Left/Right imbalance in strength and flexibility

sobriquet

Not sure that title is readable, but what I mean is that for some reason the left hand side of my body is stronger and more flexible than the right hand side. This is less of a problem from the waist up, but is nevertheless noticeable. It's especially noticeable in terms of flexibility - I have much more restriction in movement in my right leg.

So, the obvious query: what to do about it? It's not an immense problem, but something I'd like to rectify, especially if (as it seems a likely cause,) it comes from one side protecting the other. Should I get it checked out? What courses of action are there?

I mainly do cycling (where it's fairly easy to make one side do the work, though of course not advisable) and martial arts, where fighting from left stance is the usual so it's not a problem.

Thanks for any comments.

Imposter

I have what sounds like a very similar problem. I've joined a gym recently and the instructor said that doing a normal routine will strengthen both sides at the same time (to more or less the same strength if the exercises are done properly). You may have to start off doing a bit less than your left side could manage as your right side will probably get tireder quicker.

When doing cardio (running, cycling etc) where you can use one side more, you have got to concentrate and force yourself to use the other side. One sport I find excelent for this (although not very practical to someone in Ireland) is skiing as you must use both legs equally. I'm sure others here will have ideas on other sports that force this on you too.

Dragan

I would suggest you do your excercises unilaterally, that is, one arm/leg at a time, on what lifts you can do this on.

You will need to hold back on the strong side for a btit, in order to develop the weaker side to the same level as it.

Any sort of strenght imbalance like this can lead to injury, so work out the imbalance before you try and progress overall.

Imposter

Dragan wrote:

I would suggest you do your excercises unilaterally, that is, one arm/leg at a time, on what lifts you can do this on.

You will need to hold back on the strong side for a btit, in order to develop the weaker side to the same level as it.

Any sort of strenght imbalance like this can lead to injury, so work out the imbalance before you try and progress overall.

Was my instructor wrong with his advice? What are you basing your view on?

Dragan

The advice i gave really is no different than that your instructor gave you, it's just that by doing the excercieses unilaterally it will allow the OP to concentrate fully on the weaker side when he has to work it.

I can only assume that he has not been lifting very long, and as such, does not have the greatest mind muscle connection.

Also, unless the imbalance is very pronounced, it will be hard to find a weight that does not tire your strong side to practically the same degree as your weak side, and i would not expect a new lifter to be able to do so, hence the advice to work one side at a time.

For example, whether i am doing 100 pound curls or 120 pound curls, both my arms get tired, yet one arm is stronger the other, so how can i figure that this weight is optimal for helping the weak side, but not getting the strong side too far ahead???

Simple advice is to do the weak side first on all lifts, and do the same weight and reps on the strong side, until the weak side is even with the strong side.

PJG

Hi ,

I have had similar problems in the past and it comes back occasionally. Its due to hip alignment and if left untreated and your doing a lot of training it can led to injury and in my case cause back problems.

How I sorted it out was doing a lot of horse stack work (martial arts stance) with very strict form, Pilates, body ball work and lots of stretching. Work on your core strength and you’ll see excellent returns in your lifting\sports.

What I find puts it back out is ‘road running’.

cheers

sobriquet

Thanks for the replies.

Yeah PJG, it's come up mostly as a result of having started running - using new sets of muscles and all that. It's not noticeable whilst cycling even though I'm quite finicky about having good form and being efficient on the bike.

The most visible area is flexibility - by and large not a problem, but certain stretches show it up quite visibly. It doesn't seem likely as it's not always apparent, but I might get it checked out in case it does come from misalignment.

amazingemmet

If its really noticable in your flexiblity i'd reccomend intensive sports massage on the areas, combined with good technique in stretchingit'll sort itself out in a couple of months

Transform

Totally agree - get the therapist in to break it up and fullow it with plenty of stretching.

Those foam rolls in the gyms are not just for simple pilates exercises you know.

A tennis ball really helps me even out any bumps in muscles (especially the piriformus - top of bum and towards the lower back)

GreeBo

rollerblading is a good sport for forcing you to use both legs equally...

Imposter

GreeBo wrote:

rollerblading is a good sport for forcing you to use both legs equally...

I've tried that but my weak foot wouldn't go straight on them (There's a word for that, suppating or something)!

GreeBo

close, supinating