It seems like only yesterday that Tina began sharing her corporate perspective on Hourglassy, but we’ve been reading her weekly reports for more than two years! Along the way, she’s shared her feeling of “being ok with a bigger curvy body in the corporate world”, and she’s shown us that it really is possible to dress professionally without getting stuck in a suit rut. Our only Finnish writer, she’s helped us examine cultural differences surrounding large breasts, and she’s given us invaluable cold weather dressing advice gleaned from Scandinavian winters. All the while, she’s been working 10-12 hour days as she climbs the corporate ladder.

Being busty is just one part of Tina’s very full life, and I am so thankful that she has paused each week to reflect on it for us. As Tina’s ambitions and responsibilities have grown, however, so has the challenge of focusing on this one facet of her physique. You probably got a hint of this from her “Part of Me” post a few weeks back. Because of this, today’s post will be Tina’s final regular Corporate Curves Report. I know it will leave you wishing for more.

The Fustra Method is a training method based on Fusion Functional Training, which is used to balance the body’s muscles, improve body control, and improve your posture and mobility.

• The training method emphasizes good posture, correct breathing technique, and increased core strength by performing the exercises with the correct technique.
• Fustra was originally developed for professional athletes to increase the muscle balance, but the method is especially suitable for individuals with neck, shoulder and back pain.
• Modern day society automatically makes individuals focus on their minus muscles (front side). The FUSTRA method instead activates the plus muscles (back side), especially in the center of body, which is the core.
• The over-activation of the minus muscles causes people to suffer neck, shoulder and back pain.
• Fustra was founded in Sweden in 2005 and developed by Finnish personal trainer Jarkko Kortelainen.

Basically in every single exercise you need to have a straight back so the skill of tilting your pelvis front is essential. You soon learn to understand when your posture is straight, and slowly but surely you start thinking about your posture in your everyday life!

With the block the legs are kept apart far enough so that the pelvis stays straight when performing the different exercises. Some of the moves might look simple to do but just try to lift the stick with your back and butt glued to the wall and lift the stick up with just your shoulder blades! Not arms.

Same with the side lifts. Sure I could lift heavier weights if I used my arms to lift them, but instead strengthening the shoulder blades is essential to balance the posture–especially for us busty women!

This method suits my broken and tilted body extremely well as I can’t do any heavy impact sports with my broken ankles–Fustra has no jumping! There are aerobic portions as well. My Fustra personal trainer Maria and I selected the most Fustra looking exercises to showcase here.

What I’ve achieved:

– my shoulder blades actually move. They didn’t at all when I started

– my pelvis was tilted and frozen in one positions, and I could only lift my left leg over the right when sitting. Now both ways work, and my pelvis is free to move, also gaining more balance though it’s still tilted.

– I’ve gotten my lower abs back from non existent. I still have a long way to go, but they are strong enough so that I could start riding horses again!

– my arms have far bigger movement ratio than in years!

– breathing is easier due to increased stability and movement ratio.

– I feel much stronger in general and I have converted several kgs of fat into muscle.

– I have gone down one clothing size.

Fustra training also includes a diet, personal goals, and regular InBody analysis. Each session is done with a personal trainer who makes sure you do the exercises correctly and safely. And motivates you to push on! Worth every single cent.