Ladies and gentlemen,
As this wonderful politically correct illustration demonstrates, poor posture makes women (and men…shudder) look short and fat in their leotards.
And who wants that.
Not me.
before
after
Okay, I still look like Shrek, but did you see those buns O’ steel.
Why does Poor Posture make You look Fat?
Two of the most common postural flaws are:
- Anterior Pelvic Tilt
Which leads to Lordosis
Anterior Pelvic tilt & Lordosis manifests themselves as a protruding Gut and Butt.
- Kyphosis
Kyphosis and a ‘forward head’ position makes you look hunched over and appear shorter.
When you put the two together, you end up with the typical North American slouched posture.
Along with the whole looking fat and short thing, you are likely to suffer from headaches, neck pain, bicep tendinitis, dry mouth, pain under the shoulder blades, mid back pain, lower back pain, lateral knee pain, torn knee ligaments, hamstring tears, plantar fasciitis and sciatica.
Yay!
This is what you should look like.
Here is a postural analysis video that should provide additional detail.
So What Do I Do About It?
The short answer is that you need to stretch some muscles:
- Psoas
- Iliacus
- Rectus Femoris
- Tensor Fascia Latae
- Spinal Erectors (special care here)
- Pectoralis Major
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Teres Major
- Anterior Deltoid
- Subscapularis
- Upper Trapezius
- Levator Scapulae
- Suboccipitals
- Sternocleidomastoid
and strengthen other muscles:
- Rectus Abdominis
- External Obliques
- Glutes
- Hamstrings
- Mid/Lower Trapezius
- Rhomboids
- Pectoralis Minor
The long answer I will provide in a future post.
My Upper Trapezius and Levator Scapulae are getting tight sitting here at my desk hunting and pecking out this post.
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Thanks.
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well I’ll be damned.
welcome to the wonderful world of posture!
that was an interesting post…and lots of food for thought. there’s more to “stand up straight” then i originally thought.
I have been having back pain for years. 37 and a runner about 15 miles a week. i sit at a desk during the day. thought it was the running maybe it is the sitting. this article makes a lot of sense about the tilt of the pelvis. helpful stuff. thanks.