Wednesday, May 6, 2009

First Principle of The Fitness Code: Fitness starts from the bottom up


If you have been to my website, you’ll already know that according to the first principle of The Fitness Code, proper body alignment (and fitness) starts from the bottom up.

That’s why wearing proper athletic shoes is so important.

Everyone has a different structural alignment. Many of us think that because we have a pain in a certain part of our body it automatically stems from that same spot. In reality that is probably an incorrect assumption.

The ideal situation is to be properly evaluated from the feet to the head. Some stores offer assessments when you go to buy a pair of shoes. They have a machine that electronically evaluates where the body weight is being distributed. It is a very simple procedure that only takes a few minutes. For some of the more advance athletic shops they will not let you buy a shoe until they see you run in them.
Such assessments are very useful in my opinion and are well worth the extra time and money.

There are a few other things that you can do to help correct and maintain proper alignment to get maximum optimal performance.

One is to go to a foot doctor who can check your feet, take x-rays and recommend proper footwear and possible orthotics. The other is to see a certified exercise specialist. They can do an initial evaluation to check your structural assessment and recommend a corrective exercise program. The other is to have gait analysis done in order to observe your posture.

For more information on this topic along with instructional materials check out www.thebiomechanics.com. Justin Price is known to be one of the best in this field. Many local fitness gyms have personal trainers that are certified to perform these assessments as well. If anybody is interested, you can email me at pete@thefitnesscode.com and I can give you additional information on options here in the Tokyo area.

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