Anatomy 101

February 21, 2016 – 

Have you ever noticed that when you see a photograph of the human body in a doctor’s office or a textbook that the position of the body is always the same? Well if you haven’t, then here’s a secret … it is standing tall and facing you, hands at sides with the palms forward, head centered and chin high. You could say almost militarized and at attention. Our bodies are originally determined by how the bones are formed by God and with a design to give you the best movement patterns possible. So we can move freely and with ease, like a baby. We’ve all seen it (and done it), a baby puts its foot in its mouth, crawls, and squats.

Recently in the public eye (you may or may not be aware) the new Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Lightweight Champion of the World, Connor McGreggor. One of his many claims for his success is his mobility and how freely he moves. Connor appears to be intrigued and amazed with animals and loves to study their movement and behavior. He practiced the moves of tigers, bears, and monkeys to understand how smooth yet powerful their movements are. By mimicking them his body took on an entirely new strength; posture, balance, and speed/power. These are considered the ideal movement patterns for anybody who wants to be agile and move well. We do it in yoga, downward dog and cobra pose for example.

Here at F.I.T. we offer an opportunity to have these movements assessed with the FMS screen. If you haven’t done and FMA then it is time. Call me today, it’s a free screening and indicates where your exercise program should begin.

Here is a small posture test for you try at home that will show you if your shoulders are in the right position for healthy posture to be possible. Stand up, relax, and now think about the palms of your hands. Are they facing the back or to your sides? If they are turned to the back, posture is poor. Try turning your thumbs outward; if your shoulders depress and retract while the ribs lift, posture is happening. If they do not, let’s talk. The wrong muscles may be doing the wrong work.

Everybody wants the quick fix and most of us spend too much time sitting down at a computer in a hip flexed, protracted shoulder, and rounded spine position to think about our posture. But once posture is lost the body is destined for problems. The Internet sells lies, sells braces and straps to help do the job but these are not going to work over the long term.

Posture is a muscle-based activity, maybe that should be a goal for 2016 … got posture?

Now I do not know if you plan on taking part in Mixed Martial Arts or any other sport, but if you do not move well now it is likely not going to fix itself. If the best athletes in the world are paying attention to movement and functional training … so should you.

In good health,

Bob

“I want to get old gracefully. I want to have good posture, I want to be healthy and be an example to my children.” – Sting