Let’s talk muscle imbalances
What is a muscle imbalance?
A muscle imbalance is when one or more muscles in our body is stronger, weaker, bigger or smaller than the same exact muscles on the other side of our body. Muscle imbalances can occur in any muscle/muscle group. They can occur within our shoulder muscles, our abdominal muscles or our lower body muscles.
What causes muscle imbalances?
Muscle imbalances are caused from several things including poor posture, incorrect exercise form, an inefficient workout program, everyday activities that you may perform at your job or even stress.
How do I know if I have a muscle imbalance?
There are several things that can confirm if you have a muscle imbalance. One of them is paying attention to your body after your workout. You will know if you have a muscle imbalance because one or more of your muscles on one side of your body will typically hurt more than the other side. Make sure you complete several bilateral (using both sides of the body) exercises so that you can tell which muscle/muscle group is stronger or weaker than the other.
For example, if you are performing a glute workout and you perform glute bridges, squats and deadlifts and by the end of your workout your left glute hurts more than your right, this could be because your left glute is stronger than your right, so it is carrying most of the weight of the exercises. On the contrary, this could also mean that your left glute is weaker than your right, so it is more sore.
Only you will know best, as you get to know your body more and pay attention. You can also seek out the help of a professional, like a trainer who specializes in corrective exercise that can help you.
Another way to know if you have a muscle imbalance is with a static postural assessment. In less fancy words, this just means standing up regularly and taking pictures of yourself or having a professional trainer examine you to see which side of your body maybe slouches more or looks bigger or smaller than the other side.
Another way to know if you have a muscle imbalance is by working with a professional trainer and doing several fitness assessments to see where there can be muscle imbalances in your body.
How do I correct a muscle imbalance?
Correcting a muscle imbalance takes strategy, time and patience. It can be very frustrating dealing with a muscle imbalance. Trust me, I know from personal experience. However, it is possible to get realigned and have your muscles in sync again.
One way to do this is through performing a lot of unilateral exercises. This is the opposite of bi-lateral and is when you perform an exercise on one side of your body at a time. This includes split squats, lunges, side planks, leg lifts, one leg glute bridges, donkey kicks, one arm bicep curls, one arm hammer curls, one arm rows and many more.
Another way to correct a muscle imbalance is to be mindful of your form, not just with exercise but in everyday life. Be mindful of the way that you are lifting something, be mindful of how you pick things up, be mindful of how you walk and mindful of how you drive. Make sure to take breaks from work if you are sitting down all day and if you work from home and have your own set up consider investing in a treadmill to put under your desk.
Lastly, consider working with a professional trainer. They will have more knowledge than you and can possibly help you more, especially if you have a very unique situation. Corrective exercise trainers will be especially helpful in correcting muscle imbalances. Their expertise is specifically in this field.