How IFAST Can Improve Your Posture And Therefore Your Pain And Aesthetics

How are you sitting right now?  If I had to guess, I would say that you are rounded forward with your head poking out – something like the picture below.

I do not say this to be mean.  In fact, I just want to point out that a lot of our time is spent at computers and other electronic devices these days, which lends to poor posture.  This poor sitting position affects our standing posture as well because our tissues can adapt to the position they are in as little as 15 minutes!  Therefore, if you constantly sit slouched over you will tend to adapt to that position when you stand as well.

Not only does this posture lead to less than ideal aesthetics (see picture below), but it also cause many other problems such as low back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, headaches, etc.

We see this constantly with our clients at IFAST.  Many people come to us with some type of pain or discomfort, and a lot of it stems from being in poor positions all day that put stress on these areas.

Therefore, to combat this sitting posture we tailor our workouts to address certain muscles and tissues that tend to be in a poor position due to the sitting posture.

For example, chest muscles are often “tight” so we work to loosen them up with mobility exercises, soft tissue work, and breathing drills.  On the other hand, the upper back muscles are often stretched out and weak so we work to strengthen them with exercises that pull the shoulder blades together.

Ideally, your shoulder blades should sit roughly 3 inches from your spine.  However, if you look at someone that is slouched over, it is likely that their shoulder blades are farther apart than this.  Therefore, the muscles that run from the shoulder blade to the spine are stretched out, which makes them weak.  By performing exercises that require you to squeeze your shoulder blades together we are helping improve your posture and take stress off your lower back and shoulders.

I am happy to say that one of the first things clients mention to me after being at IFAST for a few weeks is that they, along with others around them, notice a big difference in their posture.

My clients are always very happy with this change in posture because of how positively it affects their aesthetics along with aches and pains.

Therefore, if you are unhappy with your posture, aesthetics, or suffer from aches and pains then consider giving us a call.  We will work hard to help you achieve any goal you have!