Low Pressure Fitness
Improve Posture and Help Alleviate Back Pain
One of the most visible benefits of Hypopressives, Low Pressure Fitness, is the improvement in posture. Of course, there are a ton of other amazing benefits happening internally, but posture is a great external indicator. Hypopressives works by strengthening and retraining our Type I, slow twitch fibers. These fibers are responsible for the subconscious support of the core & spine. If you are like I was, I would be sitting at a desk and notice that I had slouched over to a resting comfortable position that made me about 6” shorter than I really am. Of course, I would focus, sit back up straight and before I knew it – I had returned to my hermit position. However, Hypopressives has dramatically increased my back & core strength & it is almost as I am propped up effortlessly now – without even having to think about it!
Did you just correct your posture as you read those last few sentences? Don’t worry! It’s not just you, it’s society. Our cultural evolution has created a society of indoor desk jobs and electronic obsession. The constant use of cell phones, tablets, laptops, gaming systems, etc. has created a new posture phenomenon dubbed “Text Neck”. According to Informate, a privately held mobile measurement firm, on average, Americans spend a staggering 4.7 hours on their phones PER DAY!!! Take a glance at the table below on the left and see the amount of pressure and weight we are putting on our spines daily. No wonder we have neck and back pain. When you combine our constant use of electronic devices with sitting for long periods of time, our backs take the toll. It affects not only our posture, but our flexibility, mobility and joint health. To top it all off - we have a lovely force of nature to work against as well. Gravity. Check out the picture below on the right to see how lovely that is!
ENTER A SOLUTION! HYPOPRESSIVES, LOW PRESSURE FITNESS!
The various postures in Hypopressive training work to incorporate the various muscle chains in the body – and largely recruit the posterior muscle chain. Throughout the movements, you are stretching and lengthening those muscle fibers as well as the vertebral column. This lengthening or “growing” technique helps to decompress the spine, helping to alleviate pain and works to strengthen the overall support of your core.
The Posterior Muscle Chain - just one of the many that are activated during your session of Hypopressives. Why is this muscle chain so important? It is one of the most influential muscle groups in the body. They play an essential role in our daily life without you even knowing it. This chain includes our lower back, glutes, hamstrings, calves amongst others. These muscles are responsible for our ability to move and stabilize, stand, sit, jump, push, run, walk etc. When we are immobile for a majority of the day - sitting at a computer at work, sitting on the couch when you get home because you are so tired from sitting at work... these muscles become tighter and shorter. As you can imagine, everything in the body is interconnected. If you make the glutes tight, the hip flexors become overworked and shorten, then weakening the hamstrings and so on. As already mentioned, Hypopressives works to lengthen, stretch and strengthen these muscles, which of course - improves your posture. :)
If you didn't know, or don't quite understand the interconnectedness of our bodies - you should check out this video on tensegrity - a cool word that means that even though our bodies have separate parts, in one way or another they are all connected.
Which side of the picture do you relate to most? If you're pointing to the left typical bad posture - come see me & let's get ya straightened up!
