Thigh Me to the Moon

It was the core, or center of the body, that received the nickname "powerhouse" from good ole’ Joseph Pilates, guru of the gut. I’ve often thought if the abs, back and butt are the powerhouse, then we should recognize the thighs as the workhorse of the body, and give them their proper respect.

Women often hate their thighs. Especially women with bigger thighs. Even women with lovely average-sized thighs will tend to find something lacking in their legs—they wish they were longer, thinner, more defined, tanner, smoother, etc.

Men often love women’s thighs. In my experience they aren’t nearly as picky about them as most women are. Many men like a meatier thigh shape, a thigh with curving lines. Some men love “legs up to here” and other men just like legs, period, for their function--all those places they can reach, move and wrap.

Men seem to be somewhat attached to the appearance of their own thighs, often wishing they weren’t skinny (if they are). But it’s not nearly as profound of a thigh-rant as many women go on. Women also seem to be fond of men’s thighs, ranking them as a very appealing body part when well-developed. We might find even more women envying a man's thighs when they are on a beautiful drag show Cher or Tina. “Look at those legs. Those are perfect thighs. It’s not fair!”

Well, it might not be fair but it is what it is. Thighs of every shape and size all around you, and as for yours, with all they do for you, you really should love them up a little more.

Pick One Thing: Your Thighs

Thighs are the home for the two largest, strongest, heaviest bones in your body, your right and left femur. Femurs are the connection between your lower and upper halves, so you figure, they better be made to last. If you don’t have a femur then you don’t have use of a leg. Think of it this way: a replacement leg is now made of titanium, the space age metal with the highest weight-to-strength ratio of any metal. Now that’s an important limb. Proud. Precious.

The muscles of your thighs are a rail system of propulsion for you. Which way would you like to go? You’ve got more than a dozen muscles in your upper leg to help you get anywhere you’d like. Some of them are rope-like long extenders, some of them thicker braids of stony strength. Forward, backward, to the outside, to the inside. Bend, reach, jump, land, kick, squat, lunge, get up from a chair or into a car, jitterbug or pirouette, ski, skate or do the splits….there’s gonna be some thigh in there somewhere.

Want to know the best way to take care of your thighs? Exercise them and feed them. Attend to both muscles and bones. You need some light impact from things as simple as walking or doing step aerobics. Make sure you’re consuming enough bone-building minerals like calcium and magnesium. Strength will come from doing many of the movements I listed in the previous paragraph. If you can’t squat big, that’s okay, do some knee bends. Dig a garden and keep it free of weeds. If you can’t ski, that’s okay, hike. Walk up the stairs sideways.

If you happen to lift weights, your thighs have it made in the shade. They have a chance to really respond. If you’re a skinny-legged soul trying to build more size, work that barbell with low reps and heavy weights. Ask the best-looking legs at the gym what the routine is and you’ll usually find out that it’s tough work, but pretty simple. For power, add some plyometrics, which are jumping/explosive movements. If you’re a mighty-thighed wonder wishing to be a bit more willowy, try dancing. Dancing moves you on various planes at various speeds with gravity as your resistance, and of course your own body weight. Plyometrics are built right in, and stretching too. All good for thighs.

If you’re currently losing body fat, give your thighs some time to catch up if they need it. They tend to be one of those stubborn areas that like to be their own deciders. They might be last in line when it comes to letting go of stored energy. After all, your thighs were made to move you. They might feel it’s still their duty to keep some energy at the ready should you really need to run. You know, like you used to, from the saber tooth or the charging rival tribe or the avalanche or whatever.

Whatever the size and shape your thighs, it is useful to remember their value to the survival of our species above all else. Without the heritage of thigh genetics that has been passed on to you, your ancestors wouldn’t have been able to escape the dangers presented them, or move on to the making of more ancestors, which became successful generation after generation of the very thighs that have miraculously led to yours. Don’t hate on your thighs. Thank them. In fact, if you can, call someone over on to your lap right now, to pay homage.

Who's Got Your Back?

In the middle of your back is an incredible conduit of information and direction known as your spinal column. Your spine is a fine, fine piece of technology. Aside from its straightforward job of keeping your head attached to your body, your back bone houses a communications network that rivals the awesomeness of any sci-fi creation.

If you do nothing else for your torso, ever, in your life, please do yourself this one favor: take care of your spine. Protect it from harm by avoiding unhealthy levels of impact which can lead to fracture and disability, as well as unhealthy levels of strain, which can lead to pain, stress, surgery and limited mobility.

Your spine is so darn important, no wonder it so often tries to get your attention. Here's a way to say hello to it and make sure it's doing okay. You can be near your screen, but make a bit of room to stand and reach:

1. Stand up now and bend over slowly to reach down to your toes. Hold those abs while you straighten up again from bottom to top. Make sure your breathing in and out, deeply. Do that five times.

2. Now split your legs to be shoulder-width apart, reach your hands back around you to support your low back and bottom, then arch your chest and face gently up to the sky. Return to standing with squared shoulders and hands hanging at your side, then slowly roll your head from one side to the other as if you are listening to the ceiling with left and right ear. Do that sequence five times.

3. Finally, while standing with your feet a little wider still, reach your arms out straight to your sides and exhale. Then inhale deeply while you bend sideways, lowering one arm down the side of your leg, the other arm reaching over your head. Support your bended body with your lower arm on your leg, but don't press hard into the knee, and don't shrug your shoulders. Exhale and inhale, sinking into the side bend. Then slowly rise up, returning to the starting stance, and ready to go the other way. Do this three times on each side.

I'm not assigning you with a fourth twisting motion, because who knows what shape your back is in. We'd need to meet in person to decide on that. But you should have a little bit better idea about your back now that you've done this simple stretching sequence. It's just basic standing therapy for the spine, and it can tell you a lot about your tight spots and crooked parts.

Did you get stuck halfway down when you reached for your toes? That's a tight low back and hamstrings--very common condition and a very common cause of lower back pain, and worse. If you leave your low back (lumbar spine) unattended for too long, stuff starts to bulge and slip and wedge. Especially if you do things that compress it, like walk, jump, run, lift heavy weights over your head, or even just sit a lot. If your lumbar spine is messed up, it often stops you from performing your normal activities. Why not keep that low back loose and the muscles that support it strong? You can avoid what is the most common complaint brought to orthopedic doctors--low back pain.

Did you get stuck trying to look up at the ceiling or rolling your head side to side? That could be trouble with the cervical spine--your neck--or maybe the upper thoracic spine which is related to movements in the shoulder carriage and chest. Pretty much everyone knows what happens if you break your neck, right? Paralysis of some sort is likely to ensue. That should give us a clue to the value of keeping our upper spines top of mind. Those motor signals coming right down frin command central in your brain need a clear connected pathway in your neck to reach the lower extremities. If you fell off your bike, were in a car accident, or had a skiing mishap, you'd want your neck and upper back to escape serious injury. You can help that protective factor along by keeping your upper back and neck aligned and tending to them when they get rigid. Stiff necks are a painful reminder of how much you really do depend on that part of your body!

Did you get stuck moving sideways? The muscles of your torso are more than just the glamour muscles featured on the covers of body building magazines. There are deep stabilizers in there, which connect your top to your bottom and your front to your back. The largest geographic areas of muscles expanse are located in your back and up to your neck. Your abs are there to help your spine move, and thus should be honored as they can protect your back from damage. In Pilates, we call all this, plus the gluteus muscles, the "Powerhouse." I like that term. It makes sense. All your power is located right here. And it's your spine that provides the mode of transportation for every movement in most of your body.

Pick One Thing: Your Spine
Keep your spine fluid and your spinal fluid moving and uncompromised. Have some back bone. No one can take care of your back better than you, and no one feels it more when you don't!

There are so many great yet simple things you can do in the care and keeping of your spine, we need a second installment to get into more detail. So let's meet again to give all 33 of your vertebra a voice.