Hello friends, and welcome to the our second issue of The Athlete Spot™ Weekly.
This issue is sponsored by The Athlete Spot™. Online physical and mental performance coaching to improve your performance on and off the field.
The best confidence builder is experience.
What did you miss?
In our last issue I shared Sarah’s story with Foam rolling.
If you missed it, you can go back and read it later, here are the takeaways:
You are not breaking up adhesions (connective tissue in between muscle and skin)
You are not breaking up muscle knots.
You are not changing the tension of the muscles (directly)
You are stimulating a variety of neural receptors within the connective tissue
These receptors signal the brain to inhibit certain sensory and motor centers (but not always)
These receptors may alter body perception, and therefore reduce pain/discomfort
This response is a short-term change
Foam rolling might help you improve your performance on and off the field by improving your perception of your tissues, and giving you more confidence in your movement.
Want your own foam rolling routine? Leave us a comment below and we’ll get in touch with you!
Exercising Awareness for Better Posture
A few days ago my baby brother asked me what was the best exercise to improve his posture.
“Awareness.” I said.
He laughed, but I was dead serious.
We have grown up with this idea of “perfect posture,” but what is that?
Is it the one resembling a dancer 🩰 ? A military officer💂🏼♀️?
Is it a posture without pain or discomfort?
What if perfect posture hurts?
What if there is no such thing as a “perfect posture?” 🤔
We have all experienced some back pain every now and then from slouching at work, from sitting tall for long periods of time, from standing at work.
We have been told that all of these aches and pains are related to how we sit and how we stand.
We are never told that it might be the amount of time you are sitting, or the amount of time you are standing in ONE position.
Maybe, the position/posture is not what causes our pain.
Maybe it is the amount of time we spend in ONE posture.
A few years ago, a new idea came out — sitting is the next smoking.
A bit harsh if you ask me.
But it was genius!
Tons of chiropractors, physical therapists, personal trainers, and movement optimists jumped on this new slogan. The rise of stand up desks escalated, no pun intended.
Don’t get me wrong, I have one, and I love it.
The amount of people experiencing postural pain, only decreased by a fraction.
Why?
It is my opinion that nothing really changed.
We went from sitting for 4-5 hours straight. To sitting for a few hours then standing for another few hours, then sitting again for another few hours before the day was done and we went back to sitting for the rest of the day.
The idea was simple. The more you move throughout the day, the better your health.
I can get on board with that.
But that is not what we do in the office.
Once you find your rhythm, you stick to it. If you are seated when you find it, chances are you are going to stay seated. The opposite also holds true.
This is where awareness comes into play.
A quick google search give you millions of blogs, videos, tweets, and more talking about exercises to correct and FIX your “bad” posture.
But nobody talks about simply bringing awareness to your current position and changing it.
Instead of having your chiropractor, physical therapist, massage therapist, doctor, or personal trainer tell you how your back pain is 100% related to your posture, do this the next time you find yourself starting to feel some back discomfort at work.
Change positions.
If you are seated, stand up.
If you have been idle for a few hours, go for a short walk.
If you have been working long days, do a couple of stretches in between work hours
Slouching? Sit up tall.
Slouching on a stand up desk? Stand up tall and widen your base.
Your back pain is most likely not going to go away completely, but it will get significantly better.
Change positions often.
It’s not your posture that is inherently “bad for your back.” It’s my opinion that it is the prolonged stay in such position.
It’s time to start breaking the cycle.
The more we move, the better our bodies feel.
The more aware we are on the time spent in a position, the more we have control to change position, and start feeling better.
For now, that is all.
Thank you for taking the time to read this week’s The Athlete Spot™ Weekly.
If you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, please share it with your friends.
I hope you have a great Saturday and I wish you a great week!
In health and strength,