Improving Posture
By Suzanne Frank
Good posture is one thing I struggle with especially since having breast reconstruction. Prior to my surgeries when I became fatigued after a long day of meetings or working on the computer or having too much stress I found I was slouching/hunching my shoulders and even holding my shoulders up closer than I should to my ears. I was aware that I needed to work on fixing this. Much to my dismay my breast reconstruction left me with a much larger chest than my original size. My slumping/hunching worsened. I think this happened due to being self conscious and thinking that people would notice the new cleavage I was sporting (most people where I worked were unaware that I had breast cancer reconstruction). My body got used to being hunched over and I have been actively working on improving my posture. When I stood tall with my shoulders back and down and my hands at my sides it felt awkward and uncomfortable. This was going to be a challenge.
Here are some benefits of having good posture:
- Improved balance- this not only lowers your risk of falls, it can also improve your athletic ability
- Lower risk of injury- moving, standing, and sitting correctly reduces the strain on your muscles, joints and ligaments
- Less back pain- good posture puts less stress and tension on the discs and vertebra in your spine
- Fewer headaches- poor posture can put extra strain on your neck, which can lead to tension headaches
- Improved breathing and circulation-when your vital organs are compressed by slouching, it can help your blood flow more easily through your blood vessels and organs.
Here are some tips:
- Stand straight and tall with your shoulders relaxed and pulled back slightly.
- Stand with your feet approximately shoulder width apart with your weight mostly on the balls of your feet
- Keep your knees slightly bent
- Keep your abdominal muscles tight
- Keep your head level, not bent forward
I hope the information will help any of you that have challenges maintaining good posture.
Shake It Up
By Coach Anita
It is natural to get into behavioral habits. Once our bodies become accustomed to something or it doesn’t feel uncomfortable, we are likely to continue a behavior. This is especially true with exercise. Most of us have exercises we prefer to do versus something less comfortable or more taxing. Take a look at your exercise workouts and look for habits. Are there certain core exercises you always substitute out? Do you tend to favor more leg work than upper body? This generally means that the areas you favor are already strong, and the areas you avoid would benefit from more work.
This is true for cardiovascular exercise as well. The very first blog article I wrote was about the body’s different energy systems, and there was a link to cardio workouts for the different systems. Reflecting back on sixteen weeks, think about the types of cardio work you have been doing. Have you been doing work at 100% effort for brief periods of time, resting, and then repeating? If so, you’ve been training your ATP-CP system also referred to as the immediate energy system. This energy system is what we use in the first three explosive strokes of our start sequence. Have you been doing a little bit longer work at a high level (but not 100%), with brief rests and repeating? Oden’s workouts are structured this way. This type of training is benefiting your Anaerobic Lactate/Glycolic system, aka the short-term energy system. This energy system is what is active in high intensity work that lasts between 1-3 minutes. This energy system is predominant in a 500 meter dragon boat race. Maybe you’ve been focusing on training your Oxidative system (aka aerobic or long term energy system). This system is used for activities longer than 3 minutes, and is conducted at lower intensities than the others so that they can be performed for longer periods of time. Aerobic training can be done by walking, running, biking, paddling - just about anything where your heart rate increases - at an intensity level that can be sustained for a longer period of time. By training your aerobic system, you are developing endurance which also benefits your short-term energy system.
If you find that you haven’t been providing equal training time to the three energy systems, perhaps it’s time to diversify. If you do Oden’s workout once a week, maybe consider adding in a cardio focused workout by doing a long walk. Consider making it a combination workout by starting with an all-out sprint up a set of stairs or a hill, repeating it several times, and then do a longer walk at a lower intensity. This same behavior can be done in a kayak, on an SUP, a bicycle, rowing machine or with a jump rope.
The more diversity you have in your workouts the better your overall training. When you start to get bored with a workout or notice that the challenge isn’t as great, consider changing things up. It’s okay to take a break from focused workouts and just be active for the fun of it. After taking a break from your regular workouts you will likely feel reinvigorated and excited to begin again. If you don’t need a break but the thrill is gone, maybe set a small goal or two, and see if a little win here and there motivates you toward something else. I get energized when I read new research about the effects of exercise or find new exercises for a body part, and it helps me get excited to workout. There are many books and online resources for ideas.
It’s August 2020. No one could have predicted we’d be in the situation we are today, so use this shakeup in routine to shake up your routine. Share in the comments if you’ve found something to help reinvigorate your routine.
Week Seventeen Workout
with Coach Oden
with Coach Oden
Sore and Very Sore
by Coach Pat
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) usually sets in from 8 to 24 hours after an activity and peaks 48 - 72 hours after. The muscles which have been torn down start to heal and build up. Extreme soreness shouldn’t happen all the time, but when you push too hard at something new you can have serious pain. Time is your friend, but there are some other things you can do.
Get off the couch: no matter how sore you are you need to move. Get the blood flowing to your muscles. This should be a light workout, depending on how you feel your regular workout may not be the answer. At the Wednesday night workout , everyone heard how sore I was, but I powered through the workout and felt better for doing it. On Thursday I managed a good walk and Friday was total rest. How hard you work out has to be judged based on how and where you are sore. Don’t sit, but you may need to modify intensity and weight load.
Hydrate and then hydrate some more: It is generally believed that good hydration will help minimize soreness and that continuing to hydrate will assist your body in eliminating the toxins and waste products produced from breaking down muscle.
Stretch : Stretching and foam rolling may bring relief. Keep it light and avoid pain.
Eat Protein: Protein is essential for healing muscle. Try and grab a protein rich snack within an hour of exercise.
Ice and Heat: Icing will provide temporary relief by reducing inflammation. Heat, like a bath or hot tub can also provide some relief but is much more tricky as you can get adverse side effects. Try icing for 20 minutes each hour.
Keep your focus on your body. If the soreness hasn’t reduced or gone away in 72 hours you may have an injury. If you are experiencing sharp pain or had sharp pain during your workout this also could indicate injury and not just DOMS.
