Lift weights
Surprisingly enough, the answer to many self imposed human problems
Slouch: Posture panic in modern America
11–20 of 63 posts
Re: Slouch: Posture panic in modern America
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've found this to be the case for myself. And "minimal" can be pretty quick - work up to a set of 5 squats with your body weight on the bar, once or twice a week, say.
I must be old or I have a different idea of minimal. A set of squats at ~200 pounds is entirely doable in time, yes, but my guess is it would be non-trivial for much of the adult population. Even when we were doing conditioning in high school I don't recall that a significant fraction of the class was breaking much over 225 or so.
Many people lack the mobility to squat at all! Correcting this takes considerable time.
Re: Slouch: Posture panic in modern America
#13I'll admit to not reading the entire article here but I think that mostly people mistake posture issues for lack of exercise / being sedentary in general. If you work out a minimal amount and build some core strength / back muscles etc then you'll find that your posture naturally corrects itself whilst walking, that sitting in a chair for extended periods isn't as rough, etc.
I fixed my recurrent back pain with a 6 mn daily morning, ie. plank, side plank, reverse plank, 1mn 30 sec each.
Posture muscles are not very well known in the general public. Loss of strength due to aging and sedentary lifestyle makes standing, seating, etc uncomfortable.
Re: Slouch: Posture panic in modern America
#14I'll admit to not reading the entire article here but I think that mostly people mistake posture issues for lack of exercise / being sedentary in general. If you work out a minimal amount and build some core strength / back muscles etc then you'll find that your posture naturally corrects itself whilst walking, that sitting in a chair for extended periods isn't as rough, etc.
Even at my peak of training for a 50 mile ultra marathon last year my posture was kind of crappy by conventional measures. That being said, I can run 50 miles without stopping just fine and I have never sustained a serious injury during my 15+ years as a runner.
Those are completely different muscles, so it makes sense that your posture isn’t different.
Re: Slouch: Posture panic in modern America
#15I'll admit to not reading the entire article here but I think that mostly people mistake posture issues for lack of exercise / being sedentary in general. If you work out a minimal amount and build some core strength / back muscles etc then you'll find that your posture naturally corrects itself whilst walking, that sitting in a chair for extended periods isn't as rough, etc.
Even at my peak of training for a 50 mile ultra marathon last year my posture was kind of crappy by conventional measures. That being said, I can run 50 miles without stopping just fine and I have never sustained a serious injury during my 15+ years as a runner.
Regular Sunday 10 miles here, then I had the pleasure to experience plantar fasciitis. I love running, but the injuries can be really annoying
Re: Slouch: Posture panic in modern America
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've found this to be the case for myself. And "minimal" can be pretty quick - work up to a set of 5 squats with your body weight on the bar, once or twice a week, say.
I must be old or I have a different idea of minimal. A set of squats at ~200 pounds is entirely doable in time, yes, but my guess is it would be non-trivial for much of the adult population. Even when we were doing conditioning in high school I don't recall that a significant fraction of the class was breaking much over 225 or so.
Gaining reliable access to the equipment can also be tricky depending on your budget, schedule and floorplan. I personally couldn't really get a good habit going until I could purchase the equipment and make it available from home. Prior to that I was intermittently going to a gym but Covid really drilled into me how transient that access can be.
Considering how far you can go with just a few gallons of water, would be nice if there was more innovation in this space to increase accessibility in a safe way. While the bars and weights are one thing, it's ultimately the lack of a rack that makes squats troublesome imo.
Re: Slouch: Posture panic in modern America
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've found this to be the case for myself. And "minimal" can be pretty quick - work up to a set of 5 squats with your body weight on the bar, once or twice a week, say.
I must be old or I have a different idea of minimal. A set of squats at ~200 pounds is entirely doable in time, yes, but my guess is it would be non-trivial for much of the adult population. Even when we were doing conditioning in high school I don't recall that a significant fraction of the class was breaking much over 225 or so.
The issue is that people stop exercising at all as adults which makes about as much sense as stopping teeth brushing.
If you just consistently do a little bit of strength training then it never gets hard, you just very slowly tail off in absolute strength which is fine.
The average adult probably also isn’t great at learning for example because they just stop once they finish school.
Re: Slouch: Posture panic in modern America
#18I'll admit to not reading the entire article here but I think that mostly people mistake posture issues for lack of exercise / being sedentary in general. If you work out a minimal amount and build some core strength / back muscles etc then you'll find that your posture naturally corrects itself whilst walking, that sitting in a chair for extended periods isn't as rough, etc.
> people mistake posture issues for lack of exercise / being sedentary [...]
> If you work out a minimal amount and build some core strength / back muscles etc then you'll find that your posture naturally corrects itself [...]
I'm missing something. Doesn't paragraph 2 imply that the assumption made by people (paragraph 1) is not actually a mistake?
Re: Slouch: Posture panic in modern America
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've found this to be the case for myself. And "minimal" can be pretty quick - work up to a set of 5 squats with your body weight on the bar, once or twice a week, say.
I must be old or I have a different idea of minimal. A set of squats at ~200 pounds is entirely doable in time, yes, but my guess is it would be non-trivial for much of the adult population. Even when we were doing conditioning in high school I don't recall that a significant fraction of the class was breaking much over 225 or so.
I meant minimal in terms of time. I get your point though. Still, a set of your 5RM is going to do wonders for many people no matter how strong you already are. And if you're putting a bit of thought into form and diet, I believe most people can work up to around 80kg with a year of practise twice a week.
Re: Slouch: Posture panic in modern America
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
I must be old or I have a different idea of minimal. A set of squats at ~200 pounds is entirely doable in time, yes, but my guess is it would be non-trivial for much of the adult population. Even when we were doing conditioning in high school I don't recall that a significant fraction of the class was breaking much over 225 or so.
Gaining reliable access to the equipment can also be tricky depending on your budget, schedule and floorplan. I personally couldn't really get a good habit going until I could purchase the equipment and make it available from home. Prior to that I was intermittently going to a gym but Covid really drilled into me how transient that access can be. Considering how far you can go with just a few gallons of water, would…
I've never had space to store the bar itself, but if I had a home gym I'd be okay with a couple of stands like this:
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/mp/york/york-squat-stands/_/R-...
You have to learn how to bail, but (depending on low vs high bar) you can get pretty confident at it