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posture issues and athletic performance

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FP:
As far as postural purism, I agree that you can function fine or even well with variety in default posture but I still think there's an optimal posture which is an attainable goal and will raise my ceiling for all my athletic pursuits.

I mean I'm pretty much doing just what you guys are advising, occasional strengthening and stretching to muscles that affect posture. I think it's a step in the right direction but I don't think it's a fix. It's giving me the keys but my posture isn't going to correct itself just because I'm doing these things. However, trying to make sitting and standing correctly always a habit is exhausting and impractical. It requires an unrealistic amount of awareness and commitment.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/betterback-perfect-posture-effortlessly#/
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-ergo-posture-transformer#/

These indiegogo posture improving devices (which are some of the highest funded things in the fitness section) caught my attention. I looked through amazon reviews for the "BetterBack" and I'm still a little bit skeptical but they seem to work for most people. It seems that they cause pain for a small portion of the buyers and not recommended for people with spinal issues.

Gonna do more research, talk to my doctor but definitely considering getting one of these.

Coges:
Just looked at those devices and I'm not sure I could ever bring myself to wear one. Even if it was a direct fix.

I also find that posture is connected emotionally as well. When I'm confident, feeling good and well dressed my posture is impeccable. When I'm lazing around or tired or emotional then my posture is crappy.

FP:
My dad picked up this book called "Hara: the vital center of man". It's pretty much in the format of "ancient japanese zen master wisdom" which I usually try to avoid lol but I checked out the chapter on posture was really interesting and I believe it will have good carryover to athletics if I manage to get it down:


--- Quote ---What right posture with its center of gravity in Hara means in the purely physical sense can be easily demonstrated. A man standing in his ordinary posture will fall forward if he is suddenly pushed from behind. If he stands with Hara he will feel surprisingly stable. Even a hard thrust cannot topple him or even push him forward.

Right posture can be acquired only is one does three things: drop the shoulders, release the lower belly and put some strength into it. For this it is sufficient to say "I am, I feel myself down here, a little below the navel."
--- End quote ---

So pretty much you're shoving your organs down your belly with your diaphragm, shifting your center of gravity down also helping promote deeper stomach breathing. I've heard that adding fat to the midsection can increase stability and balance I believe this is along those same lines. When I apply this advice I feel so much more balanced but it might take a while to become a habit.

FP:
Picked up that Betterback posture correcting device about a week ago. I have also been using an upper body device for about 3 weeks. The key is to use them intermittently. The Betterback I use 30-60 mins a few times a day. The upper body corrector I wear most of the day.

Right now my posture is actually pretty good. I think forward head posture needs some work and my quads are generally pretty tight. I have a bad habit of sitting asymmetrically which messes with your stability. But both lower cross (APT) and upper cross (hunchback) are significantly better.

Kellyb:
I agree a lot of coaches nowadays are overly obsessed with posture and mobility but one worth looking at is ankle mobility. Look at the first video in this thread:

http://www.adarq.org/strength-power-reactivity-speed-discussion/fix-your-squat/

See the assessment at the 6:30 mark. If your ankle mobility is really bad you can fix it pretty quick, and it'll often positively impact your jump and help eliminate knee pain.  I correspond with a guy who coaches a mens pro team in europe and he told me out of his entire team only 2 players could pass that test, but those 2 are the only 2 that leverage strength gains directly into vert/speed improvements without any need for SPP.

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