Have you ever noticed a difference between the strength and stability of your muscles on each side of your body when exercising? Are you concerned that this muscle imbalance could affect your sporting performance or cause injury? You don’t have to worry. I will give you a super-practical guide today on how to correct muscle imbalance.
In daily life, muscle imbalance is common. However, over-correcting can be counterproductive for fitness enthusiasts without chronic pain. The human body is naturally asymmetrical and small strength differences are common. If one side is significantly stronger, this can increase the risk of injury, as it is less stable.
How can you tell if a training plan is working to correct muscle imbalances? Three variables are the key.
Do you stretch before and after your training? A 2:1 pull-push is recommended for those of us who spend a lot of time in front a computer. If you want a healthy upper body with no pain, you should pay more attention to the position of your shoulder blade. The shoulder blade is trained in a similar way by both the rowing and bench press movements. By replacing some of your pushing movements with extension exercises, such as landmine presses and push-ups, you can balance the impact of pull and push movements on the shoulder blade.
Do you include single-leg training (and single arm training) in your program? If you rely solely on compound exercises such as squats or bench presses, it is easy to create subtle imbalances in strength and stability. This increases the risk of injury. Include unilateral movements such as single-leg dumbbell rows and single-arm dumbbell squats to balance both sides of your body. When choosing weights use the weaker side to determine the standard. Gradually improve the balance by increasing the weights.
Does your warm-up incorporate movements that improve joint flexibility? Muscle imbalances can be caused by a lack of mobility or staying in one position for too long. Incorporating ankle, hip, and thoracic spinal mobility exercises into the warm-up will improve joint mobility and prevent muscular imbalances.
Paying attention to these variables will make your training plan more effective and targeted. Not only will you correct muscle imbalances but you’ll also improve overall sports performance, and reduce the risk of injury. Remember that perseverance and scientific training will yield the desired results.
