Posture/shoulder position?

[Laura H]

OK, let me start out by saying I am your typical non-athletic, not extremely graceful AOSS skater here . . . never took dance or anything like that as a child, started taking aerobic classes (step, low impact, etc.) around 20 and have kept that up, but I don't think I've ever even *thought* about posture until recent years with skating . . . so forgive me if this is a dumb question, but your posture when you are skating - you are aiming to keep your head up/chin up - do you also want to keep your shoulders back (i.e. so that you feel a little bit of *pull* in your shoulderblades?) Because I think my norm is to let my shoulders slump forward, I see my son doing it too when he skates, and I can see that this would probably shift your weight to the front and throw off your balance - whereas when I pull my shoulders back, it shifts my weight more back to center.

Being an "adult" skater, we haven't quite covered these subtleties yet - our instructor has SOO many more pressing things to work on with us :D . . . but if working on posture will help me out, I'm all for it!!

[silverbeetle]

Absolutely! Spot on...slumping your shoulders forward does tend to tip your weight forward and isn't a very pleasing look. You should feel a slight pressure between the shoulder blades from pulling them toward eachother. It's great that you came upon this on your own! I'm sure your making great progress, keep up the good work!

figskate

[Petlover]

One thing that helps me as another AOSS skater is to think about trying to get a "ballroom back". To do this, lift your ribcage which should set your shoulders properly, neither forward nor back. When I try to correct my posture by setting my shoulders back, I often lean backwards which has caused some ugly falls. Lifting the ribcage like when you take a deep breath works better.

[froggy]

i try to keep in mind the posture i have in ballet class:

1. chin up and neck elongated
2. shoulder blades pressed together, and shoulders pressed down
3. chest forward
4. tummy tucked (think of pressing your belly button against your spine)
5. squeeze your behind together


its very easy to forget #4,5, since its normal when chest is forward to then arch the back (lordosis) and bring the stomach out and then stick out one's bottom.

Ballet or just holding this posture off ice in front of a mirror helps, you can also pose with leg extended (not a spiral position) like you would when stroking.

[Team Arthritis]

my coach boiled it down for me "if it doesn't hurt, you aren't squeezing enough!"8O
Lyle

[doubletoe]

Chest over knees. Knees over toes. Squeeze shoulder blades together in the middle of your back and that will make shoulders automatically pull back and chest push out. :)

[jskater49]

As my former coach would say..."you've got a rack, show it off"

j

[NCSkater02]

As my former coach would say..."you've got a rack, show it off"

j

So can I use "you used to have a rack, show off what's left" :lol:

I've had poor posture for most of my adult life--trying to disguise that rack--and am still struggling with it, more than three years after my reduction. I still find myself hunched over, shoulders forward. As soon as I notice it, I correct it, but it's still an ongoing battle.

[jazzpants]

As my former coach would say..."you've got a rack, show it off"Ummmm... what about those of us that don't have much of a rack to show off??? :oops: :giveup: I've often joked that when my stomach is as flat as my chest that's when I'm in shape. :P :lol:

Just had my first training session with my Hunky Trainer last night... and getting my shoulders pulled back and lowered is one of his first concerns (much to the appreciation of secondary coach, who's been saying the same thing too!) He's gonna have a hard time though. He's dealing with an "occupational hazard" of mine. (And right now my shoulders are quite tired and sore... 8O )

[Sessy]

Take ballet and perhaps private lessons in ballroom dancing (with your hubby?). Everybody used to tell me that I had a back like the wheel of a car, then I danced for a year seriously, and did ballet for a half a year or so next to skating and now even when I feel that I'm letting my shoulders slump tremendously I still get compliments about how straight up I stand.

Don't expect magic results. You'll need to think about keeping your back straight at different points all through the day - carrying groceries, standing in the elevator, waiting for the bus, sitting on the couch, getting coffee, cooking, brushing your teeth, etc. And the muscles to keep your back up and your shoulders straight need to build, slowly. So it takes time. And muscle memory.

[Laura H]

Ummmm... what about those of us that don't have much of a rack to show off??? :oops: :giveup: I've often joked that when my stomach is as flat as my chest that's when I'm in shape. :P :lol:

Just had my first training session with my Hunky Trainer last night... and getting my shoulders pulled back and lowered is one of his first concerns (much to the appreciation of secondary coach, who's been saying the same thing too!) He's gonna have a hard time though. He's dealing with an "occupational hazard" of mine. (And right now my shoulders are quite tired and sore... 8O )


Darn, you beat me to the punch on that one . . . LOLOLOL . . .

[Laura H]

Don't expect magic results. You'll need to think about keeping your back straight at different points all through the day - carrying groceries, standing in the elevator, waiting for the bus, sitting on the couch, getting coffee, cooking, brushing your teeth, etc. And the muscles to keep your back up and your shoulders straight need to build,
slowly. So it takes time. And muscle memory.


Glad that you said that - I have been working on that already (since I realized what terrible posture I have, LOL) and good to hear that is the right thing to be doing! I figured that I would have to get into the habit if I expected it to work on the ice, plus it seems to be good for the core too!

[Sessy]

OK, but take care of one thing... Okay I'm going to put this as medical as I can, I hope it's not getting too adult-themed, I don't know any other comprehensible way to describe this and I do feel it is very important.

There's an 8-shaped muscle around your anus and vagina at the bottom of your hip bones. Now, if you start cramping those up, you can expect problems like lower back pains, problems peeing, constipation, and a whole series of other problematic things.
When you stand, just like, stand on two legs, grounded (like in fighting sports or taught for presentations in seminars), that is, your weight over both your feet and standing stable - not to be pushed over easily. Next, concentrate on relaxing your belly muscles, and breathe into your belly button basically. Keep your shoulders down, don't pull them up as this blocks your airways and keeps you from breathing into your belly. Also, you breathe in into your belly, you breathe out PASSIVELY. DOn't push your belly back in to push the air out, just relax it, it will compress by itself!
When your belly moves like that, and you breathe deeply (you will feel this, and also need less frequent breaths), that's the right type of breathing. That is one indication that this 8-shaped muscle is relaxed.

Relax it consciously. You can feel it actually, relax it. It needs to be relaxed standing. Then, relax it lying down. Don't press your thighs together when lying on your back, let your feet turn outward. This takes the tension off the inner thighs, which takes the tension off the 8-shaped muscle.

Then, same thing for sitting. You have to sit straight up, but don't keep your knees together for the same reason. Relax this muscle.



What I'm trying to say is, your straight up posture should not be causing tension in the rest of your body, or you'll get yourself other physical problems. So take care to be relaxed when straightening up :) And don't forget to push those shoulders down when straightening up, else you're putting a strain in your muscles in your neck and back and not breathing properly :)

The only thing you do need to tense this muscle for, along with the rest of your core, is when you're lifting something. :)

[sunjoy]

Interesting, because in yoga they commonly teach to contract these muscles.

[SkatingOnClouds]

Being a woman of a certain age, I thought we were supposed to be learning to contract these muscles at every possible opportunity?


QUOTINGjskater49: So can I use "you used to have a rack, show off what's left" LOL, I can so identify with that one.

[Team Arthritis]

Interesting, because in yoga they commonly teach to contract these muscles.

Wellllll, I think the difference is subtle, you need to tip your pelvis back to prevent too much back sway but you need to use the inner muscles not the glutes or pelvic floor. So Sessy is correct but this is a more advanced technique, you start off learning to just contract everything but this restricts you hip movements.

OTOH "Kegel" exercises are good for everyone, especially women and more important as we age, just not part of good posture.

FWIW
Lyle

[Mrs Redboots]

I'm having posture trouble at the moment, as I am very round-shouldered, which is increasing with age. And my coach says my upper back muscles are weak, or rather, those muscles that pull my shoulders back. Probably from years of working at a desk.

I spoke to my trainer this morning, and she said something about balancing your top half on top of your bottom half, which I think is basically what Petlover was saying.

At one stage, among the adults at our rink, there was a great craze on reminding ourselves, "Tits up, tummy in, bum in". Except, that as one skater pointed out, "Well, it has to go somewhere!"

Right now I'm really practising standing straight & tall, as I know it takes a good 20 lbs off me, visually, and I won't be able to avoid being photographed at this wretched wedding!

[jenlyon60]

One of the things I am learning from spending lots of time doing balance/wobble board exercises in my post-op Physical therapy is that the balance on 1 foot is much easier with proper posture.

I noticed especially last night when doing 1-foot wobble board drills, that whenever I focused on head level, hips pulled under me and core tight, that the wobble board was quite easy. Well, the 4th repeat of the "stand on the wobble board on your right leg for 1 minute" was a bit tiring.

(Note: this is a 2-way wobble board with rocker wedges underneath, not a all-way wobble board with a half-circle mounted underneath.)

[Mainemom]

My sister is a teacher of the Alexander Technique and what she has always told us (she is also a skater) is to imagine a piece of string coming from the top of your head that is stretching your spine up up up. Don't conciously push your shoulders down and back, just let them relax and fall. She says that most people have so much tension in their shoulders that forcing them down and back creates even more (tension, that is) and makes your back and shoulders stiff. Relax and breathe! (I can hear her voice - how many times have I heard that sentence....)

[Mrs Redboots]

She says that most people have so much tension in their shoulders that forcing them down and back creates even more (tension, that is) and makes your back and shoulders stiff. More or less what my fitness trainer said, too. I am to have another session with her next week ("before the wedding"), she told me this morning!

[Laura H]

Don't conciously push your shoulders down and back, just let them relax and fall. She says that most people have so much tension in their shoulders that forcing them down and back creates even more (tension, that is) and makes your back and shoulders stiff. Relax and breathe! (I can hear her voice - how many times have I heard that sentence....)

You know, I was standing next to DS' coach recently while we were watching him spin and she said, look, how much more centered he gets when he relaxes! His neck was stretching up and his shoulders were relaxing and going back/down - and it made a world of difference.