Were you in the military?

Do you see some people and think, “They must be in the military?”  They are standing a little prouder and taller than the average person?  These people might have what is called a military type posture.  If we take a look at the posture of these proud and tall standing people, we’ll notice that their skeleton looks fairly ‘normal’ or ‘neutral’ in many parts. But if we take a closer look, we’ll see that is not the case.  

The head doesn’t seem too far forward or back.  The neck seems to have a nice curve not overly flexed or extended, slightly extended at the most.  (Notice how it seems as though the head is tilted upwards slightly indicating a slight extension in the cervical spine on the picture to the left.)  The vertebrae of the upper back is just slightly back of the ideal line or plumb line.  It’s not until we move towards the bottom of the skeleton that we notice that the lumbar spine is hyperextended and the pelvis anteriorly tilted.  The knees also hyperextended all of which gives a more forward and upright appearance.

If we consider the muscles, the abdominals and hamstrings will be slightly elongated and possibly weak so areas to focus on strengthening.  The lower back muscles and hip flexors are areas that will be shorter but stronger so will require some lengthening and stretching.  Many Pilates exercises both on the mat and reformer can help strengthen and lengthen the necessary areas.  Exercises on the reformer can help strengthen the hamstrings and lengthen the hip flexors.   Many mat exercises will provide a means of strengthening the abdominals.  Any exercises involving imprint will not only help strengthen the abdominals but also help lengthen the lower back muscles.