Straight & Strong:

1. Straight & Strong: How Posture affects strength and prevents injury

2. Why Posture is a Big Deal • Proper body positioning and alignment are important considerations in preventing many of the problems that develop from the stresses of work, aging and fatigue. • Proper posture helps prevent fatigue, headaches, eyestrain, and chronic muscular tension. • Good posture can help improve circulation and digestion, enhance sleep, and prevent cramping of internal organs. • It can also boost self-image and clear the mind, can make exercise more enjoyable, improve general fitness, improve your quality of life and enhance performance

3. Signs of Bad Posture • Protruding abdomen • Hyperextended knees • Rounded or uneven shoulders • Curved spine • Sunken chest • Unusually flat back/Swayed back • Uneven hips • Neck craned too far forward • Chin thrust out

4. Effects of Bad Posture • Limited flexibility and range of motion • Loss of vital lung capacity • Distorted skeletal alignment • Headaches • Joint stiffness and pain • Jaw pain • Reduction of blood and oxygen to the Brain • Muscular tension • Wear and tear on connective tissue • Predisposition to injury

5. Improving Poor Posture • Three major approaches to improving posture involve awareness, flexibility or resistance training and adoption of new “everyday” habits • Recognizing negative movements or positions and then consciously begin to correct bad habits • Identify areas that need strengthening or improved flexibility • Adopt safe techniques and habits for “everyday” tasks, setting the stage for better postural health • Emit crossing legs, perform brueggar’s breathing exercises daily, strengthen the spine and body

6. Brueggar’s Breathing Exercises Click here to watch part 1 of the Brueggar’s Breathing Exercise video on YouTube

7. Brueggar’s Breathing Exercises Click here to watch part 2 of the Brueggar’s Breathing Exercise video on YouTube

8. What can we learn from our kids? • Proper lifting techniques !! • Plan ahead before lifting • Lift close to your body • Feet should be shoulder width or wider apart • Lift with your legs, NOT your back : Bend your knees and keep your back straight • Keep your abdominal muscles tight and strong at all times • If you’re straining, get help! • DON’T • Bend your back to pick something up • Reach, twist or bend • Look down

9. Think of your back as a lever. With the fulcrum in the center of the lever, how many pounds would it take to lift a 10 pound object? 5 pounds ?10 pounds ?15 pounds ?

10. You’re right! • It takes 10 pounds of pressure to lift a 10 pound object. • Will it take more or less force to lift the same 10 pound object with the fulcrum shifted to one side?

11. You’re right! • With the fulcrum shifted away from the object, it takes more force to lift the object. The human back operates on a 10:1 ratio, with the waist acting as the fulcrum.

12. When you add in the 105 pounds of the average human upper torso, lifting a 10 pound object puts 1,150 pounds of pressure on the human back. If you were 25 pounds overweight, it would put an additional 250 pounds of pressure on your back every time you bend over!

13. Proper Lifting techniques Click here to watch part 1 of the Brueggar’s Breathing Exercise video on YouTube

14. Straight & Strong in the Gym Click here to watch part 1 of the Brueggar’s Breathing Exercise video on YouTube

15. Proper Lifting/Gym Techniques • Warm up • Maintain Rhythm, Not Momentum • Set a Target and Increase Slowly • Stop if it hurts • Breathe • Maintain Good Posture, back straight and abdominals tight

16. Preventing shoulder injuries Click here to watch part 1 of the Brueggar’s Breathing Exercise video on YouTube