Go to any gym and you will see a festival of bad form and poor exercise technique. People lifting too much weight with no regard for proper form. No wonder there are so many injuries among “lifters.”

Maintaining good posture is a fundamental part of any exercise technique. That’s because when you use correct form, stress is evenly distributed throughout the muscles, bones and joints, making you less prone to injuries. Besides if body structures are well-aligned, muscle recruitment is more efficient, which means that the most adequate muscles for the activity will be called into play, requiring less effort and energy to perform it.

But do you know what proper form is? Here are some tips for keeping good body alignment during any exercise.

1. Neutral spine – Our spine has a series of natural curvatures that should be maintained while we exercise. These curves receive and redistribute forces, protecting the spine from ‘wear and tear’. Neutral spine refers to the maintenance of these natural curvatures, meaning that rounding or overarching the back is a big no-no. To keep your spine neutral imagine that there is a line pulling the top of your head, elongating your trunk.
2. Chin in – It is very common to poke the head out while performing push-ups and curl-ups. Also, looking yourself at the mirror while doing dead-lifts or squats compromise the alignment of the neck. So to keep your neck in check, tuck in your chin as if you were holding a tennis ball under your jaw.
3. Open chest – Our current lifestyle habits (sitting for long periods of time in front of a computer) make the chest muscles stronger and tighter than the back muscles, leading to a rounded shoulders position. The problem is that this position hinders movement of the arms and put the shoulder joint under great stress. To prevent injuries, keep the chest open and proud by bringing the shoulder blades back and down.
4. Core engaged – Abs and back muscles are responsible for protecting the lumbar spine. These are called core muscles. When you fire up those muscles, your hip bones take a position that maintains the natural lumbar curvature. A good way to engage those muscles is by bracing yourself as if someone was going to punch you in the stomach.
5. Soft joints –Locking the knees while standing or the elbows at the end of a movement reduce stability, putting the joint at risk of injury. Keep in mind that knees and elbows work as door hinges, which means they can only move forward or backward and any lateral force or rotation may damage their ligaments. Therefore, keep your knees soft while standing and never lock your elbows at the end of the movement.
6. Joint alignment – In order to protect weaker joints, it is important to keep them aligned with stronger ones. This means stacking the joints by aligning wrists, elbows and shoulders, and ankles, knees and hips as much as possible.

These are simple principles which anyone can apply to any type of training. Practice them in front of a mirror to create body awareness. With time they will become automatic and will come naturally.

Exercise is the best anti-aging treatment.  However, most individuals seem to prefer being sedentary and risk having many chronic diseases associated with age. Maybe it is because we are completely surrounded with too many so-called “easy ways to reverse the clock.” Botox, plastic surgeries, anti-aging lotions, you get the picture. Unfortunately, these quick fixes only work on the outside. What about the inside? Our heart, lungs, muscles, and bones – they too suffer the effects of aging. As we get older, we tend to lose muscle and bone mass, our flexibility becomes limited, the production of hormones declines, our cardiorespiratory capacity diminishes, and our cognitive function becomes impaired, among others.

The good news is that living an active lifestyle can make your body stronger and more resistant to the wear and tear of time. Regular physical activity contributes to maintain/build muscle and bone mass, keeps your heart and lungs attuned, and improves metabolic function and hormonal production all of which prevent many chronic diseases related to aging.

I know you must be thinking that now is too late; you should have started when you were young. However, this is far away from the truth. The human body is able to respond to exercise at any age.

My husband’s grandma still runs long distance events (5K and 10K) – and she is 92. Her secret is that she keeps herself busy, walking everywhere and attending Pilates and swimming classes three to five days a week. She is the epitome of independent living. Last year, she fell at night and broke her foot, which would be a hospital nightmare for anyone of her age. However, because she kept herself active, in over a month she was up and walking. And if you are thinking that she must have started when she was young, think again. She began her first exercise program on her mid-fifties.  Therefore, age is not an excuse.

Still, you should start slowly, increasing volume and intensity as you get used to exercise. Also, depending on your current health status, you should see your doctor for medical clearance. Age is not a contraindication to exercise, but some medical conditions may require special programs.