I was out in the beautiful weather today with my daughter as she was trying to ride her bike without her training wheels for the first time. One thing that became quite evident as she fell time and again – and got back up time and again – was that she always did better getting into the ride when she started from a position where the wheels of the bike were lined up. In essence, when the wheels were lined up, she started off cleanly and went straight. When they were off just a bit, she would push off and find herself falling to the ground much faster.
This is how our bodies work as well with exercise. When we begin from a good position and take ourselves into other positions during exercise, we usually do well and our bodies respond better. When we start from a poor position (whether poor posture or improper body mechanics) then our bodies will not perform as well, and possibly feel little tweaks and pains because of the poor starting position.
Make sure that when beginning any exercise, you are starting from a good position no matter what types of movements you will be taking your body through. For example, if you are moving into a lunge position, make sure when you start to keep you head high with shoulders not rounding forward, engaging the midsection, and keeping a relatively neutral spine.
We want a good foundation to start from when beginning an exercise, so make sure that your “wheels are in line before taking off!”