Sitting for extended periods of time every day along with avoiding a proper exercise is the ideal recipe for back, neck and hip pain to develop that only increases as time goes by. Unfortunately, our “easy” modern lifestyles promotes this type of living and by the time we’ve reached age 50, we’ve developed such poor postural habits that our body and brain have forgotten where things should really be.

You may have heard the saying “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This law also applies to our body strength and many of us tend to have the shortcoming of a weak link – our mid-section which increases the likelihood of poor posture as we get older.

Good posture is key to doing things with more energy but less stress and fatigue. It ranks up at the top when talking about stellar health. It’s as important as exercising correctly, eating cleanly, getting a good night’s sleep and avoiding harmful substances like tobacco and alcohol.

The main cause of poor posture is weak core muscles that have developed over time from years of sitting in a hunched position –  environmental factors and bad habits both come into play.

The most common change in posture as we age is the head and shoulders shifting forwards, the chest curls inwards and the spine crunches from a healthy S-curve to a less healthy C-position as the pelvis tilts forward.

This places uneven pressure on the discs – those cushioning pads that lie between the bones of the lower back. Over time, this causes them to become compressed and painful.

Poor posture affects more than the way we look or how others perceive us.

Poor posture can start a progression of symptoms:

Fatigue –

When you have poor posture, you’ll experience Your muscles and ligaments may have a stiff, tight painful feeling and work overtime just to hold your body up. Extra energy is required when moving, tapping into your personal reserves and leaving you without the energy needed to make you feel good.

Tight, achy muscles in the neck, back, arms and legs –

When you reach this stage, there has likely been a change in your muscles and ligaments and you may have a stiff, tight painful feeling.

Joint stiffness and pain – 

At risk for “wear and tear” arthritis or what is termed degenerative osteoarthritis. Poor posture and limited mobility increase the likelihood of this condition as we get older.

Because it supports most of the body’s weight, the mid-section is the worst possible area of the body to have a weak-link develop. For most, the chronic back pain they are currently experiencing can be traced back to years of incorrect postural habits.

When your core muscles grow weak, you lose the supporting and stabilizing tone of the back and spine muscles and your posture takes on an aged look. Once you’ve reached this stage, it won’t matter how well you are dressed or how much time you spend on your “outer” looks. It’s very hard to look youthful and attractive with sagging posture.

The good news is, the body responds to a change in lifestyles, no matter our age and that includes improving our posture. Just starting on a strengthening program can reverse the damage and get your body upright and pain-free in just a few months time.

To improve posture, a good level of strength in all the body’s muscles is needed so they can dominate the skeleton and demand that leg, hip and back bones stand at attention and stay put where they belong. This also protects the spinal column and keeps body weight from weighting down on the vertebrae, compressing and squashing the fragile spinal discs.

Strength training combined with clean eating is key.

Muscular weakness is indelibly tied to not just our quality of life and the way we look and feel, but our life expectancy as well. And, all this is backed by science.

Build your core, improve your posture and your body shape becomes more youthful as firm muscles take up their support positions giving you a more appealing and youthful posture. This helps to boost your self-esteem resulting in a happier, healthier person all the way around.

Once you’ve improved your core muscle strength, you’ll automatically begin to carry and present yourself in a different, more positive way. You’ll stand taller – with renewed confidence, poise and leadership.

Check out my quick and easy

Project Me Finally Fit program

At just 10 minutes in length, if you cannot find a way to squeeze this kind of effective workout into your schedule every other day, it’s likely there’s not another one in all existence that could take it’s place.

After all, most things can only be made so simple before they just cannot be made to work at all!

– Carolyn “The 10-Minute Sandbag Workout” Hansen

P.S. I even created a FREE mobile app for you to keep track of your sandbag workouts. With 4 built-in workouts of 7 distinct sandbag movements, you have 28 different exercises to choose from should you decide to create your own custom sandbag works.