Posture Matters!

Friday, February 17, 2017 · Mike Davis

Good morning,

Get you coffee and pull-up a chair!

Today will not as intense as Wednesday. I could probably chat multiple times, if not more about my flaws, but therapy makes more sense. J This week has been okay, I ran yesterday and I despite a case of Planta Fasciitis (PF) in my left foot, I had a nice run. I am doing the typical things to help the PF, but the one that I am not doing so well, is wear the foot boot overnight. I wore the boot 2.5 nights and it helped, but it also bruised the top of my foot and I wasn’t getting any sleep. I must figure something out, as it is an important piece of combating the PF. I am open to suggestions, unless it’s just to; “suck it up”! Other than that issue, I am doing quite well physically and when I hit 54 in a few days, I will be more fit than when I turned 53!

I have added regular workouts on the rowing machine as of late and I must say, it is a great cross-training option. If used correctly, you can work your latissimus dorsa, trapezius, pectoralis minor and major, rhomboids and if you alter your grip, you can work bicep brachii. Besides all those muscles and more, you also get an excellent cardiovascular workout! Sorry for showing off all my new-found terminology, but it is good practice for my test on Monday. Kathy would probably tell me that I left out some muscles in the shoulder girdle! In any event, the rowing machine is highly recommended, but it is important that good form (posture) is used to maximize the benefits. I am working at that.

Speaking of good form. I have espoused good posture for years, as it carries over to good form in our running. I said I would not beat myself up this morning, but will one more time for the sake of science. Many years ago I walked into an open area of cubicles and one of the woman that worked for me didn’t look up and yet said; “Hi Mike!”. I asked how she knew it was me? She said something to the effect of I can tell by the way you scuff your feet when you walk. I was kind of embarrassed by that and from that day forward I worked on picking my feet up. I am pretty sure I scuffed my feet when I ran as well and I worked on that as well. Scuffing was pretty much a sign of me being lazy and simply not picking my feet, so that was just a neurological (brain) decision that I had to reprogram. The past 3 months I have had a nagging stiff pain in the back of my neck just below my head and have been frustrated by a lack of range of motion moving my head side to side. I have always known that my posture has not been very good and I also have what is referred to as “athletes head”. That is when the head cocks forward creating a rounded neck. This happens is many that participate in sports as well as those that spend a lot of time on a computer. Neither of the two mentioned reasons are the actual culprit, as it is a result of first a neurological action (lazy) and eventually turns to a weakness of the previously mentioned trapezius (traps), that reside in the back. Again, there are other muscles back there that are weakened as well, but the traps are the largest.

Further proof that I am weak in the back can be proven by my attempt to do a superman exercise. If you do not know what a “Superman” exercise is, it is simple and really an excellent exercise for all. You lay face down on a mat, arms and legs extended out (like you are going to fly), and then you raise both your hands and feet off the mat and hold them as high off the floor as you can. If you are Mike, you are fortunate to get them an inch off and can barely hold them for more than 10 seconds. There is the proof that most, if not all my strength training focus has been on my legs and front side muscles. Between conversations with Kathy (personal fitness trainer certified) and my teacher (certified personal fitness trainer and former athletic trainer), I better understand the need for balance in my workouts. It is easy to get caught up in those muscles that we see in the mirror as well as the ones that directly affect our running, but those backside muscles are valuable and need attention. For many years now, I have observed Kathy doing dips and I always thought it was to improve her push-ups ability, and while it did that, it also worked her back. I might have done dips 10 times in my whole life!

My “athletes neck”, also carries over to my running form and that certainly is not beneficial in my goal to run as efficient as I would like. Seriously, I have a large noggin and having it lean forward is not helpful in my running gait. Having that big old head pulling on my neck also creates a lot of stress on my shoulders and as well as the back side of my neck and I most definitely feel that tightness during my longer runs. So, now I am attacking this on 2 fronts. The first is neurologically, I am focusing on keeping my chin back as if I was holding a ball between my chin and my neck and lowering my shoulder blades and also squeezing my scapula’s together. This takes constant attention when I am walking, running, and sitting. The second thing I am doing is the aforementioned rowing. Along with adding superman’s to my workouts, the rowing will strengthen my backside muscles and should help make the neurological aspect a little easier. Being weak back there, makes it difficult to maintain the posture, so combined it should get somewhat easier. I will need both to make a permanent change, but if I stay with it, I will gain the muscle memory and it will stick.

Posture is important for our running, but it is more important for daily functioning. Those little aches we feel are often avoidable and I am living proof of that. I have been living over 3 months with a pain in my neck and since I have started working on the active (neurological) aspect of my posture, I have less pain. I still need to see a chiropractor and have him help with the range of motion, but I am moving in the right direction for keeping the pain away. It takes effort!

Time to get along. Have a great Friday and stand tall with your head in a good back!

God Bless!

Mike