[HN Gopher] Slouch: Posture panic in modern America
___________________________________________________________________
Slouch: Posture panic in modern America
Author : samclemens
Score : 27 points
Date : 2024-11-22 06:17 UTC (2 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.thenation.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.thenation.com)
| naming_the_user wrote:
| I'll admit to not reading the entire article here but I think
| that mostly people mistake posture issues for lack of exercise /
| being sedentary in general.
|
| If you work out a minimal amount and build some core strength /
| back muscles etc then you'll find that your posture naturally
| corrects itself whilst walking, that sitting in a chair for
| extended periods isn't as rough, etc.
| n4r9 wrote:
| I've found this to be the case for myself. And "minimal" can be
| pretty quick - work up to a set of 5 squats with your body
| weight on the bar, once or twice a week, say.
| rootusrootus wrote:
| I must be old or I have a different idea of minimal. A set of
| squats at ~200 pounds is entirely doable in time, yes, but my
| guess is it would be non-trivial for much of the adult
| population. Even when we were doing conditioning in high
| school I don't recall that a significant fraction of the
| class was breaking much over 225 or so.
| fire_lake wrote:
| Many people lack the mobility to squat at all! Correcting
| this takes considerable time.
| yesco wrote:
| Gaining reliable access to the equipment can also be tricky
| depending on your budget, schedule and floorplan. I
| personally couldn't really get a good habit going until I
| could purchase the equipment and make it available from
| home. Prior to that I was intermittently going to a gym but
| Covid really drilled into me how transient that access can
| be.
|
| Considering how far you can go with just a few gallons of
| water, would be nice if there was more innovation in this
| space to increase accessibility in a safe way. While the
| bars and weights are one thing, it's ultimately the lack of
| a rack that makes squats troublesome imo.
| n4r9 wrote:
| I've never had space to store the bar itself, but if I
| had a home gym I'd be okay with a couple of stands like
| this:
|
| https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/mp/york/york-squat-
| stands/_/R-...
|
| You have to learn how to bail, but (depending on low vs
| high bar) you can get pretty confident at it
| naming_the_user wrote:
| The issue is that people stop exercising at all as adults
| which makes about as much sense as stopping teeth brushing.
|
| If you just consistently do a little bit of strength
| training then it never gets hard, you just very slowly tail
| off in absolute strength which is fine.
|
| The average adult probably also isn't great at learning for
| example because they just stop once they finish school.
| n4r9 wrote:
| I meant minimal in terms of time. I get your point though.
| Still, a set of your 5RM is going to do wonders for many
| people no matter how strong you already are. And if you're
| putting a bit of thought into form and diet, I believe most
| people can work up to around 80kg with a year of practise
| twice a week.
| rickcarlino wrote:
| Even at my peak of training for a 50 mile ultra marathon last
| year my posture was kind of crappy by conventional measures.
| That being said, I can run 50 miles without stopping just fine
| and I have never sustained a serious injury during my 15+ years
| as a runner.
| tyre wrote:
| Those are completely different muscles, so it makes sense
| that your posture isn't different.
| marmakoide wrote:
| Regular Sunday 10 miles here, then I had the pleasure to
| experience plantar fasciitis. I love running, but the
| injuries can be really annoying
| marmakoide wrote:
| I fixed my recurrent back pain with a 6 mn daily morning, ie.
| plank, side plank, reverse plank, 1mn 30 sec each.
|
| Posture muscles are not very well known in the general public.
| Loss of strength due to aging and sedentary lifestyle makes
| standing, seating, etc uncomfortable.
| FooBarBizBazz wrote:
| > people mistake posture issues for lack of exercise / being
| sedentary [...]
|
| > If you work out a minimal amount and build some core strength
| / back muscles etc then you'll find that your posture naturally
| corrects itself [...]
|
| I'm missing something. Doesn't paragraph 2 imply that the
| assumption made by people (paragraph 1) is not actually a
| mistake?
| hn_throwaway_99 wrote:
| Completely agree. I'm "late middle age", and while I lift
| weights regularly, including squats and deadlifts, I am
| otherwise pretty sedentary and I don't get a lot of
| "functional" fitness (e.g. sports).
|
| Recently I decided to find a new hobby and started playing the
| violin. It was a wakeup call that after just a half hour
| standing playing the violin with my instructor that my back
| would basically seize up. It was quite embarrassing! Good thing
| is I got used to it pretty quick, and thanks to violin practice
| I stand much more than I used to (and plus I added more back
| and stretching exercises to my workout). As you say, it really
| takes a minimal amount to improve your strength.
| apitman wrote:
| Lift weights
| baxtr wrote:
| Surprisingly enough, the answer to many self imposed human
| problems
| sandspar wrote:
| If you watch those "restored 1920s street scene" videos on
| YouTube then you'll quickly notice that every single pedestrian
| has outstanding posture.
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| My father was fairly tall, and had a slouch from always ducking
| (we lived in Africa, and he towered over most people, and was
| always banging his head).
|
| My mother was always nagging me to "sit up straight."
|
| These days, I have fairly good posture. Part of it, is because I
| take a 5K brisk walk, every morning, and that helps me to stay
| straight. Also, I am not that tall, so I don't need to keep
| ducking.
|
| I also use a standing desk, and like to stand straight for it.
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2024-11-24 23:00 UTC)