Everyone, Stacey knows her stuff,… If you need help with something,… she will be here to go over anything that has to do with your body and its movement Saturdays at 10am
Stacey Hallarces:
As far as we’ve drifted away from the diet of our Paleolithic ancestors, we’ve gone even further astray from the active lifestyle we were meant to live as bipeds. We were created to thrive on two feet; not waste away as a tripod with our 2 feet and butt glued to the chair and floor. As expected, improper use of anything has its consequences. Of the gazillion consequences of inactivity and unhealthy eating, today we’ll focus on bad posture.
Remember that commercial, “This is your brain… And this is your brain on drugs.” Well, this is you…
And this is you on a chair…
…which translates to these train wrecks you try to pass off as squats.
Bad static posture implies weakness and inflexibility in various parts of the body. Weakness and inflexibility:
• Can temporarily/permanently decrease the range of motion in the affected joint(s) and other joints
• Limit strength/power development
• Leave you highly susceptible to acute and chronic injuries, most typically:
-Lower back pain
-Headaches
-Herniated/”slipped” discs
-Nerve impingements (presenting as numbness, tingling, burning, sharp radiating pain, etc.)
-Rotator cuff impingement
-Sprains
-Strains
• Cause other secondary conditions in other parts of the body as a result of compensation and poor movement mechanics
• Result in an injury cycle that repeats and worsens in nature and spreads to other areas of the body
Imagine your skeleton as a perfectly set up tower of Jenga blocks. This is your body at its optimal position: stable, able to withstand and manipulate outside forces and loads, and generate maximal power. After acquiring the posture of a desk jockey, your skeleton has transformed into an almost-game-over tower of Jenga blocks: unstable, weak, and ready to give way with the slightest wrong move. And that’s BEFORE taking into account the additional weight you’re moving during the WODs. In summary: moving your unstable self with bad form + extra weight, with SPEED X a bajillion reps = disaster.
In your attempts to undo the damage, fill in your structural holes, and increase strength and stability, you WOD. Good start, HOWEVER, after accumulating 8 hours at work/school, 2 hours in front of the TV, and another 2 hours surfing the web, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year, and for how many years, in this posture, it’s absurd to think that the 3-5 hours you put in weekly at the gym can reverse the longstanding damage that’s already been done. DAILY efforts are needed to make any advances, with 3x/week for maintenance.
Long story short: invest the extra minutes to stretch. Get your Jenga blocks in order. Decrease the likelihood of sustaining an injury and improve your strength, performance, and overall health. Ask the coaches if you need direction or instruction. Lastly, take advantage of the fundamentals class on Saturdays at 10am. Beginners: learn how to stack your blocks and keep them solid throughout your lifts. Veterans: get confirmation that your blocks are stacked and train heavier and harder. Everyone: practice, practice, practice. Challenge yourself to consistently progress. It’s the root of CrossFit…there’s always room for improvement…it’s why we do what we do and keep coming back for more.
WOD 4-21-11
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Kettlebell Swings (2 pood/1.5 pood)
Pushups
Air Squats
CrossFit Mean Streets
Downtown Los Angeles
Stacey is a BAUCE
Aw, the pictures didn’t come out