How Can Good Posture Benefit My Fitness Training?

Want to be taller, slimmer, stronger or just have more energy? Perhaps your posture is holding you back. Poor posture is an all too common sight. Aesthetics aside, this bad habit can cause pain, discomfort and disability, especially if you don't bother to correct it when you exercise. Read on to see how well you hold yourself.

What is posture? Posture is described as "the position and alignment of body parts as to best deal with the stresses of living, such as walking, sitting and moving about". The arrangement of the body in such a specific manner is also desirable for overcoming gravity and functioning efficiently. Bad posture is a bad habit, but exercising with bad posture is plain lazy.

Movement, which once occupied large portions of the day, is now squeezed in if and when we have time. The continuous introduction of labor-saving devices and conveniences that cut time and effort all contribute to our transition from a once active, to inactive species. As the body was designed to move, these changes have caused imbalances, and postural problems, that affect our lives. As our posture becomes worse, and we continue to neglect correcting it, we only make matters worse; add exercise and it becomes dangerous.

When we exercise, extra stresses are placed on the body, making it doubly important to keep our body in the best position to deal with those forces. Identified the common postural faults and recognizing how to fix them before you hit the gym is crucial.

Common postural faults include rounded shoulders and weak gluteus. Rounded shoulders are brought about by constant and repetitive activities, which place the body in a slouched position. In any one day, how much time do you spend in front of a computer or hunched over a desk, reading, driving or leaning over the kitchen counter? These actions make the chest and anterior thigh muscles short and tight and our back muscles weak and loose. As muscles of the body are connected, if one is tight and short, then somewhere in the body, another muscle is weak and long.

Many of us are guilty of over-working our 'mirror muscles' which only exaggerate these problems. Mirror muscles are the ones we can see when we look into the mirror, abdominals, chest, shoulders. Does your workout include chest pressing, copious amounts of sit-ups and bicep curls? We then to neglect the ones we can't see. Do back extensions, seated rows, and triceps kickbacks feature in your routine?

What you can do to correct your posture. For starters, posture needs to become an essential part of your workout. Stretching the muscles that are tight, and strengthening the weak ones is essential for tackling imbalances. Stretch the chest and hip flexors, and strengthening the upper back and butt. As many of us are one hand dominant, we tend to have differences in the strength and ability on opposing sides of the body. Use dumbbells so each side has to lift an equal weight on its own. Single leg presses and squats, unilateral exercises (working one side of the body at a time) are also extremely beneficial for strengthening the weaker side.

Prepare your self before your start. Take the time, just a few seconds, to set up correctly before each and every exercise. Work from the bottom up. Think, feet first, with your weight evenly distributed across both feet. Have your feet positioned slightly wider than shoulder width, facing forwards or slightly turned out.

Attaining 'neutral spine' is essential. There are four natural curves in the spine, when standing, sitting or lying. The curve in the lower back (lumbar curve) should always be maintained. Try sliding your hand under this curve when lying on a bench or the floor. If it fits, that is a rough guide that the spine is in neutral positioning and you're ready to go.

Creating a block or bracing yourself prior to exertion ensures your core is activated. It only takes the following three simple steps. Learn, practice and perform all three before you lift anything.

1. Stand tall, inhale and expand the chest

2. Contract your abdominals - this can be easily done by coughing, and maintain the pressure in the abdomen as your perform the exercise

3. Slightly arch the lower back and extend the spinal column shoulder blades should always be retracted, pushing the chest up and out. Try and imagine a one hundred dollar note placed between your shoulder blades; your goal is to keep it there.

How can good posture benefit my training? The scope of improvements that you can expect from correcting your posture in the gym is enormous. In relation to exercise performance and outcomes, expect greater strength, more power and longer endurance. Muscles only generate maximal force if they begin in their correct position and can operate through a full range of motion. Try raising your arms above the head, with your shoulders slumped, and then repeat this action standing tall, see and feel the difference?

For those of us who are runners, making a point of standing tall as you run, allows the rib cage and lungs to fully expand. By standing tall, you allow more oxygen to your lungs and can run faster, for longer. This can be applied to all forms of cardio exercise.

As for injuries, bad posture can predispose you to muscle strains and tears as joints and their surrounding muscles are pulled out of alignment, or stressed incorrectly. In the longer term, wear and tear of the joints is common. This won't affect you immediately, but the longer you exercise with poor posture, the more uneven forces you place on the joint, and the more risk you run of wearing them out.

Most importantly, holding yourself with correct posture is more energy efficient, if you're wasting energy just trying to hold yourself in the wrong position, you can't be giving training your best shot.