are you weaker on one side of the body are you struggling with uneven muscles
today we're covering the best strategies to fix muscle imbalance once and for all
tip number one is pre-activation if you take anything from today's video this is the simplest
way you can reduce asymmetry and fix muscle imbalance by activating the muscle and taking
our joint through range we're improving our kinesthetic awareness this is where your joints
are in space this is going to create a more clear connection between your brain and your muscle
improving that mind muscle map which is going to support you for balanced training to come what is
going on is we're getting enhanced motor control and also motor unit recruitment this is a fancy
way of saying you're going to get increased force production and also power production of
the dormant muscle that you want to reduce the imbalance and decrease that asymmetry this is
happening via increased motor unit synchronization and also motor unit firing rates this is a fancy
way of saying that more of your muscle fibers are going to be recruited at a faster rate this
basically means that you're going to be recruiting more of the dormant muscle in all of the exercises
you're about to do providing the opportunity to get bigger and stronger and finally the science
suggests that it has an effect on the stretch reflex augmenting the muscle stiffness in the area
that you're pre-activating consider this if you have weakness if you're enjoying the video so far
show your support by dropping a thumbs up to help us grow point number two is unilateral exercises
this is obvious but it is such an effective strategy the reason for this is it allows each
side each limb to be doing all of the work this is going to promote balance and also symmetry
the biggest tip that i can give you is always start each set with the weaker side first this
allows you the opportunity to give your full physical and mental energy to the task at hand
this way you're going to reduce the side to side differences and improve your muscle strength and
also muscle size you should start your session with compound exercises done unilaterally one at
a time the middle of your workout should have your compounds done bilaterally two at a time
and you should finish your workout with isolation exercises to target your weak areas beginning your
session with unilateral is a smart choice because it allows you to address the area that you're
struggling with while you're fresh the middle of a workout is a perfect opportunity to now
integrate our body as a whole and improve globally and of course isolating at the end of a workout is
the best option because the extra fatigue isn't going to impact your performance and also it's
not going to impact the subsequent sessions unilateral training is a no-brainer it ticks
all boxes and it provides the best of all worlds you're training the movement pattern in question
you're getting your muscles bigger and stronger and this is happening on both sides of the body
independently guys what has helped you decrease muscle imbalance share
your tips and tricks with the community point number three is mind muscle connection and no
this isn't just for bodybuilders this is for both people who want to increase muscle and also get
stronger enhancing their symmetry visualization is a highly effective strategy that everyone can use
to enhance the mind muscle connection you want to do this by mental imagery think about your muscles
creating tension think about your muscle that you're trying to work shortening every single
rep really visualize this on that weaker side especially focus your full mental imagery onto
that particular area and you're going to be using that muscle much more in the exercise the best way
to do this is by verbally in your mind or out loud saying to yourself the most important technique
cue that you want to focus on in this case scapula scapular scapula this directs your full attention
to the movement pattern that you're working on and it's going to be recruiting those dormant areas
that you otherwise would not be using if you just went through the motions with your exercise the
best way to accomplish this is with a controlled tempo particularly dominating that eccentric phase
of any exercise that you do the main reason why people struggle with the mind muscle connection
is they're training with their ego the intensity is too high and they can't actually even control
the movement that they're training the simple solution is to humble yourself drop the intensity
drop your loads so you can actually dominate the movement and feel the mind muscle connection
on the weaker side for those of you who are training with weights forget about the barbell
go ahead and use dumbbells to fix imbalance independent loading is the massive advantage
of using dumbbells there's no hiding each side has to do an equal amount of work to train through a
full range of motion by using dumbbells we can start to get more of a balance existing between
sides because that weaker side has to work improving stability is where dumbbells shine
because they're free to move in multiple planes of motion your smaller muscle groups your stabilizers
are going to be improved this is going to reduce the bottlenecks that might be holding back your
strength and size potential increased range of motion is another advantage of dumbbells
on most exercises anytime we can go through a further range this creates more stress more
stimulus and it's a more productive environment to grow and reduce our imbalance point number five is
increased volume to decrease muscle asymmetry volume is defined as sets times reps times
intensity focusing on the reps and set side of the equation is the best way to keep things simple an
additional one to five reps on your weaker side is a good way to go otherwise an extra
set is going to help reduce that difference that exists between sites over time always
conclude your workout with this extra homework so you don't run into any fatigue related issues
point number six is film yourself this way you can assess the situation and make changes most of you
guys are training solo by filming your set you can be your own coach and you can review what is going
on this allows you to check out what you're doing incorrectly maybe your hand placement is a bit too
narrow maybe your stance isn't what you want it to be and this is contributing to your asymmetry
this way you can adjust the next set and start reducing the potential causes of what is creating
your imbalance using a mirror isn't quite the same thing it's not ideal because you're looking
visually and it doesn't allow you the opportunity to develop your own awareness of what your body is
doing in space your own awareness of improving the mind muscle connection by filming your set you can
look at it undistracted with a clear vision and then make adjustments in subsequent sets final
point number seven imbalance is normal here's why there's factors that are out of your control
which are causing this firstly anatomy your origin and insertion of your muscles is going
to determine the shape of your muscles this is different from side to side in most people this
means you have the opportunity to increase the size of your muscles but you can't change the
shape based on the tendons inserting at different points on your body so as you can see you might be
fighting an uphill battle which is impossible to begin with just based on the structure that you
inherited at birth our dominance determines our appearance we all have one side which is stronger
than the other this is a natural thing and it's something that every single person experiences
a few years ago i had a dexa scan which is a full body assessment of muscle as well as
bone density as you can see there's no one or two area which is completely identical left to right
i just want to drill home that this is normal for absolutely everyone and being completely
symmetrical is almost impossible for humans at large your structure also plays a role in your
appearance it determines what exercise you're good at and the resulting strength in those movements
determines your appearance i'd like to share a personal example from myself i have what's called
scoliosis this is a curvature in the spine which is caused by a leg length discrepancy
my left leg is longer than my right as a result i'm always going to be imbalanced to an extent
but there's certain things in my control that i can always do these are the strategies that are
listed today now that's not an excuse to accept defeat and just do nothing about your body what's
in your control is improving your flexibility and also mobility you guys know when it comes
to that side which is weaker your non-dominant side it tends to be tighter as well this is an
area that if you address it by increasing your flexibility and bringing up that side to match
the other then you're in the position to be able to train both sides equally building an equal
amount of strength and equal amount of muscle size these small differences that exist between sides
with your flexibility can be improved over time with stretching it's just going to take time and
it's going to take patience and also consistency to improve but that is in your control anytime
you can reduce the deficit with flexibility by stretching and the deficit with mobility
by strengthening and joint range of motion that's going to reduce the side to side difference guys
there's a term called no sibo and that's what i wanted to address in today's video regarding
fixing muscle imbalance hopefully as you can see this isn't something to be afraid of you
shouldn't be scared that you've got slight differences in strength or also muscle size
i don't want you to let anyone else tell you any differently whether it's a friend a
training partner or some expert on the internet hopefully today's content has cleared this up
for you and now you've got the tools and also the knowledge to train and do so in a smart way