Got tickets to the gun show? Steph, Michelle, and Avelyne have front row seats

In our workouts, the coaching staff at CF Intrepid stresses form and to ensure safety and efficiency of movement.  What if this concept could be applied to everyday activities like standing, sitting, walking, and laying down to sleep?  Esther Gokhale has done just that by applying her anatomical knowledge with her observations of various non-industrialized cultures to overcome her own back trouble and develop a methodology for overcoming back pain with proper posture.  She emphasizes that correct posture will eliminate not only back pain, but related pain in one’s hips, knees, feet, shoulders, and neck.

Want to know her secret?  In her book 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, Esther Gokhale breaks down correct posture into the following elements:

“The pelvis is tipped forward or anteverted.  An easy way to see this is to imagine a belt line and notice that it angles downward toward the front.  Pelvic anteversion is accompanied by a pronounced angle low in the spine (between the L5 and S1 vertebrae), the lumbo-sacral arch.  This is distinct from a swayback, which occurs higher in the upper lumbar spine.

A retroverted pelvis leads to tense back muscles or slumping.

An anteverted pelvis facilitates healthy posture

There is an even groove over the vertical midline of the back.  The groove is not especially deep in any location (for example, the low back), nor are the vertebrae prominent in any location (for example, the upper back).  The entire spine above the lumbo-sacral arch has relatively little curvature.

The shoulders are positioned posteriorly relative to the torso, with the result that the arms align with the back of the torso.  The arms are somewhat externally rotated so that the thumbs, or even the palms, face forward.

The front contour of the torso is dome-like and smooth.  The lower border of the rib-cage does not protrude from, but rather is flush with, the abdominal contour.  The chest is full with a raised sternum as a result of the chest expanding with every breath.

There is a soft angle at the groin between the front of the torso and the legs that permits the femoral arteries, veins, and nerves to function without compromise.

The chin, and an imaginary line joining the middle of the ear and the tip of the nose, angle downward as a result of a relaxed and elongated cervical spine.

The buttock muscles are well developed because they are in a position of mechanical advantage and are used in walking…

The main weight bearing bones are vertically aligned over the heels.

The feet point 10-15 degrees outwards and the arches of the foot are muscular and pronounced.”

At work, at home, or where ever you are, practice better posture until it becomes a habit just like you would any movement at the gym.  Our culture may have influenced us to practice poor posture but where there’s a will to improve…there’s always a way.

WOD 03.24.10

Deadlift 1×5

“Row Your Boat”
Row 500m
Rest 1min
Row 400m
Rest 1min
Row 300m
Rest 1 min
Row 200m
Rest 1min
Row 100m

c/o 3×30 seconds Frog Stand or 3×5 seconds Tuck