We all know exercise is an important part of a healthy
lifestyle. As someone who is also a recipient of upper cervical care, I
understand you may be nervous about how to exercise while protecting your spine
and holding your adjustment. How can you perform daily tasks like carrying
groceries or picking up something heavy without affecting your alignment?
As a personal trainer, I’d love to help you understand
how breathing properly and bracing your core can help you stay safe and hold
your adjustment in both exercise and daily life. First off, let’s start with
the basics. Have you heard of diaphragmatic breathing? This is when you breathe
into your belly instead of your chest. Obviously you’re still using your lungs,
but you should feel and see your belly expand instead of your chest and
shoulders rise. This is important to do whenever you perform an exercise, like
a squat, or carry boxes into your son’s new dorm room.
In fact, you should practice this type of breathing until
it becomes a habit. If you feel tight in your chest and shoulders all the time,
how you breathe could be the problem.
The technique we’re discussing can be applied to almost
any type of exercise or lifting movement, but let’s simplify it by focusing on
the squat. You squat multiple times per day whether you are working out or not.
Protecting your spine while breathing into your belly should be your #1 goal.
Here’s a play-by-play of proper breathing technique for a
safer squat:
1. With your feet facing forward, pretend like you’re
lightly screwing them into the ground by twisting them out. Your feet aren’t
actually twisting, but this activates your muscles to properly support your
hips so your spine can stay aligned.
2. Next, squeeze your butt to put your hips and pelvis in
a good position to support your spine.
3. Before you squat, you’ll want to stand up tall and try
to ensure your head is over your heart, and your heart is over your hips.
3a. Open your chest and roll your shoulders back if you
feel like you’re still slouching.
4. Brace your abdominal area like someone is about to
punch you in the gut. This is called “bracing” and is crucial for protecting
your spine.
5. Next, take a normal-sized breath using diaphragmatic
(belly) breathing, while at the same time, keeping your core braced for the
punch.
6. Hold that breath in and feel how it locks your spine
in place. Hold it as you lower into your squat.
7. Exhale as you stand back up.
8. (Pro tip: think about squeezing your knees out as you
stand back up)
If holding your breath on your quick descent down makes
you nervous or lightheaded, you can always inhale on your way down, while
bracing your abs for a punch and breathing into your belly. Exhale while
standing back up. Following these steps will keep your spine locked in a safe
place while doing things like picking up your kids or a bootcamp workout!
For most of us, belly breathing and bracing won’t come
naturally, but your body and mind are brilliant. With some practice you’ll get
the hang of these in no time, and you’ll start doing them on your own without
even thinking about it! Practicing should improve your posture as well- hooray!
Protecting your spine and holding your adjustment are
obviously priorities for upper cervical care patients. Exercise and healthy
eating are also important factors to help your body function optimally, heal
itself, fight inflammation and pain, and eventually reaching your goal of only
seeing Dr. Chad quarterly!
I know health and fitness can be confusing and hard to prioritize
in your busy schedule. I’ve worked hard to make nutrition easy to understand
and implement and in creating safe, efficient workouts people can do from home
in my website thefittutor.com. There, I’ve created three main sections to
tackle the biggest challenges of getting healthy and in shape:
Nutrition
Let’s face it, dieting is the worst. My Nutrition Course
makes healthy eating and losing weight easy to understand. In it, you’ll learn
healthy habits that give you the freedom to be able to know how to eat right
without needing a diet. You’ll understand what, when, and how much to eat for
you - including your goals and body type! You’ll be empowered to make good
choices and end yo-yo dieting forever. The 6 weeks of meal plans make getting
started a breeze.
Workouts
Strength training helps keep you healthy and is the best
weapon against age-related weight gain. The Fit Tutor has several different
strength training programs to choose from, based on your schedule and goals.
Each exercise has its own video, which includes safe instruction and
modifications to make it both easier and harder! You’ll not only learn proper
exercise form, but the workouts are designed to get results. They can all be
done at home or the gym since the only thing you need is a pair of dumbbells! It’s
like having your own personal trainer wherever you go. And don’t worry,
strength training won’t make you bulky, it should actually make you leaner!
Accountability
If you’ve started and stopped healthy habits in the past,
accountability can be a game changer. A great workout program is worthless if
you’re not doing it! As your trainer and coach, I offer check-ins, coaching
calls, and am here to answer your questions. I spend a lot of time working with
my clients to help them overcome obstacles and carve out time in their
schedules. Accountability is tailored to each individual so that it actually
works, and you get healthier and finally reach your goals!
2 Weeks Free
The Fit Tutor is a membership site, so it’s like Netflix
for your health. A membership costs as little as $11.99/mo, and you can cancel
easily at anytime. If you want to give it a try, you can for 2 weeks free!
You’ll get to try some workouts, start your first healthy eating habit, and get
to discuss your goals and start an optional accountability plan with me! The
site is geared towards women, but if you’re a man who’s looking to get strong
and lose weight, I assure you my programs will get you results, and I have
plenty of men as members!
As you’re working to get healthier, my programs are a
great asset to help you along your journey. Having a coach in your corner to
answer your questions and help you follow through is a breath of fresh air. I
hate how confusing health and fitness has become, and my aim is to simplify it
for you and your life with thefittutor.com.
Check out my site here, and fill out the contact form on
it if you have any questions!
Stay aligned my friends!
Allison Lambert
Personal Trainer
Allison is so knowledgeable about exercise, nutrition, and fitness. I highly recommend her!
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