Muscle Balancing

Most people walk into a gym and experiment on the machines having no idea how important it is to achieve balance. Balance between muscle pairs prevents injury. When muscles are unbalanced, you use your joints incorrectly and cause wear, tear and damage over time. Unbalanced muscle can also cause pain.

As an example, think of a weight lifter who is really focused on his pectorals. He spends less time on the traps. When he stands or walks, he stoops forward because his pecs are stronger than his traps. The result? Poor posture and eventually neck and back pain. Knee damage and pain is pretty common. You can help avoid it by balancing the training of your hip abductors and adductors. When these are balanced and strong they pull the tendons holding the kneecap into place. When one of these muscles are weaker, the kneecap gets pulled out of place and the result is pain and possibly even an injury if you move the wrong way.

The best balance comes from weight training. Cross training is always a good thing but the very best way is to achieve total fitness and muscle balance is a combination of cardiovascular exercise and weight training. Weight training offers specific possibilities to achieve balance over and above any other form of exercise. Of course, you can’t just weight train any old way. You have to train each side of your body. Everyone has a weaker side, and a weaker muscle. The key to achieving body balance and avoiding injury is to strengthen up the weaker muscle and then train each equally once you achieve that balance.