Lower body posture: Why you should give a “tuck”.
February 25, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments
When I feel outta sorts, I like to go for a nice, long run.
The endorphin rush I get is a great escape from discomfort. The only problem? Sometimes, if I’m literally, physically outta sorts, sometimes running can make it worse. That’s if I don’t set my shiz straight first. This is a problem many of us face: poor lower body posture. We’ve covered upper body posture. And we’ve talked before about how good posture can help you lose weight, look skinnier in the process, and improve your overall outlook. However, let’s talk bout what happens to your fitness path when you don’t keep up with your posture below. When we head into our days (including our exercise regimens) outta alignment, the result’s typically strain, pulled muscles, joint problems, and a plethora of other issues down the road (which we’ve jogged potholes into). And for many of us, that poor posture’s caused by an arched lower back. What blossoms from that southerly curve-age is this domino effect rising up our bodies, throwing our shoulders and neck out of balance, too. The answer? To strengthen that lower region by attacking its opposite side: your core.
And how?
By giving a tuck about your posture. Enough to work on it even when you’re not working out.
That’s right, I said “tuck”.
Sure, it looks strange. But by integrating this “tuck” (also known as the pelvic tilt) into your warm up or stretch routine, you can help strengthen your center and thus feel more centered both during and after your intermittent perspiration vacations from reality. (Versus worse, which is how you’ll feel going in weak.) I remember doing this move in Barre class – constantly. We had to tuck before doing anything. Why? Per Fitness magazine:
At its core, the tuck is all about adjusting the position of your hips, abs, and spine, says Michelle Kluz, CEO of Pure Barre, a barre studio with more than 300 locations around the country. “Most of us naturally arch our backs, and the intent of the tuck movement is to remove that natural arch by rolling your hips forward and engaging your abdominal muscles while finding neutral body alignment,” says Kluz.
And that class was such a good “doing it wrong” mirror for me. It effectively reflected just how not strong my lower abdominals were by making me be mindful every move of whether or not my tuck was in place first. Usually it wasn’t. Which means I’m probably not doing it in my daily life. Which means I’m definitely not doing it when I’m doing something like running.
Now, you’d think that knowing half the class was also doing it wrong too would’ve made me feel better. (That tiny ballerinazi Barre instructor was quick to put us each on blast.) But, unfortunately, I can’t point at them when pain comes ’round like a peace thief in the middle of the night and say “She sucks at tucking, too!” Reality doesn’t care just how much misery’s keeping you company. It’s not greedy when it comes to delivering discomfort. Which meant I needed to give myself reminder course in the art of pelvic tiltery – and then actually implant it into my daily itinerary.
And, how exactly do you do it?
Basically, it looks like this synchronized air hump these two pervs are doing:
(Not much different from what JLC’s doing at the start of this article, but somehow funnier.)
Cues include but’re not limited to:
“Tilt your hips back and under”.
Or “move your belly button toward your spine.”
Or “tuck your tailbone under your lady taint”.
But sometimes it helps to see wrong versus right too:
(“Act like a dog getting an azz swatting” is another excellent cue, too.)
Thus, these days, I wake up and do about ten ten second holds of these badbodys from bed. Then, later on, I do some on a stability ball. Or in the car. Or while reluctantly holding a conversation with someone painfully boring. It’s kinda like doing kegels (except you feel a little less dirty while you do ’em). No one even knows you’re multitasking quietly in the corner over there – realigning in silence.
Much like a house, your flesh vessel needs bottom-stability to function and stay upright. When your base is stable, everything else can fall into place. When it’s not, everything else just falters. Sans a strong foundation, you end up at the body doctor every other day jonesin’ for another dose of crack – back cracking, that is. Or knee manipulations. Or any other litany of fixes for things-gone-wrong cuzza bad posture. Indeed, along with the scads of advantageous reasons to master the tilt (or whatever your right alignment requires*), there are numerous negative ramifications if you don’t. The tough part? Because poor posture’s a side effect of necessary evils we mindlessly do (work, computer usage, hunching over an iphone), that means we’ve gotta constantly counteract that bad form with this new move. Which is why you’ve gotta tuck tucking away in your memory as a perpetual exercise to do.
For the rest of your tucking life.
*Note this article’s directed toward those suffering from an arched lower back.
If you have any doubts, see a health care professional for plan of care catered to your needs.
Instead’ve lazily self-diagnosing over the interwebz.