I’m fast approaching the end of my first round of Insanity. Yes, I did say, “first round” because I plan on doing it again and again and again and maybe again after that! LOL! I really love the workout and it has helped me change my body, as well as my mind, and hopefully my life.
This week I had my Air Force annual physical fitness assessment. I passed my test with the best score of my entire 13-year military career! I scored an 85! I received max points for my waist measurement, push-ups, and sit-ups! But, the 1.5-mile run was still my nemesis. Even though I knocked 45 seconds off last years time; I was still under-satisfied with my run performance. Insanity did not really help me in that regard. I have come to the conclusion that, in order to be able to run, you have to get out and run. There is no substitute for running. I really don’t like running, but will have to get out and do it, if I want to improve my run time. Insanity did help me improve every other aspect of my fitness level on the test. I have a 31.5-inch waist (down from a 38-inch waist!!!!); I did 52 push-ups, and 54 crunches. Insanity really helped me, waist and strength wise, but I will have to really train for the run.
Now, since I have been on Insanity there has been one problem I have noticed with these workouts. The workouts, along with my lifestyle, have caused me to developed upper cross syndrome and it has really been an annoyance. The best way to describe upper cross syndrome (UCS) is seeing that old person who's standing up, but appears to be falling over. You know, their head shifted forward, shoulders rounded, and they look like a hunchback. The reason why they look like that is because of a muscular imbalance between the flexors and extensors of the upper torso. UCS is the weakening and lengthening of the posterior upper-back and neck musculature, and the tightening and shortening of the anterior and opposing musculature.
The way to tell if you might have UCS is you may feel an ache or severe burning sensation in the upper-back, between the shoulder blades, at the base of the back of your neck. You can place two fingers at the top of your right shoulder and feel for a bony notch that protrudes from it. That's your acromion. Now grab a ruler and lie on your back on the floor, your right arm resting alongside your body. With your left hand, measure the distance from your right acromion to the floor, being careful not to raise or lower your right shoulder. If the distance is more than 1 inch, you have UCS. Another method would be to have a friend take a picture of you, shirtless, from the side. Stand tall, but in a relaxed position, the way you would if you weren't thinking about your posture. Check to see if the middle of your ear is in line with the middle of your shoulder, hip, and ankle. If you can't draw a straight line through these points, then you have UCS.
Poor posture, such as slumping over a computer or slouching, contributes to the development of UCS. See, the average human head weighs 8 pounds and if your chin moves forward just 3 inches, as it tends to when you work at a computer, the muscles of your neck, shoulders, and upper back must support the equivalent of 11 pounds. That's a weight-bearing increase of 38 percent, often for hours at a time.
The shoulder (upper-back) is the most complex and unstable joint in the human body. For it to function properly, you need to train all the muscles that help stabilize it. The trouble is that Insanity fails to isolate work the shoulders and back. Some of the exercises target the front and middle portions of the deltoid, but neglect the smaller muscles at the back of the shoulder joint. The result is a strength imbalance, which makes the shoulder less stable. The correction of this problem involves the strengthening of the weakened posterior musculature and stretching of the tight anterior musculature.
A lot of experts feel that a good stretching program, such as Yoga, is essential to both preventing and correcting UCS. In particular, the pectoral muscles and anterior shoulder muscles must be stretched often, especially following training of these muscle groups. Furthermore, a conscious effort should be made to maintain correct posture when walking and sitting (shoulders pulled back, head, neck and back straight). This practice is especially important for those working in an office setting and sitting at a desk in front of a computer all day long. The tendency is to slouch forward with head bent. To help support proper posture when working at a desk, the computer monitor should be at eye level, keyboard should not be too far in front of the body so that shoulders can be kept back, and feet should be flat on floor with a 90-degree bend at the knees.
Insanity doesn’t really address this back and shoulder area at all, but P90X does! So, I will be starting a P90X-Insanity hybrid program after a recovery week, once I finish my first round of Insanity. Hopefully P90X's YogaX and the back and shoulder workouts will help get my back right again… We will see!
I will keep you all posted on what happens once I start. Until then, I will keep digging deep and pressing play! I will be posting my final results and before and after pictures soon!
Late
S
P.S.
If you are suffering from UCS, here are the sources for this article, which have awesome info on the how’s, what’s, why’s, and treatments for this syndrome:
http://www.myyogaonline.com/videos/workplace-wellness/upper-cross-syndrome
http://www.mmatraining.com/fitness/posture-up-dealing-with-upper-cross-syndrome/
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