While everyone else is doing a ‘New Year New You’ program (there are thousands of them), we offer you a different path. One often less taken. We present to you the 12 Week Self Remodel. Each Monday for 12 weeks we’ll post one thing you can change in your life, easily, to help create the life you really want. Each one is a small adjustment to your existing life, small stepping stones to a better you. As such, they take little effort or time to accomplish. Each one will be posted later in the day, intentionally. Your work week may start on Monday, but the Reclaimed week starts on Tuesday. Less competition for your time, and less stress (also something to look forward to on your Monday commute). So, let’s begin.

Week 8 – Take Back Your Body

Want to instantly take your looks up two or more notches? Want to have women turn to look at you walking by for a change? Stand straight, with your back the way it’s obviously meant to be.

Yes, you will find doctors who say an S curve in your back is proper posture. Some will even say you need more of an S curve. These doctors are what we call wrong. Seriously, don’t even return to them, they clearly didn’t do well in anatomy and are too easily taken by pop fads that are obviously wrong. How do I know? Your spine has one wedge shaped disc (the L5-S1). All other discs and all your vertebrae are straight, like cylinders. How do you get an S curve from a line of straight discs? You forcefully press one side down. Think about that a moment. Kind of explains why back pain has become an epidemic, doesn’t it?

I’m betting that, like almost every male out there, you were told to stand straight growing up. Let me ask you, did anyone tell you how to stand straight? Over the decades fathers have become ghosts in many families, if they are present at all. Kinesthetic knowledge that used to be passed down through the generations has been lost. But, we still repeat the statements we grew up with.

So just what does proper posture for a man look like? If you are a relatively fit male, it will look something like this:

• Draw your head back. Enough with the text neck.
• The back should be relatively straight, with only a slight curve near the small of the back. Much of this curve isn’t spinal, however, it’s muscular. If the vertebrae are properly stacked along the spine, and the shoulders are not slumped forward, you will naturally have a bulge at the shoulders. The back and shoulder muscles here are thicker than further down the back, giving the appearance of an S, but not a true one.
• Draw the shoulders back slightly, but not so much you feel like you’re trying to crack a walnut between your shoulder blades. Instead, let the chest broaden and the shoulders move out, away from the spine (as apposed to trying to crush it).
• With the vertebrae stacked, you will notice the front of your rib cage lifts, adding to the chest expanding. Most people think of the rib cage as a single unit, but it isn’t. It’s every bit as articulated as the rest of your spine, so move it around until you feel the vertebrae are stacked here, too.
• BONUS, a straight back and lifted rib cage naturally sucks in the stomach. If you have a bit of a belly, it will appear less so. And if you happen to have some abs, this will naturally make them pop. (Addendum – ever notice women have a deep sway in their backs? Next time you see it, notice how that actually pushes their stomachs forward, making even a thin woman look like she’s carrying a few extra pounds)
• Now, to make it all fit, roll your hips. Yes, your groin should actually be toward the front of your body, not hanging between your legs. Yes, this instantly makes your bulge bigger. You’re welcome.

Aside from the benefit of less back pain, and better health, standing (and sitting and walking) with proper posture also increases your attractiveness. I couldn’t be more serious. Women will automatically see you as being more confident, healthy, and fit. You’ll even find you are now an inch or more, taller. Unless you haven’t been paying attention, women find those things attractive in men.

The downside to proper posture, you may find some of your clothes don’t fit right anymore, and you may find you need new shoes. Your clothes and your shoes have been conditioned to your old, bad posture, and you may find they can’t or won’t adjust to a proper posture.

Spend some time every day working on your posture, and before long you’ll find it has become habit. Now get out there and show the world where you stand.

Let us know how you’re doing on the Self Remodel in the comments below.

< Week 7 – Week 9 >