5 Common mistakes people make while they’re treating Lordosis

If you suffer with Lordosis and want to improve your posture, stretching and exercise are an essential part of any plan. But, how you stretch and exercise is important – that’s why I wanted to talk a bit about how to perform stretches and exercises for lordosis so you get the best possible results.

Here are some common mistakes I see clients making when they’re stretching or exercising to correct Lordosis:

Mistake 1 - Not using everyday activity to correct Lordosis.

Each day you have 24 hours. You sleep for 8 hours so that leaves 16 hours. And how many of those hours do you exercise? Maybe one? Well, that leaves 15 spare hours you can use to either undo the good work that you did in that hour or to really make a positive difference to your posture. Imagine if you did good quality exercise for one hour and then used those 15 hours more effectively, being mindful about the position your body is in, and really thinking about the way you move.  Your brain would learn much quicker and you would start to see results much sooner.

Poor posture, or the muscle tightness that’s involved in poor posture, is a learned process - it happens in small increments over a long period of time, eventually resulting in poor posture. So to avoid that, we need to retrain how the brain communicates with its muscles. And as brain training is all about repetition, a far better way to make a difference quickly is not just to repeat numerous times for an hour, but to carry that throughout the day.  

Mistake 2 - Not repositioning the pelvis when stretching.

You’ve probably seen me, in one of my other videos, come down onto one knee and then go into a stretch through the hip flexors. And it may look pretty simple, but, unfortunately if you rush into this stretch you can end up with a tilted pelvis and an arched spine, which is not the most effective position to be in. What you need to be able to do instead, is actively position your pelvis and spine. You want to create a much flatter spine shape as well as engaging your glutes and abdominals to lock that in position.

That allows you to move into the stretch without losing the correct positioning and if you still need to stretch further you can just lift an arm. Doing it this way, actively positioning the pelvis, creates a much better-quality stretch because you’re not just jumping into it, you’re finding the best possible position and then easing into the movement.

Watch the video above if you want to see in more detail, or you’re not sure what I mean 

Mistake 3 - Not preparing the muscles for exercise.

When you begin bridging exercises or kneeling exercises to correct your Lordosis, do you just jump straight into those movements you’ve been shown, or do you take time to wake up and prepare your muscles first?

I always suggest using a foam roller to roll out the tighter muscles, to make your muscles more pliable and stretchier so they’re able to bend and move to get into the positions you want. The stretching then helps those muscles to lengthen out, training the brain to recognise that extra length. Then you’re ready for exercise.

So where should you use the foam roller? You might use it to prepare your glutes, or certainly the anterior portions of these, and the areas at the front of the pelvis. Loosening these muscles, and others that you can learn about by watching the video above, will help you to actively engage the glutes at the back when you begin your stretches.

Do you want to correct your Lordosis? Click Here to start my How to Correct Lordosis 12-Week Online Program

Mistake 4 - Not actively engaging the muscles during exercise.

Following this rolling, the next stage of your stretching should be muscle activation to ensure you’re getting the most from each stretch and not inadvertently letting muscles, other than those you want to stretch, do the work for you. You could, for example, activate your glutes by using a bridge. But it’s not just a case of going into the position holding the movement and expecting it to be right. By lifting your hips to come into the bridge there’s a danger your hamstrings will take on all the work unless you consciously make sure to relax them, engaging the glutes instead. If you’re struggling try doing this in a kneeling position, squeezing the heels together, where the hamstrings are naturally a little more relaxed.

It’s vital you engage those muscles properly, as in this case it’s the glutes that will hold the pelvis and spine in the correct place, and it’s these cues that help the brain to remember what position the muscles need to be in. Try to begin to stretch in a more conscious way, loosening the muscles, mechanically rolling and stretching and focusing on the muscles you’re trying to activate. Simply getting into positions as a check box exercise will never get the results you want to see.

Mistake 5 – Not breathing well while exercising.

Once you’re consciously engaging muscles and getting everything into the right position, the next step is to think about breathing. Naturally, because we’re holding a position, we tend to hold our breath too, so everything gets a little tense. But breathing can release this tension.

Rather than breathing from your chest, make sure you use your diaphragm to really get the oxygen flowing to those muscles. That will help with their endurance, and also promote relaxation, preventing the brain from going into its stress response and tightening up all your muscles. Simply breathing into your positions is a very effective way of training the correct posture.

Do you want to correct your Lordosis? Click Here to start my How to Correct Lordosis 12-Week Online Program