My body morphology

Two months ago - I spent some evenings to understand my body's musculoskeletal system better - learning to be my own "physiotherapist" without breaking the bank. So I came up with these notes for my own perusal.

Weight 54.5kg to 56.0kg ~120lbs to 123.5lbs

Height 162cm 5"3.5

Body fat ~25% 

Wingspan reach 165cm (+3) Ape Index 1.025 [Female ave +1 Male ave +5]

Good for swimming, rowing, badminton, yoga and muay thai

Not so good for olympic lifts and bench press

Protein intake - Need average 65g a day (Recreational athlete)

Chicken breast (20g) Fish (20g) Milk (8g) One scoop 25g 

My Posture

1) Sitting: Slouching on chair - weak core muscle

Bad news: Lower back strain, Hunched back

2) Standing: Slightly rounded shoulders - tight chest and weak upper back (upper cross syndrome)

Flat back and belly stoop forward - tightness in core and hamstring, weakness in quads, lower back and glutes

Bad news: Causes neck and upper back strain.

Advice: Strengthen core, glutes, neck, rear shoulder muscles and back extension

Elbow Structure

Upper extremity with significant valgus angle.

Forearm hangs distinctly away from body - Leads to prevalence of rotator cuff dislocation from racket sports.

Must break excessively at the wrist when performing a curl with a straight bar (which is painful). Use E-Z bar?

Badminton helped break right wrist abandoning the mobility of left wrist (affecting my front squat and inversion poses)

Torso : Limb ratio 1:1 (short limbed)

• Good for squats - Torso only tilts a little so limit stress on lower back and hamstring, movement more secure and focus completely on quads
• Bad for deadlift - Forced to flex legs so femurs lower to horizontal, this parallel position of femur means initiating deadlift movement requires enormous amount of energy from the thighs

Anterior Hip Flexors

Sartorius and Rectus Femoris quite limited. Tested by the Thomas method. Due to frequency of sitting and tendency to sit with buddha pose.

Ankle Flexibility High

Good for squats - Allow forward tilt of tibia hence anterior movement of knees, and allow flexion of the legs.

Types of knee

Slight degree of both conditions, more common in women:

1. Genu Valgum (knock knees) - greater risk of pathology with training

Advice: Be aware of knees falling inwards and activate quads at all times

2. Genu Recurvatum (hyperextended knees) - acute risk of meniscal pinching.

Advice: Never completely lock knees at the end of extension during squats and leg press

Bench Press Morphology

Small rib cage, long'ish forearm - excursion of bar increased.  humerus go lower than bench, pectoralis major overstretched and strength development limited.

Advice: Narrow grip to reduce injury to pecs BUT work on biceps is more intense

Elbows apart - more work on pecs ; Elbows closer - more work on deltoids (shoulders)

Avoid Vertebral Flexion

Never round the back.

As soon as heavy weights are involved - create a block

1. Expand chest and hold deep breath fill the lungs (to support rib cage and prevents chest from collapsing forward)

2. Contract abs to support core and increase intra-ab pressure (prevents torso from collapsing forward)

3. Arch lower back by contracting lumbar muscles (positions spinal column in extension)

After heavy weights - hang from chin bar and focus on relaxing body to rebalance pressures inside the intervertebral discs

Reference:

Strength Training Anatomy

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