Addressing muscle imbalances in strength training
As a Corrective Exercise Specialist, I always start by assessing my client’s strengths and weaknesses to develop a plan that will help them balance out their body and move more efficiently. The number one area I work on most often is addressing muscle imbalance. This is why I am saying, stop training like a Dude, even if you are one.
You are not one-dimensional
I don’t want to be too stereotypical here but I often see the same muscle imbalances over and over again so I feel it is important to bring light to this situation and begin to address it more aggressively. People often focus on one side of their body and neglect the others. If you have favorite exercises that you always turn to when you complete your strength training routine then you most likely fall into this category.
Why this matters
Finding balance in your routine and training all of your muscles equally is very important. Muscle imbalance can lead to a number of issues including..
- Poor posture
- Pain or soreness in different parts of the body
- Limited rage of motion or flexibility
- Balance difficulties
- Increased risk of injury
Your muscles are designed to work as a pair. One side works while the other side relaxes. In life we need to move in three dimensions. All of our acts of daily living require this and when we are limited on one side, these movements become more challenging.
3 Planes of Movement
There are 3 different planes of motion that our body moves in. Daily activities require us to be able to move in all three planes so it is important that our exercise routine also address all three.
- Sagittal Plane: Imagine a line cutting the body into a left and right half. Movements in this plane are forward and backward. This includes walking, pushing and pulling movements.
- If an exercise is primarily made up of flexion and extension joint motions, it is classified in the sagittal plane. Some common exercises for the sagittal plane include: squats, forward and backward lunges, bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, chest press, rows, etc.
- This is the most common plane people tend to focus on when completing an exercise routine.
- Frontal Plane: Imagine a line cutting the body into the front and back. Movements in this plane are side to side. Adduction and Abduction of the limbs from the body are movements in this plane.
- Adduction is when you are bringing a limb (leg or arm) in towards the body and Abduction is when you are bringing a limb away from the body. Some common exercises for the frontal plane are, lateral lunges, lateral arm raises, side steps, side bends, lateral leg raises, ext.
- Transverse Plane: Imagine a line cutting the body into a top and bottom half. Any rotation of the body occurs in the transverse plane.
- Twisting of a limb toward the center is termed internal rotation and twisting in the opposite direction away from the midline is then termed external rotation. Some common exercises for the transverse plane include, Russian twists, woodchoppers, rotational lunges, rotating planks, etc.
Some common themes I see with muscle imbalance
Working in a gym all day I see many people complete their exercise routines. Here I am talking about members of the gym who are not my clients. If they are my clients, they have a much more balanced routine that I have given them. I see the same people come in almost every day and do the same routine. The have about 5-10 exercises that they always do, use about the same amount of weight, leave and repeat the next day. Over time they either become injured or give up because they never saw any results. If they only were willing to try another approach, they would have achieved their fitness goals in half the time, and would still be loving life at the gym.
Dudes focus on the front
A common muscle imbalance theme I often see with men is that the muscles on the front side of their body are often much stronger then the muscles on the rear. I often see strong pecs, biceps, quads and sometimes abdominals. This is often due to men preferring the bicep curl exercise, bench press, leg press, push ups, and bench sit-ups. Being stronger on this side of the body can often lead to shoulder pain and injuries, lower back pain and knee issues.
Chicks focus on the rear
A common muscle imbalance theme I often see with women is that the muscles on the rear side of their body are often much stronger then the muscles in the front. I often see strong glutes, rhomboids ( back of shoulders), triceps and lower back muscles. This is often due to women preferring lunges, tricep exercises, deadlifts, rows and glute kickbacks. Being stronger on this side of the body can often lead to hip pain and injury, neck pain and sometimes back pain.
No one ever addresses the sides
I rarely see anyone address their side body or add rotation exercises to their routine. This puts their spine and any rotational joints ( shoulders and hips) at risk. The muscles on our side body support our spine and help keep it strong. And the muscles needed in rotational movements support the joints during rotation keeping the joint healthy and decreasing the risk of injury.
Address your muscle imbalance with your strength training routine
If I haven’t convinced you already, I strongly recommend that you balance out your strength training routine. All areas of your body should be trained equally and you should be moving in all three planes of motion. If you are not sure of how to design a routine that will work for you I would love to help you out. Just send me an email at rebecca@vitalitytransformations.com or schedule a time for us to chat. Also please feel free to check out my many resources and services on my website. Don’t be the stereotypical “dude” or “chick” at the gym working hard and getting no results.
