Want to fix uneven muscles? This video is for you!
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A common question I receive is how to fix muscle and strength imbalances. Perhaps you notice one side of your body is bigger than the other. Or you are not as strong with one side of your body compared to the other one. What can you do about this?
Today, I will discuss the possible causes of having uneven muscles and will also discuss 4 practical solutions for reducing muscle imbalances. But first, I think it’s important to mention that we all have muscle imbalances to some extent. The human body is not 100% symmetrical. In fact, most people in the world have a dominant arm and leg, which inherently is accompanied with some strength imbalances, which is fine as long as the imbalance does not become excessive.
It is possible to have some muscle imbalances while being healthy and moving without pain. Now, if you notice an imbalance is causing one side of your body to look significantly more developed than the other or you can lift quite a bit more weight with one-arm over the other, then it’s definitely worth paying more attention to reducing muscle imbalances.
So first, what could be causing a muscle imbalance? Most of the time, the root cause of an excessive muscle imbalance is caused outside of the gym. Because most of us have a dominant arm or leg, when we start a fitness journey, you typically start it off with one side of your body being stronger than the other. You also have better motor control or so to speak “mind-muscle connection” with the dominant side of your body because you use it more often in everyday tasks. Combine this with a lot of barbell and machine-based exercises in which both sides of your body have to work together, it is possible your dominant side is being trained harder.
During facepulls, your upper back muscles (like the rhomboids and rear delts) work together with the external rotators of your shoulder to accomplish the movement. This makes the facepull a highly effective exercise for targeting the muscle groups that help pull your shoulders back.
Your posture could also be impacting how well each side of your body is being trained. Say for instance that I am experiencing a shoulder drop. This impacts how well I am able to engage my lats, with one side being trained harder than the other. Or if you have 1 shoulder that is rounded forward slightly, this can result in a crooked bench press, in which one side is again being trained harder. And lastly, some muscle imbalances are not true imbalances caused by training, but more genetically how your muscles look.
But I’d say that most people coming to me with muscle imbalance questions are more about having 1 bicep being bigger than the other or one leg being stronger, and that is totally fixable. So I’d like to share with you 4 practical tips that you can use in your training to correct any excessive muscle and strength imbalances you may experience. The 4 tips are:
- Perform more dumbbell-based and unilateral exercises
- Train your "weaker" side first whenever doing unilateral exercises
- Manage postural issues (film yourself to check exercise form)
- Mentally focus on the weaker side whenever training bilateral exercises
For more details, check the video!
In this video, I clearly describe how and when to use the facepull in 3 minutes. I also show you some alternatives to traditional cable facepulls with the rope.
I hope you enjoy this video and it gives you some insight into how you can train for shoulder balance. You can expect a lot more evidence-based training and nutrition content in the near future from this channel, so definitely subscribe if you want to stay updated!
As always, if you have any questions, just leave them in the comment section below and I’ll get back to you.
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MUSIC CREDIT:
Music by Ryan Little - Lovesick. (Nomad's Heart) - [ Ссылка ]
