Back to Basics - core conditioning and posture

I've been thinking all day what to write about and have decided to put pen to paper based on experiences with my clients.

Attending strength training sessions is so important for your body and has so many positive benefits including (not limited to):

* improved mental health

* cardiovascular health - your heart is a muscle and you strengthen it just like any other muscle through exercise

* maintaining a healthy body composition 

* increasing bone density - the more muscle your body has to support, the stronger in turn, your skeleton needs to be to support the muscles

* core strength

* posture alignment 

This list is by no means exclusive and it is the last point I'd like to go into a bit further.

Our bodies are extremely adaptive and our posture and the way we hold ourselves are  influenced by how we live our lives.

This is so evident when you start looking at peoples different postures. We all no doubt hold some muscular imbalances through a multitude of reasons; a job whereby we sit at a desk all day, driving long distances, carrying heavy bags / children on one side  injury, genetics, height etc. The more and more we hold ourselves in one of these positions, the more our muscles become adapted to that posture and it therefore becomes the norm for us to hold our bodies in this way.

Muscles that aren't used as they are supposed can become weak, eventually leading us to hold our bodies in an abnormal way. This can lead to pain including back ache, neck ache...

Using my 6ft 3in self as an example. Over the years, I have found that I am regularly the tallest person in a social situation. Without knowing I am doing it, I find I regularly stoop to try to make myself that little bit smaller and to fit in more. Years and years of holding my body in this way has resulted in stooped shoulders.

Whilst not all postural imbalances can be fully corrected, many can be through training your body in a targeted approach. This is both with strengthening work (strengthening and tightening loose muscles) and flexibility training (stretching tight and overworked muscles).

Another example - sat hunched at a desk. Your hip flexors (those responsible for flexing your hip) become tight as they are being held in a seated position. Your hamstrings (back of leg) are weak and under worked as they are held in a shortened position for too long. All of this can lead to back ache and problems with hips.

Our bodies are designed to stand upright and this is evident when you examine the spinal muscles and see that there are large muscles that support our spinal cord but also a series of much smaller, deeper spinal muscles that suggest our spines should be kept in an upright neutral position in order to maintain correct alignment and optimum functioning performance.

This is what I would like to highlight to you. All of the work we are doing at Bootcamps and through PT sessions is brilliant and each and every one of you are really coming on in terms of technique and gaining the maximum benefit from performing an exercise, including working these deeper rooted spinal muscles. 

Our training together is just the start.

Its applying this learning throughout your daily lives where you will feel the maximum benefit.

When you are doing anything on a day to day basis - walking, getting up from a chair, sitting in a chair, sitting at a computer, holding your children, walking the dog, washing up, lifting a heavy load...apply what you are learning with me to maintain correct posture. Condition your body to perform in a strong and controlled manner in everything you do. Your body will thank you for it - headaches may go, back ache may ease, muscles will become balanced and stronger and will eventually hold your body in the alignment that it functions best at.

In short, continue with your strengthening work but please make sure you are applying what you are learning in your daily lives.

Well done all of you for another great week 👌 keep up the focus and do something every day to keep active and support the work we are doing together.