How To Act Old by Slouching
October 9, 2009
Gravity is always pushing us earthward, so as we age it is normal to expect some rounding forward of the shoulders as we stand upright. In spite of their cardiovascular conditioning, jocks will also experience some “anterior head carriage”, as it is known in the fitness world. This means your chin is jutted forward and there’s a slight collapse of the chest. A hint that this is happening to you is that your eye gaze is on the floor in front of you as you walk normally as opposed to the horizon straight ahead. Anterior head carriage is exaggerated when you are athletic. Lots of running or biking or activities that take you forward through space, also allow gravity to have it’s way in a more apparent way.
In our 40’s and 50’s there are a few simple stretches that you can do (with a towel) when you get out of the shower each day (or am I presuming too much from you sweaty people)to keep you upright and preventing you from hinging forward like an old fogie. Tall people, this is especially important for you. Longer levers have more work to do against gravity than less tall people.If you wait until you are seventy years old to do these stretches, the spinal changes will be structural (bone) rather than muscular so likelihood of reversing this would be zilch. But if are 40 to 50 years old, try stretching. It’s not too late.
Take a towel and twist it like a rope. Hold an end in each hand and bring it overhead and behind you until it is directly behind you and you feel a stretch across the center of your chest. Straighten your wrists and take a big breath in to expand the front of the torso. Do this every day and see if you don’t feel taller.
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