Addressing Muscular Imbalances In Your Workouts
Whether you are new to physical activity or have been working out for years, you may have some underlying muscular imbalances that you are unware of. It’s possible to go through years of working out and not be aware of any potential muscular imbalances. Additionally, your workouts may not be addressing any muscular imbalances that you might have.
Muscular imbalances can be seen as one muscle in one area of the body being stronger or weaker than the same identical muscle on the other area of the body. An example of this would be the biceps muscle being stronger on a person’s right arm then their left arm. Another example would be the gluteus medius muscle being stronger on the left leg than the right leg. These sorts of imbalances can be observed all over the body, with varying consequences. Muscular imbalances go way beyond just one side being stronger than the other. All throughout the human body, muscles that are dominant over their antagonist counterparts can produce irregular movement patters and limited range of motion with negative long term implications. They can also increase the risk of injury in some cases, particularly with athletes. In this article we will look primarily at imbalances between one arm or leg over the other, rather than agonist versus antagonist imbalances or more complex imbalances that require a professionals assessment and help.
Muscular imbalances can have greater consequences when it comes to the lower extremities. Since people walk on their legs and not their arms, imbalances in the legs can work their way up to the hips which can in turn affect a person’s back. In fact when assessing for imbalances it’s recommended that a person start at the feet and work their way up, since whatever movement patterns occur at the feet can work their way up the whole body.
A Simple Way For Assessing Muscular Imbalances
There are numerous tests and assessments for identifying muscular imbalances. Some of the best tests require someone who has been trained in how to spot such imbalances. There is however another way that you can begin to spot some basic imbalances in muscular strength.
Many workout machines operate in such a way that when they are used, both arms or legs are employed simultaneously. Furthermore, these machines are structured such that the lever or mechanism being used is one solid piece of steel. What this means is that each arm or leg does not have to work independently. It’s very possible in such scenarios that one arm or leg is moving more of the resistance than the other, unbeknownst to the person doing the lift.
There is a very simple way to assess if one arm or leg is stronger than the other for each muscle group. Most machines can be used so that only one arm is used at a time. The machine will still function properly, albeit with only one extremity moving the resistance. If you work both arms or legs individually, and notice that one is significantly weaker than the other, you have then identified a muscular imbalance.
The principal of breaking an exercise down into each individual arm and leg can be used successfully with many machines. Because of this, individual muscles can be zeroed in on. Once an imbalance is identified, you can then proceed to place a little more focus and effort into getting that muscle up to par with the same muscle in the opposite arm or leg. For example, you may be able to do 10 repetitions of the leg extension machine with your right leg at a certain weight, but you notice that you can do 17 with your left leg at the same weight. Implementing a little more work for the right leg would then help it to catch up in terms of strength with the left leg.
Free-Weights For Addressing Muscular Imbalances
Free-weights are a great way to work muscles in addition to machines. They do however require more control and better overall understanding of sound technique. Just like machines, you can use free-weights to assess muscular imbalances, and it is quite simple to do so.
If you choose to use free weights, using dumbbells over a barbell is optimal. The reason goes back to the same principal mentioned for machines. When you use dumbbells, each arm has to do its own work. Even though a barbell uses both arms, because it is not on a guided track like a machine, imbalances can still be seen. Using dumbbells however is a better way to go, because the imbalances are more easily viewed. Once they have been identified, these imbalances can readily be focused in on for additional work, much like when using machines.
When it comes to identifying muscular imbalances in the legs, machines are a better option to go with. The leg curl, leg extension, leg press, and calve extension machine are all great machines to identify possible imbalances. In addition to that, a few other exercises can be utilized. Stationary or walking lunges can help identify imbalances, provided that plenty of rest is given in between sets and you do not alternate legs with each individual repetition. Standing single leg calve raises can also help identify if one leg is stronger than the other. Finally, a single leg squat, whereby you only go down about 45 degrees from the standing position, can also help identify weakness in one leg over the other.
Final Thoughts On Muscular Imbalances
Muscular imbalances can affect the body negatively over time. If one arm or leg is significantly stronger than the other, it can throw off the body’s overall biomechanics and create long term problems. Try assessing if you have areas where one arm or leg is stronger than the other. Also consider finding a Corrective Exercise Specialist or a Licensed Physical Therapist. He or she will have many additional tests they can do in order to assess muscular imbalances that are beyond what a person can do on their own.
Paul Owens is a personal trainer in the Cleveland area. He is a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and the National Council on Strength and fitness. He is also a Corrective Exercise Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He can be reached at http://www.clevelandpersonaltraining.com
