Lately I’ve been doing some reading of the book Awareness and I’ve also been reading more deeply some pasture stuff.
You’ll remember that I have the Allen Calvert posture exercises in the Home Gym Strength and Health plan. I came across that stuff a while ago and it really made a difference but I haven’t seen it anywhere else.
Until now.
This book that I picked up called the Warriors Way talks about the structural isometric postural holding and the benefits that it can give you.
Animals do this naturally. But we don’t and because we default to laziness we suffer for it. As an ectomorph I think I have a particular victim claim here—but I won’t use it!
Where this book goes deeper is in the sitting department. The Alan Calvert instructions were all about standing, these instructions also address sitting.
Now, as an office worker—even with a stand up desk—I sit a lot. And, I’m learning, I do it incorrectly.
The book contends that if you don’t have a solid isometric system, your isotonic system can’t ever be as strong as it could be. Here we go back to a post I made a long time ago after reading super strength.
https://workingmanfitness.com/an-adjustment-to-the-training-program/
The graphic in this post shows some of the development Calvert talks about along the spine and into the “loins” – a fun word you don’t hear often enough.
Throwing a couple of ideas at you. But the combination of those ideas is that you want to be strongly isometrically supported along your spine. That entails holding the spine correctly and rigidly. You’ll see young kids doing this, then we seem to lose it.
Calvert’s instructions still hold, but I realize now I have to add more to them to make them complete.
Anyway, make yourself tall is the basic instruction and note where your breath is coming in. It’s a huge difference. Imagine someone is pulling you from a string attached to the crown of your head. Now hold that—24 hours a day.
The idea is that you put your body into the correct spot and some magic happens. I’m gonna find out.
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