How’s your posture?
Did you shuffle in your chair or suck in your belly when you read that question? You’re not alone.
When I train people, I preach posture, posture, posture. To get the “posture” I want out of them, I like to call it getting tall.
“Get tall!!” I sweetly request.
Getting tall helps achieve a solid base and tight core. It’s a legitimate symbiotic relationship.
But, rightfully so, it’s important to explain exactly how to achieve this standard. It’s not fair to just bark “tighten your core!” or “squeeze your *scaps!” without an explanation of HOW to do it and even WHY to do it. (*Note: Scaps = scapulae = shoulder blades).
I like to chant & repeat to a cadence: “Squeeze your shoulder blades, chest up, belly button to spine, flex.” Bonus points if you keep your chin leveled too (that’s not part of the chant). This list is how I like to achieve tallness and capture the elusive “tight core.”
Squeeze your shoulder blades.
Chest up.
Belly button to spine.
Flex.
EASY LIFE-HACK: imagine a piece of string hanging from the indention between your collar bones and attached to your belly button. Now imagine pulling the slack out of the string from those two insertion points to make it nice and tight. Voila. Tall and tight.
This now-achieved posture and engaged core are beneficial to every movement in training: Deadlift, Bent-over rows (yes, you can “get tall” in a bent-over row), Curls, Tricep Extensions, Squats, Hang Cleans, Bench press (yes, bench press, too), etc.
This training standard carries over to the quotidian things in life too from waiting in line at the grocery store to just sitting in a chair (especially sitting in a chair). Plus, you’ll look super confident and wildly competent with nice posture.
Basically, NOTHING can’t NOT benefit from a solid core. (Did I just write a triple-negative?).
To conclude, our life needs a solid core by having a good natural posture. Period.
Enforcing a solid, steady posture, especially when under fatigue, literally and figuratively, will better protect and prepare us from injury — literally and figuratively.
Posture IS paramount. Is it not?
Stay tall, my friends.
Consider joining The Arena for posture-focused Workout Challenges.
