UNFOLD YOUR POTENTIAL
Poor deskbound posture is cramping your stamina. Sit back and breathe easy to give deflated endurance levels instant elevation
Poor posture isn’t just bad for your back – it’s also cramping your e orts in the gym
The office chair has dethroned the vending machine as your workplace’s biggest health hazard. You will have heard that sitting is ‘the new smoking’ and that remaining shackled to your desk well past closing time is making you anxious. You may even be aware of its deleterious effects on your deadlift PB. Well, here’s a new one for you: the curved-spine, hunched-shoulder and bentneck position you’re gradually folding into has been suffocating your fitness ambitions.
Poor posture dramatically reduces your lung capacity, according to research published by Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. If you’re not standing tall then your natural engine, built to mainline your muscles with the run-all-day oxygen supply they require, is operating at sub-optimal capacity. But before you quit your office job to embark on a career as a walking-tour guide, know that you can access this untapped ‘fifth gear’ of endurance simply with the right stretches and strengthening exercises. Sit up and take note: contrary to the popular belief that perfect posture is all about keeping your shoulders back and head high it is, in fact, about keeping your ribs down. You can train your body to breathe in the correct position using the exercise on the right. Performed four times before each workout, this will reset and realign your upper body, thereby increasing lung capacity and boosting your endurance – all without you ever having to break a sweat. You just need a wall, a ball and, er, a balloon (deflated that is – not of the heliumfilled variety). Got that? Take a deep breath now…