Vinh Pham - Sit Up Straight : Futureproof Your Body Against Chronic Pain with 12 Simple Movements

Sit Up Straight

Futureproof Your Body Against Chronic Pain with 12 Simple Movements

with Jeff OConnell

Vinh Pham

My body was wrecked after four seasons of shooting Into the Badlands. In just four sessions Vinh fixed me! Besides the amazing treatment, what I appreciated is that he gave me exercises I could take home to, literally, get me straight. You may not be a martial artist or even a high-level athlete, but I can guarantee that youre doing something in your daily routine that isnt good for your body. Sit Up Straight teaches you how to futureproof.

Daniel Wu, executive producer and star of AMCs Into the Badlands

The kind of twisting that athletes must do to win snowboarding medals isnt possible without maximum flexibility. Your movement goals may not involve competing at the X Games, but if you want to understand how your body works and how you can make it work for you in the future, read Vinhs book.

Chloe Kim, World, Olympic, and X Games halfpipe champion

Vinh Pham is one of those with the knowledge. Listen to him. Hell save you from pain, and help you push past what you thought were your limits.

Joe De Sena, New York Times bestselling author of Spartan UP! and executive producer of NBCs Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge

A wonderful book As a trainer, Im all about having fun. But you cant have fun if youre in pain. Sit Up Straight is a mobility map that steers us away from pain and closer to our best self. Read it! Your body will thank you!

Kaisa Keranen, founder of Just Move, frequently seen in such magazines as Vogue, Shape, and Self

This book can dramatically affect the person youll be years from now. Vinh delivers quick and effective movements that wont take much time and can easily be implemented.

Jen Esquer, DPT, ranked one of the best physical therapy trainers on Instagram by Shape magazine and cohost of The Optimal Body podcast

Sit Up Straight offers a lot more than the admonition in the title. (Spoiler alert: Your mom wasnt wrong.) Its posture-improving exercises show you where you lack mobility and stability, giving you valuable tools to fix the problems you have and prevent the ones youre at risk of developing.

Lou Schuler, National Magazine Awardwinning journalist, former fitness director at Mens Health, and author of The New Rules of Lifting

Performing at a high level in the gymor just getting through life without painis about more than willing yourself to finish. Its about understanding how body part A works with body part B. No one knows that better than Vinh. His book is a road map to a life of no limitations.

Ron Boss Everline, entrepreneur and fitness trainer

This book asks you to get honest with yourself about the daily toll youre taking on your body. Sit Up Straight isnt just for the slouchers among us. Its an insight-filled manual for anyone with muscles and jointsyes, thats all of uswho wants to remain pain-free. Integrating this daily into your life can make a big difference!

Chris Mohr, PhD, RD, co-owner of well-being consulting company Mohr Results, Inc.

Keeping your body in good alignment and health not only allows you to move freely but helps all the intricate systems in your body work in harmony. Vinh is a movement expert wholl teach you new things. Read his book now and youll be reaping the rewards years from now.

Fai Khadra, artist

For the Myodetox tribe

PREFACE

IN EARLY 2020, before the coronavirus shut down the world, I raised money to expand the North American footprint of Myodetox. As part of that process, I spent a lot of time meeting with investors and dealmakers. This was high-level networking of the sort that suits my outgoing personality. I love meeting people and exchanging ideas and opportunities. I feed off that energy and creativity. It makes me feel as if Ive plugged into some mysterious energy source.

Though Ive been a physical therapist since 2007, I never thought my work would lead to me being introduced to a powerful tech-industry lawyersomeone used to executing mergers and acquisitions involving billions of dollars. This lawyer was a promising enough connection that, after he and I spoke by phone, my Myodetox team and I flew to San Francisco for the sole purpose of meeting with him. As part of the visit, we scheduled a Myodetox session to take place in his office, the goal being to further his understanding of exactly what it is I do.

After arriving at the airport, my colleagues and I made our way to his office, located in a futuristic-looking high-rise soaring above the downtown financial district. The elevator swooshed up to the fiftieth floor and stopped with a beep; as we stepped out, smiling staffers whisked us inside.

After choosing from among what seemed like several dozen flavors of coffee, I was led into the lawyers corner office, which offered a sweeping view of downtown San Francisco. Its the sort of view that Im sure makes the occupant feel like a master of the universe. The lawyer came out from behind his desk to greet me. The office walls were practically papered with degrees; in various corners, piles of documents were stacked high.

First, we talked about business. He wanted to know more about what Myodetox does and whatbeyond our more contemporary vibedifferentiates us from our competitors. I explained that were a chain of physical therapy clinics with an innovative approach to treating patients: Rather than waiting for patients to come to us in pain, our team works to prevent injury altogether by futureproofing the body. Our mission is to make healthcare accessible to everyone by making self-care a lifestyle.

Eventually the conversation turned to the lawyers own body. Suddenly he transformed from a brilliant, self-assured tech titan to a person speaking about his body with about as much understanding as a five-year-old playing Operation. My back has really been bothering me lately, he said. Its this part right here. Do you know what that is?

It was the lumbar spine, a pretty basic part of the human anatomy.

Can you sit up straight? I asked. When patients come to me with back issues, this is always one of the first things I ask. How your spine looks when sitting tall is often a tell to whats causing the pain.

After I spent a few minutes talking with the lawyer about the importance of maintaining a strong postureespecially crucial for someone like him, who sat for most of the dayas well as other techniques like engaging the core muscles and doing some light treatment, I blurted out something that was probably less than diplomatic.

Youre one of the smartest people Ive ever met, I said, yet you have to ask a random bearded Asian guy from Toronto how your back works?

I explained that I wasnt trying to make him feel bad, but that the issue he was facing was exactly what I was trying to solve with my company: how to increase the baseline knowledge people have of their own bodies. I firmly believe that people should have at least a rudimentary understanding of the only thing they truly own. I want to get them out of pain, futureproofing their bodies so they can maximize their full potential and live longer.