Getting Muscle Balance in your Workouts

You have heard me speak about training the body as a “whole” or a unit. Another way to put it is “MUSCLE BALANCE” or the principle of opposition, which leads to muscle balance.

Here are some simple key points to keep in mind in working toward muscle balance:

- Exercise routines must be designed to develop this balance, it doesn’t happen by itself
- Muscle balance is developed by exercising “paired muscles”
- Paired muscles are muscles that have opposing functions and are found on opposite sides of the joint.

• Example:  If you want to stabilize the pelvic girdle, which provides the foundation for all other movements, the muscle on both sides of the pelvis (flexors and extensors) will have to be strengthened. An imbalance between the flexors and extensors is a common problem and is usually followed by what is known as “compensatory shift” in the joints above or below the hips. Such a shift may manifest as poor posture or not using the proper body mechanics.  These deviations are just another way of your body adapting to the muscle imbalance of the muscles in the hip area.
• Another simple example of paired muscles would be biceps (front of the upper arm) and triceps (back of the upper arm) or the quadriceps (front of the upper leg) and hamstrings (back of the upper leg).

- If you workout the biceps you will also need to give equal attention to the triceps to create balance in the muscles so there is even tension on both sides of the joint (elbow and shoulder).

- If you are working out the chest and front deltoids you will also need to exercise the opposing muscle in the upper back (rhomboids, trapezius [middle], and rear deltoids), or you will develop an uneven pull on your shoulders and create upper back and neck problems.  The problems that develop in the upper back and neck are many times due to a muscle imbalance.

As you can see, muscle balance is a key component to fitness. This is why there is such an importance in having a personal trainer.  Even people with years of experience in the gym and other forms of exercise need a personal trainer. I see it every day in the gym.  People I know have been working-out for a long time come up to me and ask what they can do for various painful problems they are experiencing in their necks, upper back, shoulders or lower back and hips.

Understanding anatomy, body mechanics and the musculoskeletal system is a full time job.

My best advice for your fitness plan, “get professional help from a Personal Trainer”.

Keep moving the Wright Way, it only gets better!

Thanks, WW