A simple workout tip for better results

Hi there: I'm down here in Las Vegas at a fitness conference and have picked up a number of nuggets to be able to pass your way when I get back. One of them is a tip which will improve your workouts for almost everyone, immediately.

Last night after dinner I had a little free time so I went to look for some shoes. Yeah, I'm a shoe guy. Girls may love their purses. But I like shoes. No big deal.

Anyways as I was walking around the mall I noticed the number of people walking in front of me. And they all had something in common going on. In particular when walking in front of me I could see the palms of the their hands.



If he ever gets off the couch you'd see his palms as he walks away.

Why is this important? Or more importantly why does it matter with regarding your workouts?

Well you see proper posture is one of the most important factors related to a proper functioning core. Anything less than ideal posture and your core doesn't work as well as it should.

Now I've mentioned in the past how important core function is to performance and joint stability. But what about fat loss? Does the function of your core play a role in this? I believe it does and here's why.

***quick aside...think of someone who is really fit...what is their posture like?***

When our core is not operating optimally we will develop compensatory mechanisms to complete the movements we are trying to do. For example if I can't maintain core stability through the low back during a deadlift I will break down in my form in order to complete the rep. Now while I may not injure myself performing the lift I am putting additional stress on joints rather than allowing my legs and hips to handle the load.

What do you think this additional stress on the back does for the length and degree of my recovery time after this workout? It would obviously increase it, wouldn't it?

And what do you think happens to the amount of load and the volume of reps and sets I can handle when my core isn't firing properly? Obviously I would not be able to handle as much load and therefore would train less intensely.

So putting this all together we have poor posture which leads to less than ideal core activity, which results in poor technique during our lifts. This poor technique puts additional strain on tissue which results in delayed recovery times between workouts. And lastly, because our technique wasn't ideal and we compensated. Since we didn't train at our highest intensity that day we left something on the table.

So how does this all tie in with the story at the mall? Well if we can see the palms of the hands from behind we could infer that the chest is tight and pulling the shoulders and arms, forward and inwards. Similarly the scapular retractors are possibly weak allowing the shoulder blades to not be down and back. This poor posture will inhabit optimal core function and lead to the limitations described above.

Want to know how to fix this problem? Leave me at least 10 comments and I'll give you the answer.

Chris
okanaganpeakperformance.com 'always moving forward'