PosturePretty:The Body/Mind Connection

PosturePretty ABDS

I am an exercise physiologist, MS, and have been a personal trainer for over 20 years. I am in upper management in the fitness industry now but my love will always be supporting people to understand the remarkable power of their bodies. And for women I am particularly focused on helping us understand how gorgeous our bodies are and thus how beautiful we are as women. 

Having an 18 year background in classic ballet, I learned that nothing shows off a woman's beauty and radiance like "good posture". Having good posture is so healthy and it doesn't take much effort, time or money. I'd like to try to help you understand the power of our Body/Mind Connection so you feel motivated to practice having good posture. 

When we have poor posture we tend to look. And we also tend to feel unattractive which eventually makes us feel depressed and discouraged. This is because our body and mind are one, what we feel physically immediately influences how we feel emotionally. 

Try this little exercise so you experience what I mean. Stand up and stand in poor posture for a few minutes. Now focus on how your body feels. It probably feels imbalanced and even achy in places. Now become aware of how you feel emotionally, probably blah and un-energized. You might begin to feel down and eventually discouraged. 

Notice that we all have a tendency to have poor posture.

Now lift up on your lower belly area, roll your shoulders open by gliding your scapula toward your spine, feel your feet planted on the ground, level your chin horizontal with the floor lengthening the back of your neck. Take a deep breath and focus on how your body feels. It probably feels balanced, at ease, not so achy as before. Notice if it feels a bit more energized. You probably can breathe better right? Standing there for a few more minutes start to notice how you feel emotionally. You might notice you feel confident and calmer. Now smile and notice if that changes anything. Many people feel that when they smile they actually feel happier, lighter, even if it hasn't been a very great day. Others also say that even when they are having a good day if they are frowning they feel kind of down. And I for one feel more beautiful. 

You have been experiencing the power of our Body/Mind Connection. You realize that your body and mind are one. Whatever you are doing with one immediately speaks and influences the other. If you are standing tall, you feel better and think more positive thoughts. And vice versa. So just think about how your life might change if you remembered to stand in good posture, if you conditioned your body to have good posture, and you smiled alot more. 

You would feel and look great. Read further in the next few blogs about how to exercise to have good posture. 

Would love to hear from you and answer any questions.

Patricia 

The Magic of ABDS Curls - Part Two

The Magic of ABDS Curls -
and how to do them correctly



A. Lie on your back, with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Turn your toes slightly in so your knees are upright and stable. Fllatten your belly toward your spine while allowing your lower back to lengthen. Let it have a natural curve off the floor. Place your hands behind your head--they will be merely as a support to hold your head during the curls.



B. Lift your shoulders up slightly and you will feel your ABDS tighten. Be sure to keep them flat. by drawing them in toward your spine. Do not pull on your head with your hands. They are just a support. Which means your ABDS have to do all the work. This position is the Start and Finish position of each curl. Be sure not to relax in between each curl.



C. Onne in your Start Position, come up as high as you can in your curl while being sure to keep your ABDS flat. If they begin to come up, you are curling up too high. Do a set of 8-12 curls: Start Position, Curl Up, Finish Position.
Rest for 30 seconds. Repeat another set.

Most of us want flat, tight, toned ABDS. Exercises for tight ABDS are the number one requested exercise instruction asked of personal trainers. Conditioned ABDS not only make you look great but they also are key in preventing back problems, helping you physically function with more ease and confidence in everyday activities, and particularly to play sports well--they are involved in everything we do. 

Now I want to help to clear up some misunderstandings about the way to exercise your ABDS so you are sure to tone them in the best way possible. One key thing that most of us don't understand is that the sit ups and the intense, high-lifted ABDS crunches some of us do are not the best way to flatten and tone, especially if you are just getting started. These exercises don't isolate your ABDS well because they engage your hip flexors to sit up or curl your torso and thus not all the resistance and work is going into your ABDS muscles. 

THE SHALLOW ABDS CURL--It looks insignificant but the results are huge.

You will be surprised by my instructions here and wonder if they really work. So the best thing to do is to just try it for yourself and see. Start by lying down on your back and bending your knees so you can put your feet flat on the floor. Turn your toes just slightly inward so your knees don't lean outward away from each other. This should help you feel real stable. Bend your arms and place your hands behind your head. Keep in mind that when you lift into the torso curl you are NOT pulling on your head. If you are then you are not working your ABDS enough and may harm your neck. 

The first thing to keep in mind is that you want "flat" toned ABDS. The more mainstream exercises that people perform do tone your ABDS but actually thicken them outward more than flatten and tone them. The key is that the most important thing about the exercises I am showing you here is that you only curl up as high as you can while keeping your ABDS flat and that in between each repetition you do not let your ABDS release at all. So as you will see in the pictures you first flatten or pull your ABDS in before you do any curling and you hold the tension on your ABDS for a series of 8-12 reps. If you are pulling your ABDS in throughout you should notice they are tired after one set. You rest for 30 seconds and go into your next set. 

PosturePretty ABDS: Part One

PosturePretty ABDS

As a personal trainer I get asked about ABDS exercises alot. They are our favorite muscle group to exercise because we know that flat ABDS make us look more attractive. They are KEY to having good posture which we all intuitively know makes us look more confident. Remember don't ever go in to ask your boss for a raise and stand in front of her with poor posture. She won't take you seriously and your body will make her think you don't really believe you deserve. In reverse, you may not deserve a raise but many people have gotten them because they always look like they know what they are doing--they have good posture. Good posture speaks a thousand words. 

Now strong, toned ABDS are KEY to good posture but you need to understand something...your ABDS aren't the only part of your body you need to pay attention to and exercise if you want good posture. They actually are only 1 of 4 primary areas you want to focus on. 

Poor posture is forward or rounded shoulders and a forward tilt in your pelvis making your belly drop forward. This position of your body causes you neck and upper and lower back problems. It also can cause hip aches as well. Poor posture is a result of a tight chest and weak upper back, that is two areas. And a result of tight hip flexors and weak ABDS--the other two areas. So the focus is to stretch your chest and hip flexors and strengthen your upper back and ABDS.

Read the next blog for a couple of exercises. 

Please feel free to ask questions. 

Your Private Trainer, Patricia