Gravity Fx Fitness

What if gravity was actually a good thing for your posture and you could manipulate it to maintain a youthful appearance, good health and reduce the aches and pains commonly associated with aging?

I recently attended the Iowa state convention for physical educators and was fortunate to attend many great presentations from top-notch professionals, some of whom I have seen previously and others I saw for the first time, in person.

Among these presentations was something unexpected, a re-introduction with inversion training.  When I was supposed to attend a workshop on Indian clubs and the subtle side of fitness, I was surprised when they started setting up two inversion tables.

My brother and I had received inversion boots for Christmas when I was 18.  This was the early 80’s and we set up a bar in the basement to hang from, next to our Sears weight set.  We would hang upside down for a little while and do inverted situps, making sure that you left enough energy to swing back up and dismount.

The boots came with a book by Robert Martin, M.D., which I kept all these years.  So I found it interesting when  Ed Thomas talked about going out to California and spending some time with Dr. Martin.  We each got to spend some time on the inversion table while someone else guided us through various stages of inversion and did some light stretches with our neck, which felt pretty good, I might add.

Having done those same stretches many times with massage therapy clients, I was intrigued with the possibilities that this might hold.  It caused me to dust off the book and do some reading.  Dr. Martin talks about the different postures that man can achieve, unlike most animals and how we have the opportunity to decompress and lengthen the spine by taking up different positions.

He is of the belief that this is a plus, when many consider gravity to be a negative thing, causing sagging and drooping with age.  He believes that by changing the position of our body relative to the constant force of gravity, we can use the force of gravity as a stress equalizer.

Dr. Martin describes six basic human postures:  standing/sitting, lying down, flexion (forward bending), extension (backwards bending), hanging from your hands or legs (brachiation), and inversion (upside down).

It’s interesting that the inversion model that he mentions has someone in a handstand position with the feet against the wall.  I find this interesting because Dr. Martin was a gymnast and gymnastics instructor, who seemed to find that this would sometimes have better results than his medical efforts.

This also becomes more interesting, as one of the presenters that weekend was Jon Hinds, founder of Monkey Bar Gym.  I have seen video of Jon walking down stairs on his hands and this session provided a logical progression for doing a handstand.

Jon’s regular practice of doing handstands and swinging from suspended poles and chains – like kids do on a playground (monkeybars) – would be a very healthful one according to the book, not to mention a creative and fun way to get a workout.

Low back pain is all too common in our society and spending too much time seated is often listed as a contributing factor.  If the force of gravity is constantly pulling us straight down, sitting with your head and shoulders forward for long periods of time probably isn’t a good thing.  One of Dr. Martin’s suggestions might be to frequently change your position to decompress your spine and seek to balance out your body.

One way to address this would be working on extension (backward bending).  Something simple I recently started doing is to reach up overhead while arching my thoracic spine, breathing deeply with my stomach and carefully extending my neck up and back, stretching many different structures from the waist up, all at once.  Combined with some more precise work with the Indian clubs and I have noticed a BIG difference in the last three weeks.

Having injured a shoulder almost twenty years ago, mostly due to lifting weights with poor posture, I have come to realize the importance of having a balanced, symmetrical body.  Unfortunately, I learned this lesson the hard way but I’ve managed to avoid the surgeon’s knife so far, after the recommendation to have surgery or quit lifting weights.

I recently moved my fitness business into a physical therapy clinic and am sharing their exercise room.  I get some interested looks from some of the patients while they are walking on the treadmill.  One guy in particular asked me why my business is called Gravity.  I told him that I used a lot of bodyweight exercises that use the force of gravity for resistance.

I also try to place my clients in standing positions as often as possible and seek to enhance their posture and try to align them with gravity, so that they move more efficiently.  This man is rehabbing a knee injury, has a protruding belly and his neck is probably two inches out in front of his torso, which is a less than optimal position.

Without knowing much else about his health history, it would obviously be important for this relatively young man to not go through the rest of his life, so misaligned with the forces of gravity.

Dr. Martin recommends hanging from your arms as a natural form of traction (assuming you have no contraindications).  He states, “if you are suffering from extreme tension in the back, hang by your arms!” Again, not everyone will be capable of this.

With an inversion table, you don’t have to go to full inversion to gain some benefits and you don’t have to spend a lot of time in the fully inverted position.  You can take your time in getting your body used to decompression and even slight inversion might be beneficial.

Bottom line, make sure to change your positions of posture frequently, however you choose to do so and not spend too much time in any one position.  Here is an article on  Decompression and Mobilization with Inversion.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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Can working on your breathing patterns help with your posture and flatten your stomach?

Yes!!

In recent years, several physical therapists and doctors have recommended breathing exercises to restore proper abdominal function and  reduce low back pain.  In particular, they have had patients start with diaphragm (abdominal) breathing exercises before moving on to other exercises.

While there has been some disagreement about how important this function of your “inner core” really is, one thing is certain, your abdominal and low back muscles function as a unit to help stabilize your spine.

After injury or surgery, or just being sedentary for a long time, your abs may not be functioning as efficiently as possible.  Starting with breathing exercises helps to activate (turn on) your deeper abdominal muscles.  There are different layers of muscles in your abdominal wall that function as a unit, kind of like a “plywood effect,” where the whole is greater than the individual parts.

The strength of plywood comes from the multiple layers crossing in different directions, similar to your abs.  Before moving on to more difficult ab exercises like planks, its a good idea to make sure those inner muscles are functioning properly.  Diaphramatic breathing exercises can help accomplish this task.

Various plank exercises can be progressed from here, as you get stronger, as well as standing exercises that focus on keeping your core stable.  Here is an example of an isometric exercise on the Power Plate to help with ab and back stability.

Kneel on the platform with knees about hip width apart.  “Brace” your abs, keeping them tight without sucking them in or letting them push out.  Keep your spine in a neutral position throughout the exercise.  This should not create pain!

If so, you may need to modify the exercise or choose another exercise as a substitute.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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from Coach Mike Boyle:

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What is “creep” and how does it affect your low back pain?  Glad you asked.

Creep occurs when you sit for too long with poor posture, when you let your back, neck, and shoulders become rounded.

When you stay in this position for too long without moving, your connective tissues (fascia) becomes stretched, causing an imbalance between the muscles on the front and back of your body.

Creep occurs when tissue is stretched and held at a constant length – you get a slow elongation of the tissues.  This involves a time factor where you are in one position for a length of time.  So this stretch may be a small one that goes unnoticed, but has an effect on your body none the less.

Your connective tissues (fascia) surround your muscles and provide a framework for them.  They have a combination of elastic and strength properties in the fibers that are viscoelastic in nature.

Meaning, they provide a degree of stiffness, as well as spring-like qualities.  If held in a stretched position for a length of time, the fibers will tend to stay stretched.

When you spend too much time sitting in positions of poor posture, your body adapts to this position.  It will stay in this stretched position unless you do something to remove this stretch.

I understand that many of you are required to sit for your jobs.  I also understand that it is near impossible to sit upright all the time when working on the computer or writing.  

So what’s the solution you ask?

One is to get up and stretch briefly every so often, at least once every 40-50 minutes.  Ideally, you would walk around for a few minutes while remembering to stand up straight.

Another thing would be to shift your weight often while seated.  Try not to stay in the same position for more than 15 minutes.  Push your chest forward a couple times, as you exhale.

You can also slowly squeeze your shoulderblades together and hold for 3-5 seconds.  Just enough to keep your body from remaining stuck in the same position.

You can also shift your weight side to side, as well as doing some simple movements for your neck, such as lightly rotating from side to side and gently tilting your chin up a few times.

Basic movements for basic maintenance.  It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

Ideally, you are sitting in a chair with good support, that allows you to be in the best posture possible.
Physical therapist Robin Mackenzie advocates using a lumbar “roll” for chairs that don’t have good support. These rolls are placed behind your low back to help keep you in good posture.  You can find these and various lumbar cushions in many stores, often at your local shopping mall.

Obviously, you need to spend some time away from work doing movements to keep your muscles and joints from getting stiff.

Joint mobility movements, various forms of stretching, or even simple walking will get the job done.

One solution you might try is the Unbreakable System for chronic pain.

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