscular efficiency and increases the chance of injury. Poor posture during training and activities of daily living such as sitting, standing, sleeping, and driving leads to muscle imbalances, joint dysfunction, and faulty movement patterns. The ability to move freely through your day with optimal mobility is affected by the condition of your posture. If you develop a flexibility and strength imbalance in any of the muscles supporting your posture you will see signs of your shoulders rounding, your neck protruding, or your feet turning out. This might seem to be normal to you, however, there lies a deeper story. Your body is telling you something very important. What seems as normal are actually postural distortions that over time will restrict your mobility, reduce flexibility in your joints, and lead to acute pain, chronic pain, and even injury. We have jobs where we sit at a desk bending over working on a computer, or have chairs that make us sit on our tail bone instead of upright. We have cars in which we spend hours driving back and forth to work where we have to use our right foot in a pronated position all the time. The constant sitting with our shoulders rounded forward makes our chest muscles shorter and tighter, and the muscles in our back are over stretched and they become weaker. This is a flexibility imbalance and also a strength imbalance between two muscle groups that work together to support your posture. This imbalance should be corrected first in any fitness program, but we all know that it doesn't happen. Training someone with this condition will create a higher risk for injury in a client's shoulder, neck, upper and lower back. These conditions will also occur while you are working out by yourself or with a trainer if you are not applying good posture. It is imperative that a health and fitness professional emphasizes proper alignment of the clients' entire kinetic chain during exercise. If a client is allowed to exercise without proper postural alignment, the client may develop muscle imbalances and joint dysfunction that lead to injury.
In our initial assessment our first goal is to assess your posture. We observe your posture as the first phase of our assessment program and then we design our program from the information that we have gathered. There is a difference in how we approach our programs: we recognize that you cannot reach optimal levels of fitness without having correct posture. All of our programs are designed to achieve correct posture first.
AFC writes articles to inform through simplicity and to motivate you to action. You can follow our tips on rebuilding your posture or order our video. If you live in Santa Monica or the Los Angeles area we can help you in our private studio in Santa Monica. Contact us.
