HOW'S YOUR POSTURE? (bet you all sat or stood up straighter and a CORE WOD)

TIP- Stand up straight. 

There was a trainer, an aesthetician and a massage therapist, all standing in an unfinished garage.
The aesthetician asks the massage therapist, "So, I lean my head over, faces and toes and nails for hours a day and wind up with the worst headache several times a week.  What should I do?".  No punch line here guys and gals.  Just the making of what can soon become Upper Crossed Syndrome (UCS).

I had an interesting conversation, with those 3 folks and UCS came up.

I found it very interesting because it's something I see day in and day out in my gym.  It often creates a lot of shoulder and neck problems if not address prior to heavy lifting.  I figured, it's something to consider before we get into the CORE WOD. If you don't care then scroll down to the bottom for FABULOUS AB STABILITY.

Although you may not know what the heck I'm blathering about, I can be certain you've seen it - a lot!  All of us have seen that little old lady who's standing up, but appears to be falling over; her head shifted forward, shoulders rounded, and her upper back between the shoulder blades looks like the head of a cobra poised to strike. Viper.

Now, just so you don't think I'm one for picking on little old ladies, the same can be said about those young punks and muscle heads. Head forward, shoulders slouched - think Shaggy from Scooby Doo - essentially, poor posture. The average human head weighs 8 pounds. And if your chin moves forward just 3 inches — as it tends to when you work at a computer — the muscles of your neck, shoulders, and upper back must support more weight. This will make the muscles in the chest and front of the neck become too tight, whereas the muscles between the shoulder blades and the back of the shoulders will  be “over stretched”. Creating faulty mechanics and compensation patterns and making us look like were devolving into apes.

See, not picking on little old ladies anymore, now I'm picking on everyone equally... I'm an equal opportunity kind of lady.

So, do you see how this is a "big" problem, now add exercise.  UH OH! Right?

If you have constant or chronic neck shoulder tension/ sore at the base of your skull/stiff neck/terrible posture with a craning neck and you start working out, swim, bike, or run, it will make them faulty mechanics even "faultier" ( I know, not a word but bare with me) and cause excessive wear to the skeletal system, muscles, and tendons and ligaments and just plain be bad.  Now to add to this boiling pot of pain, it will make you suck, performance wise, by depressing the sternum; meaning you can’t breathe, which is rather important! You think? Form is key.

That's right, those long metcons or heavy weightlifting sessions at Cherry Bomb will suck even more.  Not fun.  We pride ourselves on that!  Fun, not suckiness.

Use the self-test below to see whether you're an upper-cross victim. Then reevaluate your workout  and your job posture (ie. work the back not the pecs and as for at work: sit up straight). Hopefully you haven't already fallen prey. If you have, not all is lost. You can correct UCS by strengthening what's weak (back) and stretching what's tight (pecs).

The Self-Test: Are You Crossed Up?

Place two fingers at the top of your right shoulder and feel for a bony notch that pro-trudes from it. That’s your acromion. Now grab a ruler and lie on your back on the floor, your right arm resting alongside your body. With your left hand, measure the distance from your right acromion to the floor, being careful not to raise or lower your right shoulder as you do so. If the distance is more than 1 inch, you have upper-cross syndrome.

Want a second opinion? Ask a friend to take a digital picture of you -- shirtless -- from the side. Stand tall, but in a relaxed position, the way you would if you weren't thinking about your posture. Check to see if the middle of your ear is in line with the middle of your shoulder, hip, and ankle. If you can't draw a straight line through these points, then you've just been diagnosed -- again.


OVERVIEW 
Some common symptoms: Neck pain, stiff shoulders, headaches (often called “tension-type” headaches), stiff upper/mid back, shoulder/arm pain and/or numbness, and “cracking” around the shoulder blade.

Common Causes
Poor Posture
Long hours sitting at a computer, desk, or in the car
Previous injury (car accident)

What can you do at home or in the gym?
Stretching of tight musculature or as we do at Cherry Bomb Open up over the foam rollers
Exercises to strengthen weak or inhibited muscles that support the neck and shoulders
Exercise to strengthen the core!!!  Not ABS - CORE
Avoid prolonged positions (take “micro-breaks” and monitor posture)

How is it Treated?
Soft tissue treatments to target tight and tender muscles (massage, Active Release Technique)
Joint manipulation or mobilization to improve joint mobility
Postural re-training, muscular re-education, strengthening of shoulder blade or “scapular” muscles (the “core” of the shoulder)

On that note:  Here's a nice little video to help with one of those problems...

STRENGTHEN THE CORE TO STAND UP STRAIGHT

A WORKOUT YOU CAN DO AT HOME!

BUT INSTEAD OF THE CRUNCHES I'D SUBSTITUTE SUPERMANS/BACK EXTENSIONS

2 or 3 Rounds 30 seconds per exercise
Crunches (SUB in Superman's)
Flutter Kicks
Toe Touches
Plank
Side Plank R
Plank
Side Plank L
1 MINUTE HOLD PLANK

Here is a great article  Common Muscle Imbalances: Upper Crossed Syndrome & Lower Crossed Syndrome  explaining further what UCS is and how to correct it.