Exercise for posture

It's interesting to see how people exercise, everyone is trying very hard to impress the opposite sex (the number 1 reason for going to the gym) by losing weight and improving their appearance. However, according to personal trainer Greg Brookes www.gbpersonaltraining.com, what is being performed in the gym is producing the absolute opposite of what the opposite sex is really looking for.

Working life has changed drastically with the advent of the computer and most of us spend hours in front of a computer every day. Think about your posture during your 8 hour day: head is coming forward, shoulders are rounding, back is arching forwards, legs are bent and muscles are shortening.

Now look at the most common exercises that you see down the gym: cycling, men doing chest presses, hundreds of sit-ups and crunches. Now lets take a look at the impact of these common exercises:

CYCLING

This exercise hugely develops your hip flexors. These are the muscles responsible for bringing your knees to your chest. These muscles are attached to your lower spine and the top of your thighs. The more you work these muscles the more you encourage an excessive arch in your lower back (lordosis) to counter balance the pull on the upper thighs. Think about pushing your belly out and buttocks backwards and you have some idea of what this posture will look like. Now compare this to how you sit in front of a desk all day, already with your knees bent and hip flexors shortened.

CHEST PRESSES

Guys love a big chest. Lying on a bench and pushing out hundreds of reps with a bar or dumbells will certainly enhance the size of your chest. But is this really what you want? Chest presses encourage your shoulders to come around even further and this not only exaggerates your daily desk sitting posture but also hides the very chest you are try to develop.

SIT-UPS AND CRUNCHES

Further pulling your chin towards your hips will not cause you to get a flat stomach it will only exaggerate again your desk sitting posture. Do you really want to encourage a bent over and chin forward position Your exercise workouts need to change.

You need to be spending time in the gym correcting all the bad posture that you are getting from 8 hours of desk sitting. Take a look at yourself right now. How are you sitting?? Don't you think that it would be better to devote your exercise workouts to pulling your shoulders backwards (not forwards with chest exercises), increasing your hip extension (rather than flexion from knees to chest), working on spine extension (not flexion as in sit-ups).

Most people work on muscles that they believe the opposite sex find attractive. Guys work their chest, women their abs. If you were to change your exercises to help enhance your posture you would not only enhance your appearance but your general movement too! Now that makes a lot more sense doesn't it...??

For a workout with a difference, why not come along to Greg Brookes' training studio (or have him come to you) to show you the proper way to exercise to make you more attractive.

Everyone claims to have a magic exercise that will strip the fat in days or give you that flat stomach in only 7 minutes. The truth is, the body is only designed to move in a few key ways which is why PT Greg Brookes (www.gbpersonaltraining.com) has devised the ultimate workout. Include these exercise movement patterns in your workout and you'll hit every muscle in your body resulting in quick fat loss, rapid muscle building and a workout that is totally natural.

Lunge

1. Lunge - the lunge mimics the natural walking or running pattern. You can lunge forwards, backwards, sideways, and with or without added resistance from weights. The lunge works the legs and buttocks very hard and a degree of core stability is required to remain upright.

2. Squat - every time you sit down you perform a squat. Ensure you squat down so the thighs are parallel to the floor, this activates the buttocks properly. The squat hits the thighs and buttocks hard as well as raising the heart rate quickly. You can squat with or without the addition of a weight.

Deadlift

3. Deadlift - if you pick something up off the floor then chances are you are using a variation of the deadlift. The deadlift works the buttocks, hamstrings and back. One highly effective variation of the deadlift is the kettlebell swing, this adds a more dynamic element to the deadlift and challenges the core too!

Press Up

4. Press Ups - this exercise teaches the body to push, a fundamental movement. In order to perform an effective Press Up you need good core strength to stop your body from collapsing. If you can't hold a press up position then work on this first to condition your abs and core strength. Press Ups condition the abs, shoulders, triceps and shoulders.

Pull Ups

5. Rows / Pull Ups - a vital movement for any kind of climbing or pulling. This movement works the back of the body and biceps. Rows are particularly important for correcting posture due to the amount of time we spend hunched over at the desk.

Try putting all 5 of these exercises in a circuit one after the other for a complete all over body workout. Perform 8 reps of each exercise and 3 circuits. When you can do 15 reps add more resistance, it is that simple!

You can find more information about these movement patterns and how to progress them at Greg´s online membership site, www.gbptmembers.com