Dial Back the Aging Clock? Do it with Great Posture!
In my practice, everyone seems to have the same goals: Get into great shape, lose their belly fat, and feel their muscles get toned. As a gym owner, I see it every day. All our clients, especially over the age of 50 want to feel fitter and healthier, plus looking young and slimmer wouldn’t be so bad either now, would it?
Feature image of Dial Back the Aging Clock Do it with Great Posture!
Want to know a secret? Want to shave 10 years off without a single sit up? Focus on your posture! There is an epidemic of bad posture in our culture. Experts now say sitting is the new smoking because sedentary, “sitting lifestyles”, age us prematurely. Sitting and leaning over our devices changes the shape of our spines over time, ruining our posture, and creates an array of health issues. Not to mention, it makes us all look old prematurely.
What’s worse is I see it happening to younger people now too. Having my gym be right behind the Pacific Grove High school, I am stunned to see how kids are aging themselves prematurely, which I can tell by looking at their profiles. I can see if a teenager spends a lot of time at a computer, or on their phones, simply by the way their spines are taking shape.
Did any of you ever have your mom or grandma say, “stop making that face or it will stay that way?” Well, in many ways, they were right! When we hold our heads forward and/or down to study our computers, phones, tablets, books, documents, or drive in cars with our heads craned forward, our spines literally do grow and reshape that way over time, resulting in posture resembling that more of a person twice their age.
In short, our technology-based lifestyles are aging us faster and faster.
So, what can be done? How can I focus on correcting my posture and look 10 years younger? The #1 thing to do is simply to be aware of such bad habits! Be aware of how you’re holding your head and neck. Hold your phone UP and get a good desk setup, preferably standing, to where you don’t have to bring your head down and/or forward to read the screen. The second thing to do is corrective exercise. Corrective exercise aims to undo the damage that our lifestyles have created and are often different than standard gym machines. Corrective exercises are specifically targeted to strengthen the muscles we need for good posture!
This is where a good personal trainer comes in. Hiring a qualified personal trainer is the ticket to getting the help you need, to instruct you on which exercises you need, plus teach the proper form/technique for each those exercises. Just as important too, a good trainer will show you which exercises many gym goers do that may make it worse!
Want to look and feel years younger by your next birthday? Call/Text us 831-236-6199 and let us help you get your BEST body!
