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In This Issue:
Why Alignment Matters
The Best Morning Move
Good Morning,
Last week I spent time with a good friend who is super active.
He walks 5 miles at a time, often rides his Peloton for 90 minutes, and rarely takes a day off. From the outside, he’s doing everything right.
But he came to see me because of ongoing low back and neck pain that was starting to affect his day-to-day life.
He’s exercises more than most people I know, but his body started to rebel. Years of working out, golf, and just simple aging, had taken a toll.
When I watched him stand and walk, it was obvious that his body was seriously out of alignment.
One shoulder sat lower than the other.
His head had crept forward in front of his shoulders.
His pelvis was tucked under, flattening his lower back.
In his words, he felt “out of whack,” and this led to his persistent low back and neck pain. Treating it with stretching and pain-killers wasn’t helping. But the good news is that I knew a method that would help.
Start with Postural Analysis
When we see new clients at Formula 4, we start by analyzing posture and taking photos that clearly illustrate the dysfunction. We also video clients walking so we can do a gait analysis that helps us understand how they move.
When I showed my friend his photos and video, he immediately understood why he felt the way he did.
He had no idea that his body was so severely out of alignment, and he quickly realized that loading training time onto a poor musculoskeletal system over the course of years had actually reinforced the patterns that were causing his pain.
Why Posture Matters
At Formula 4, we don’t look at your body as a collection of parts, but as an integrated system. For example, we understand that hip issues can lead to back pain, and back issues can lead to foot pain.
When you imagine the body, it’s important to understand that:
Bones are the structure.
Muscles stabilize that structure.
And joints (and tendons and ligaments) absorb and transfer force.
When muscles fall out of balance, some tight, others weak, it can actually pull your skeletal out of alignment and put strain on your joints, tendons, ligaments creating misalignment and pain.
That’s when pain shows up. And here’s the part most people miss: Being active doesn’t fix this.
In fact, if you’re out of alignment, more exercise can actually make it worse. Every time you move, your body has to adapt to do what you’re asking it to do, even if that means creating dysfunction.
Why We Start Here
This explains why we always start with a postural analysis and movement audit, so we can help you build a strong foundation.
Before we load the body with strength or conditioning work, we look at alignment — head, shoulders, hips, knees, feet — and how force moves through your body.
From there, we build a plan:
Postural work → restore alignment
Mobility → regain movement
Strength → reinforce better patterns
Our goal is to restore balance first before any other work is done.
What Happened Next
That’s what we did with my friend, and after an analysis, we created a sequence of gentle exercises designed to help him return his body to proper alignment.
He felt immediate relief, but in all honestly it will be a month or two until these changes take root and he can return the level of activity he loves. The good news is that when he does, he’ll be out pain.
The lesson: Align your body first and then there will be no limits to what you can do.
Because if your foundation is off, more effort won’t fix it. In fact, it will just make it worse.
See you at Formula 4!
The Perfect Morning Move
If you want to start your day the right way, begin with one simple movement: the cat-cow.
It’s one of the easiest ways to wake up your spine, reduce stiffness, and get your body moving the way it’s meant to.
Here’s the difference most people miss: Don’t think about rounding and arching your back, think about tilting your pelvis.
Gently rotate your hips back (tucking your tailbone), then forward (pushing your tailbone forward), and your spine will follow.
Let your head move naturally with your spine, no forcing, no cranking your neck.
The Takeaway: Pelvis leads, spine follows, head finishes.
Weekly Inspiration
“The secret to getting ahead, is getting started.”
— Mark Twain
🧠 Train Your Body, Train Your Brain
You already know interval training builds strength and endurance.
What’s less obvious is that this type of training is also one of the most effective ways to improve memory and help protect your brain long-term.
Research published in the journal Nature Aging shows high-intensity interval training can improve learning, maintain brain volume, and support the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory.
It also drives the release of BDNF, a key protein linked to learning, memory, and overall cognitive resilience.
With that in mind, we are excited to offer a series of interval training classes at Formula 4 taught by our newest trainer, Jasmine Hines. She brings unmatched energy and expertise to our class curriculum to ensure your workout is both effective and fun.
So join us for Jasmine’s FREE first class on Saturday, March 28th at 9 AM at our new facility, 5925 Tilghman St., Suite 60.
Spots are limited, so let Jasmine know if you can make it, and bring a friend!
To reserve your place:
📧 [email protected]
📞 (855) 897-6683
