Since my last post it seems everywhere I turn something is coming up about posture. Great, I have terrible posture and always have. It has improved over the last year or so doing Crossfit which has helped improve my core strength and posterior muscles in legs and back. So last week I go to a running class just to check it out see what they have to say about improving running. The whole class is centered around posture. Since then it seems that everything I have read has something to do with posture so I take the hint and I am going to try and improve this and see what happens. I can already say that I have noticed a few things , but I will get to that in a minute.
Why is posture important? It helps prevent injury, it improves breathing, and it is more efficient. Injury is the number one reason people end up backing off or quitting exercise, but with the right posture it can be prevented. In running, walking or even during certain exercises the vertical alignment of neck, spine, hips and ankles is critical. If someone where standing beside you looking at your profile they should be able to see alignment of the shoulder, hip/pelvis, and ankles. If you are like me... this was not the case. Because my hips were in front of my ankles and shoulders, my weight or the impact of running is on the knees... hence injury in the making. I have to work on shifting my pelvis and hips top get them in alignment with ankle and shoulders. The head position is critical too.... especially in running. The key is to hold the head up... chin up so that the spine is vertical and not curved. When we are vertically aligned during running, the pressure of our body weight shifts from our knees and feet to the hips. Our hips are designed to carry the load of our body weight. Just by tilting my pelvis back in I noticed a certain amount of lightness... a shifting of my weight... interesting.
The other impact of this posture thing is breathing. When we are in alignment , it allows the diaphragm to move ( expand and contract) the way it is suppose to. When we are hunched over or the pelvis is moved forward the spine is not straight. If the spine is not straight, then the diaphragm is not able to work properly which impacts our breathing. Think about someone that is running and they are hunched over from fatigue. What does their breathing sound like? It is labored.. short desperate gasps. We make it harder on ourselves by not allowing the body to work the way it is suppose to.
So the ultimate impact on running and even exercise is efficiency. We are able to work longer utilizing less energy when the body is not under stress form poor posture and poor breathing which means better running. This does not happen over night. You have to be conscious of posture and work on changing it especially if you have established bad habits like me. The whole time I am running now I am trying to think about my posture. I have to get back in alignment until it becomes a natural state of being. One of the main things that I have noticed especially on long runs is that my upper back and shoulders aren't getting tired anymore. The strain of leaning/hunching over has created pain in this area for years and now with just a change in posture it is gone... It must work... I'm just saying....
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