Move
SITTING, SLOUCHING, AND SCREEN-TIME: HOW BARRE3 REVERSES THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY OUR MODERN LIFESTYLE
If there’s one thing physiologists around the world agree on, it’s that the human body thrives when it moves regularly. The findings from a recent study found that movement isn’t just good for us; it’s actually built into our DNA—and has been for at least 500,000 years.
Unfortunately, our modern lifestyle isn’t built around movement—indeed, it’s just the opposite. In an average day, most of us spend most of our time sitting, whether it’s in cars during our commute, at our desks at work, or on our sofas as we unwind with our favorite show. And thanks to the influx of screens in the past decade or so, we also spend big chunks of our days hunched over, with our shoulders and backs rounded and our necks thrust forward.
The result: key muscle groups in our bodies suffer from lack of daily use, causing them to become weak, and forcing other muscles to pick up the slack.
This is where barre3 comes in. Our workout is designed to undo the damages caused by our modern lifestyle. We sat down with barre3 VP of Research and Development Lisa Schale-Drake to get the scoop on which muscle groups are weakened by sitting and slouching, and how barre3 helps strengthen them. Read on for the details—and then put your knowledge into action (literally) by joining us for a 15-day free trial of barre3 online!
WEAKENED MUSCLE GROUP: GLUTES
WHY THEY SUFFER
When we sit, we’re actually stretching our glutes, which puts them in a lengthened position and leaves them disengaged. The pressure of sitting on glutes can also deaden nerve sensation, causing what’s called “sleepy glutes” or “glute amnesia.” This prolonged inactivity our glutes causes our glutes to forget how to function properly. As a result, our bodies compensate by putting extra strain on our backs, which can often cause back pain or even injury.
HOW BARRE3 RE-ENGAGES THEM
The glutes are so crucial to our physical well-being that we’ve designed our entire workout to re-engage them. Your glutes are working in everything from large-range moves, like Squats and Lunges, to isolated exercises, like Bridge Lifts, Diamonds, and Single Leg Work.
WEAKENED MUSCLE GROUP: LATS AND MIDDLE BACK
WHY THEY SUFFER
Just as our glutes are lengthened when we sit, our lats and the muscles in our middle back are lengthened when we slouch. With our head thrust forward and our shoulders drawn up toward our ears, our neck stiffens and our chest muscles tighten, causing severe imbalances in our upper body.
HOW BARRE3 RE-ENGAGES THEM
We tap into the lats and middle back right away with big-range movements during warm-up that help unwind the all-too-familiar desk position. Throughout the workout, we guide you through moves with the weights and the resistance band that help counter the slouch, including combo work with the arms pulling either back or down (think chest flies or rowing motions) and stretches that open the chest.
WEAKENED MUSCLE GROUP: ABDOMINALS
WHY THEY SUFFER
Abs are supposed to work as a team to stabilize our spine, but when we round our backs as we sit or slouch, we deactivate our core. Then when we stand, our weakened core can’t properly engage, causing our more centric back muscles to take over. This is one reason so many of us suffer from back pain.
HOW BARRE3 RE-ENGAGES THEM
We incorporate core-strengthening exercises throughout our workout, taking care to keep the back still while the rest of the body is moving. This helps safely build stability, which is key for a strong, healthy core and back. In Plank, your core automatically engages as the body fights against gravity to stay up. In Flat-Back Core, your back wants to arch as you move your arms and legs or move the Core Ball back and forth across the body, but we cue you to engage your abs. All of these stabilizing moves help your abdominals function properly in real-life common movements, saving your back from overcompensating.
WEAKENED MUSCLE GROUP: HAMSTRINGS
WHY THEY SUFFER
When we sit, our hamstrings are shortened and weakened—and then when we stand after too much sitting, our body overcompensates by standing out of alignment (think tucked tailbone). Even when we’re moving, much of our daily activity, like walking, running, and hiking) is driven by our quads, and our hamstrings don’t engage the way they should. This can cause hip and knee pain.
HOW BARRE3 RE-ENGAGES THEM
Our workout guides you through moves that increase mobility of the hamstrings, helping activate the often sleepy muscles. We open them up through dynamic movement during warm-up, and we engage them when we move from Flatback Foldover to High Plank and back to Flackback Foldover. A lot of glute work also activates the hamstrings and increases their range, including Squats, Lunges, Bridge Lifts, and Hip Hinges.
Note: Keep in mind that it takes time to unwind patterns formed over several years. Some days you might find it easy to engage the muscles that suffer from lack of use in your daily life, while other days it might feel more challenging. It’s a journey, and the most important thing is to keep trying. As always, listen to your body, and don’t push through negative pain. If your body tells you something isn’t working, try a modification. If that doesn’t work, take a break. Remember: You are your own best teacher.
Listening to your body is what barre3 is all about, and in every workout, that’s exactly what we practice. Get started with a 15-day free trial of barre3 online!
If there’s one thing physiologists around the world agree on, it’s that the human body thrives when it moves regularly. The findings from a recent study found that movement isn’t just good for us; it’s actually built into our DNA—and has been for at least 500,000 years.
Unfortunately, our modern lifestyle isn’t built around movement—indeed, it’s just the opposite. In an average day, most of us spend most of our time sitting, whether it’s in cars during our commute, at our desks at work, or on our sofas as we unwind with our favorite show. And thanks to the influx of screens in the past decade or so, we also spend big chunks of our days hunched over, with our shoulders and backs rounded and our necks thrust forward.
The result: key muscle groups in our bodies suffer from lack of daily use, causing them to become weak, and forcing other muscles to pick up the slack.
This is where barre3 comes in. Our workout is designed to undo the damages caused by our modern lifestyle. We sat down with barre3 VP of Research and Development Lisa Schale-Drake to get the scoop on which muscle groups are weakened by sitting and slouching, and how barre3 helps strengthen them. Read on for the details—and then put your knowledge into action (literally) by joining us for a 15-day free trial of barre3 online!
WEAKENED MUSCLE GROUP: GLUTES
WHY THEY SUFFER
When we sit, we’re actually stretching our glutes, which puts them in a lengthened position and leaves them disengaged. The pressure of sitting on glutes can also deaden nerve sensation, causing what’s called “sleepy glutes” or “glute amnesia.” This prolonged inactivity our glutes causes our glutes to forget how to function properly. As a result, our bodies compensate by putting extra strain on our backs, which can often cause back pain or even injury.
HOW BARRE3 RE-ENGAGES THEM
The glutes are so crucial to our physical well-being that we’ve designed our entire workout to re-engage them. Your glutes are working in everything from large-range moves, like Squats and Lunges, to isolated exercises, like Bridge Lifts, Diamonds, and Single Leg Work.
WEAKENED MUSCLE GROUP: LATS AND MIDDLE BACK
WHY THEY SUFFER
Just as our glutes are lengthened when we sit, our lats and the muscles in our middle back are lengthened when we slouch. With our head thrust forward and our shoulders drawn up toward our ears, our neck stiffens and our chest muscles tighten, causing severe imbalances in our upper body.
HOW BARRE3 RE-ENGAGES THEM
We tap into the lats and middle back right away with big-range movements during warm-up that help unwind the all-too-familiar desk position. Throughout the workout, we guide you through moves with the weights and the resistance band that help counter the slouch, including combo work with the arms pulling either back or down (think chest flies or rowing motions) and stretches that open the chest.
WEAKENED MUSCLE GROUP: ABDOMINALS
WHY THEY SUFFER
Abs are supposed to work as a team to stabilize our spine, but when we round our backs as we sit or slouch, we deactivate our core. Then when we stand, our weakened core can’t properly engage, causing our more centric back muscles to take over. This is one reason so many of us suffer from back pain.
HOW BARRE3 RE-ENGAGES THEM
We incorporate core-strengthening exercises throughout our workout, taking care to keep the back still while the rest of the body is moving. This helps safely build stability, which is key for a strong, healthy core and back. In Plank, your core automatically engages as the body fights against gravity to stay up. In Flat-Back Core, your back wants to arch as you move your arms and legs or move the Core Ball back and forth across the body, but we cue you to engage your abs. All of these stabilizing moves help your abdominals function properly in real-life common movements, saving your back from overcompensating.
WEAKENED MUSCLE GROUP: HAMSTRINGS
WHY THEY SUFFER
When we sit, our hamstrings are shortened and weakened—and then when we stand after too much sitting, our body overcompensates by standing out of alignment (think tucked tailbone). Even when we’re moving, much of our daily activity, like walking, running, and hiking) is driven by our quads, and our hamstrings don’t engage the way they should. This can cause hip and knee pain.
HOW BARRE3 RE-ENGAGES THEM
Our workout guides you through moves that increase mobility of the hamstrings, helping activate the often sleepy muscles. We open them up through dynamic movement during warm-up, and we engage them when we move from Flatback Foldover to High Plank and back to Flackback Foldover. A lot of glute work also activates the hamstrings and increases their range, including Squats, Lunges, Bridge Lifts, and Hip Hinges.
Note: Keep in mind that it takes time to unwind patterns formed over several years. Some days you might find it easy to engage the muscles that suffer from lack of use in your daily life, while other days it might feel more challenging. It’s a journey, and the most important thing is to keep trying. As always, listen to your body, and don’t push through negative pain. If your body tells you something isn’t working, try a modification. If that doesn’t work, take a break. Remember: You are your own best teacher.
Listening to your body is what barre3 is all about, and in every workout, that’s exactly what we practice. Get started with a 15-day free trial of barre3 online!
