A Corrective Exercise Specialist is someone who is an expert in correcting muscle imbalances. Muscle imbalances can hinder an athlete’s sports performance. Chronic pain, such as back pain, can be a symptom of a muscle imbalance or a postural deviation. Some studies point to muscle imbalances and postural deviations as the cause to many gym injuries, such as rotator cuff injuries.
Please Note: If you are suffering any discomfort or pain, before you begin training with Adam Strock you will need a Physician’s Release from your doctor or a written note from your doctor stating whether you are cleared to begin a workout routine. The release form or note should include any limitations or restrictions ordered by the doctor.
What are a muscle imbalances and postural deviations?
MUSCLE IMBALANCES
Often, the muscles involved in a muscle imbalance are on opposing sides of a joint. Imagine a teeter totter that you are trying to keep perfectly level with the ground. To keep it level you have two bands, one for each side. Now if one band is stronger than the other, the teeter totter won’t stay level, because there is an imbalance between the two bands. Likewise, if one band is shorter than the other band, even if they are the same strength, the teeter totter will be off balanced. This is similar to a muscle imbalance, one muscle is shortened, over-active, or stronger. And the other muscle is lengthened, under-active, weaker, or the central nervous system may have difficulty activating it.
Muscle imbalances can also occur between two or more muscles (or even muscle heads) that typically work together. An example of this can be a muscle imbalance within the quadriceps muscle than can cause the patellar tendon (or patellar ligament) to track out of place causing knee pain during exercise like running.
PAIN AND MUSCLE IMBALANCES
For many people muscle imbalances can cause pain. Pinched nerves, joint pain, or overly stressed tendons can all be symptoms of muscle imbalances and postural deviations. A common cause of sciatica is a muscle imbalance where an overly active muscle called the piriformis pinches the sciatic nerve in the hip. Muscle imbalances within the quadricep muscles can cause the patellar ligament (or patellar tendon) to pull to one side causing the tendon and kneecap (patella) to track incorrectly. This can cause pain in the knee. When it’s Chest day at the gym and you grab your shoulder or your buddy grabs their shoulder after completing a set of chest exercises because it feels tight, there’s discomfort, or pain… guess what… That can be caused by a muscle imbalance.
SPORTS PERFORMANCE
Muscle imbalances affect your sports performance. On the extreme end, performing with a severe muscle imbalance is like trying to drag race a car with the parking brake engaged. And often when the muscle imbalance is severe there is pain as a symptom (NOTE: if you are suffering from pain it’s important to first see a doctor to make sure there isn’t something more serious than muscle imbalances causing the pain).
On the other end, when a mild muscle imbalance exists muscle groups and muscle systems won’t work in the full synergy they were designed to work in. And synergy of the different muscles within your body during a sport is vital for peak performance.
Properly correcting muscle imbalances, even minor ones, will bring synergy back within the muscle groups and increase an athletes sports performance. Because of this, using any other personal trainer is like trusting an amateur mechanic to fine tune your formula race car for a race.
The Law of Synergy states the whole is greater than the sum of all of it’s parts. Simply stated… if you can lift 50 pounds and I can lift 50 pounds, together we should be able to lift MORE than 100 pounds. The “more” in the last part is important to notice. The Law of Synergy is a law of physics that governs our universe including our body. The movement of a single joint in our body typically requires the activation of more than one muscle. As an example, not only does extending at the elbow use the tricep muscle to facilitate this movement, but also a small muscle in the forearm called the anconeus.
WHAT SHOULD I DO FOR MY MUSCLE IMBALANCES?
If you are experiencing pain or discomfort and you think it’s due to muscle imbalances:
IMPORTANT: If you’re suffering from pain or discomfort, before you begin an exercise routine, you need to seek medical advice from a doctor to make sure something else isn’t the cause of the pain.If you’re experiencing pain but your doctor has cleared you to exercise, please note, a physician’s release or doctor’s note will be needed before starting an exercise plan with Adam Strock. If you need assistance contacting your doctor to obtain the release or note from your, please contact us and we will gladly assist you with obtaining the information from your doctor. The physician’s release (or doctor’s note) should list any restrictions your doctor has for your fitness regimen.Strock Fitness offers a free fitness assessment to all new clients. Contact Strock Fitness and after we get your clearance from your doctor we’ll schedule your assessment. One free fitness assessment per person.
BAD TRAINING HABITS, CROSSFIT, AND TRAINING BUDDIES.
Repetitive bad training habits and poor form during practice or weightlifting can create muscle imbalances. It can often takes months or years before the muscle imbalances from bad training habits manifest into something painful such as torn muscle of tendinitis. That is why it is crucial to train with a personal trainer as knowledgeable as Adam Strock to correct the muscle imbalances and poor training habits now. Don’t wait until there’s pain or discomfort. Contact Strock Fitness today for a free fitness Assessment.
VIRTUAL AND IN PERSON TRAINING
If you would like to set up a free assessment please use the contact page to get a hold of me. You can email me or call me. Please note: When I am with clients, I do not answer my phone so you will need to leave a message with your contact information. As my number is listed on the internet I receive a lot of spam calls so make sure to say on the recording that you are calling for personal training.