Sometimes I see people
exercising with such bad form that it makes me want to shoot myself. My
lecturer Alan(Yoda) told me once that, when I qualified, I wouldn’t
see dead people, but bad posture.
He was right. Boy, was he right!
I see people leaping around in Aerobics classes, doing complicated
routines, foot-perfect and faster than the Kids from Fame, complaining
when they feel it’s “Too easy”, and “We did
that routine six months ago!” But their posture
is awful. Backs are hunched, shoulders are up round ears, backsides
are stuck out, and if their abdominals are engaged,
then I’m Seven of Nine…“
Irrelevant!” I hear you yell. But not if you Seek Perfection…
Sure, they’re burning calories. But they’re not doing
their bodies any favours, even though they think they are. They may
think that the only workout worth doing is one at 150 + beats per
minute music, which leaves them so breathless that they throw up
and their legs ache for three days. They are absolutely sincere in
their devotion to this type of exercise and this type only… They are absolutely sincerely wrong. Your body is designed to move in specific ways, and is at it’s
most efficient when all bones, joints and muscles are lined up
correctly. My classes are so used to me repeating the mantra “Neutral
Spine, Head in Line” that they mouth the words along with
me. But they do it. And because they are used to doing it in class,
they do it out of class as well…Remember: Practice doesn’t
make perfect. Practice makes permanent. If the wheels of your car
need balancing and the tracking is out, then the car will not run
smoothly and fuel consumption will be high. Chances are other problems
will begin to develop, resulting finally in a breakdown and all
the associated inconvenience. Your car just became unreliable. What makes you think your body is any different?
Once I had a new client who informed me that she did every Aerobic
class going, several days each week. She was pencil thin and extremely well toned.
Her spine and shoulders were so stiff that she was permanently
bent forward – the muscles there would simply not budge. She lasted a couple of sessions and left, saying Pilates was boring
and no challenge….
I believe she suffers regularly from back pain. I rest my case.
|
|
