Make Your Perfomance Increase with Proper Posture

Do you think you are fit?  If so, have you checked your posture lately?  I have seen plenty of people at the gym who appear to be in good shape, but when it comes to their posture they do not get a passing grade. 

Posture is one of the most under rated components of good health.  Most people think in order to be healthy you need to eat right, exercise, sleep, and avoid harmful substances.  Posture is not on that lists!  Too be truly fit and healthy, posture needs to be viewed just as important as eating healthy and exercising.

To give you an idea of why posture is so important, let me lists a few negative effects of bad posture:

-Slouching may turn you into a grouch, cause more stress
-low energy and depression
-bad appearance to others
-effects the way your muscles work and causes them to be inefficient using extra energy for improper movements
-increases chances of injury
-increases risks of diseases leading to death in worst cases
-Cuts off circulation and increases tightness in muscles and joints
-effects bowels negatively

To be fair, our society is not necessarily catered to proper posture.  Think about it; we sit and watch TV, we sit to drive our vehicles, we sit at work and school.  Technology has taken over and everything we do is on some gadget which in most cases cause bad posture, not to knock technology because plenty of good comes from it.  These are a few of the common daily activities most of us deal with. 

Some other factors that result in bad posture:

-accidents, injuries
-poor mattress
-overweight
-muscle imbalances and compensation
-foot problems, bad shoes
-negative self image
-occupational set up
-improper exercise form and technique

So as you can see, having good posture is something you need to consciously think about in order to develop good posture.  We can do it! It takes hard work just like eating right and exercising, but you can change your posture just as you can lose weight.

Lets get away from the downer aspects of posture and go over the benefits of good posture, which should hopefully be pretty obvious,  motivating, and dealing with none of the stuff above. hahaha

So now the benefits of good posture:

-Decreases stress
-enables breathing properly
-good appearance to others
-prevents back ache and muscle pain
-muscles are used more efficiently
-better performance in exercise and daily movements
-prevents the spine from setting in abnormal positions
-decrease of injury and diseases
-good alignment, muscles move properly
-better circulation
-decreases stress on ligaments and tendons
-better digestion
-longevity in active lifestyle

So that's a pretty good lists of reasons to focus on your posture. 

What are some things you can do to help improve your posture?

-Keep your weight down - excess weight, especially around the middle, pulls on the back, weakening stomach muscles.
-Develop a regular program of exercise - regular exercise keeps you flexible and helps tone your muscles to support proper posture.
-Buy good bedding - a firm mattress will support the spine and help maintain the same shape as a person with good upright posture.
-Pay attention to injuries from bumps, falls and jars - injuries in youth may cause growth abnormalities or postural adaptations to the injury or pain that can show up later in life.
-Have your eyes examined - a vision problem can affect the way you carry yourself as well as cause eyestrain.
-Be conscious of where you work - is your chair high enough to fit your desk? Do you need a footrest to keep pressure off your legs?
-Straighten Up and Stay Healthy!

So take away message:  if you want to be truly fit and healthy, you NEED to have GOOD posture!!

Here is a good video to show you how to get good good posture.

Please share feedback if you have any or ask questions at trainwithshawnw@gmail.com