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Is it really honest to say "gym made my posture worse", when actually it stemmed from overtraining certain muscle groups over-proportionately? What do you thin

by Jommi 8y ago

Is it really honest to say "gym made my posture worse", when actually it stemmed from overtraining certain muscle groups over-proportionately? What do you think of the thesis that the right gym exercises might tune your muscle's "normal state" to more closely resemble "healthy" posture?

crazygringo 8y ago
It wasn't over-training at all, it was simply the fact I hadn't incorporated extensive stretching. Once I stretched and my muscles had their full range of motion, that fixed it. (If I was unclear, that was the balance I was referring to above -- of tightness, not of strength.) I started going to the gym because of that thesis, and then I discovered it didn't work. From what I understand, our muscles are in balance with each other not according to their strength (except in cases of extreme imbalance), but according to the amount of tension our brain signals for them to maintain. This signaling arises from our mental image of the position our body should be in. For me personally, for example, I was sitting, standing and walking, always leaning slightly back, which my body compensated for with an overly curved lower spine and overly tight abdominal muscles. Standing straight literally felt like I would topple forwards, because I had an incorrect sensation of body positioning. Once I learned to become aware of that, it took me a couple of weeks to actually stand straight, and learn that as the new normal. And this took care of the other problems. It had nothing to do with the balance of muscle strengths, and everything to do with my perceptions. (Extensive hamstring stretching was also necessary, but not sufficient, to make standing straight possible.) I'm not saying don't go to the gym -- I love the gym! -- what I'm saying is, if you want to fix your posture, you have to change how use you your body. Stretching can be necessary to unlock tight areas, but lack of or imbalanced strength is not the issue in an otherwise healthy adult.

by Jommi 8y ago

crazygringo 8y ago

It wasn't over-training at all, it was simply the fact I hadn't incorporated extensive stretching. Once I stretched and my muscles had their full range of motion, that fixed it. (If I was unclear, that was the balance I was referring to above -- of tightness, not of strength.) I started going to the gym because of that thesis, and then I discovered it didn't work. From what I understand, our muscles are in balance with each other not according to their strength (except in cases of extreme imbalance), but according to the amount of tension our brain signals for them to maintain. This signaling arises from our mental image of the position our body should be in. For me personally, for example, I was sitting, standing and walking, always leaning slightly back, which my body compensated for with an overly curved lower spine and overly tight abdominal muscles. Standing straight literally felt like I would topple forwards, because I had an incorrect sensation of body positioning. Once I learned to become aware of that, it took me a couple of weeks to actually stand straight, and learn that as the new normal. And this took care of the other problems. It had nothing to do with the balance of muscle strengths, and everything to do with my perceptions. (Extensive hamstring stretching was also necessary, but not sufficient, to make standing straight possible.) I'm not saying don't go to the gym -- I love the gym! -- what I'm saying is, if you want to fix your posture, you have to change how use you your body. Stretching can be necessary to unlock tight areas, but lack of or imbalanced strength is not the issue in an otherwise healthy adult.