I am not sure if I feel really dumb or really smart (intro post)

[commodorified]

Things it took me until I was 41 to figure out:

1) Carrying grocery bags causes fatigue, pain and sometimes injury to my shoulders and back.

2) Lifting dumbells or kettlebells of a similar weight to the grocery bags makes my shoulders and back get strong and feel good.

3) ... maybe it's how I'm doing it?

So now when I need to carry bags home I carry them with my shoulder set, my elbow flexed, and my arm muscles working, as if I were about to do a curl, and while it looks a little bit odd and is actually more difficult than letting the weight just sort of dangle from my hand and hang off my skeleton, I have a lot less pain and a little more muscle.

Comments

[resolute]

Oh oh oh THIS. After starting to work out, and after reading a kajillion blogs and books about weight lifting, I *finally* started standing, walking, sitting, and moving using the same principles.

Like you say, it's either stupidity or genius.

[lyorn]

Actually noticing that you were doing it wrong like forever, understanding *what* was wrong, and fixing it: Pretty smart, If you ask me ;-)

Welcome!

[weirdquark]

Yeah, my posture has improved since I started lifting weights.

I also sing in a choir and we have a folder of music which we hold in one hand and flip pages with the other. Doing this for long periods of time is much easier than it used to be.