For years, conventional exercise wisdom has taught us to exercise muscles separately by creating specialized routines that neglect the full body in favor of strengthening individual areas. This is slowly changing. Rarely is an action performed by one muscle alone, and exercise regimens are beginning to focus on groups rather than individual muscles. Also, rarely is efficient motion reliant on strength alone, and sometimes support and relaxation is a much better mechanism for improving the power available to your body for performing any given task.

The spine is the site of hundreds of very small muscles designed for coordinating the movements of the vertebrae. These muscles, commonly referred to simply as the core, are responsible for an incredible amount of flexibility and maneuverability in areas you might not normally associate with the spine.

Exercising individual muscles will strengthen them quickly. However, rarely is a single muscle responsible for efficient and powerful movement. Some muscles must contract, and these are often the ones we strengthen. Contraction alone is not the key to strength, however. Still others must relax, while more must stabilize and support the contracting muscle. It is for this reason that muscles must be exercised in groups to promote coordination and increase their efficiency.

Full body routines promote the most natural and efficient use of the strength that each muscle provides by emphasizing support and coordination as much as they do the acquisition of raw ability. Without cooperation, much more strength is required for the same more coordinated action. Instead of utilizing your time more effectively, you’ll find yourself striving much harder for less apparent effort.  Applying this secret to treatment for back pain reveals that one or two full-body exercises are best.

Imagine the muscles in your body as athletes on a team. Each may have associated specialties, as well as areas in which they struggle. Yet rarely does a team practice in isolation. They may at times work on specialized skills, but much more time is spent learning to cooperate, and the best and most effective teams are those that play cohesively, promoting each others’ strengths and compensating for learned weaknesses.

Arguably, isolating muscles gives each its best workout, and combining their raw strengths will make you as strong as possible. By strengthening each individually, all muscles can provide peak amounts of raw power to overcome whatever challenge you send their way.

While this seems to make sense, it isn’t true. The body is not a separate bunch of fibers, but is an interconnected system. For instance, tensing your abs translates tension into your arms, requiring them to work harder. If you work your arms while neglecting your abs, you’ll have to work much harder for an equivalent effort. It’s like building a tower on a poor, unsupportive base.

While isolation was once thought to be the key for solid muscle strength, people are beginning to see that the body is more interconnective, and that a full body exercise program is essential. Efficiency is about more than raw strength. Efficiency also requires that your body have the coordination to use its strength in ways that complement and support all muscle groups. If you’re looking for an exercise program to improve strength and posture, then choosing a full body program is essential.  With this knowledge, you are well on your way to improve posture.