Is Body Awareness an Undergarment?

A while back my partner, who is a big fitness enthusiast and keeps himself in very good shape, began working out with me. Smart guy - he knows how to use the resources available to him!

Anyway, as we started working out, it became evident very quickly that even though his fitness level is quite high, he has developed some training habits that have led to muscular imbalances. Hence, this article…

By the way, he said it was “OK” to use his body for discussion in this article.

So, what is a muscular imbalance? The technical definition is: when two opposing muscle groups do not have comparable strength levels. In other words, it is when the body part or limb is stronger on one side than the other. Over time this lopsided development results in complications like poor posture and joint instability.

My partner is not the only one with imbalances. All of us have some muscular imbalances just because in our daily lives we move in certain ways over and over. Exercise can help alleviate this because the body does different motions than it’s used to. However, doing the same exercises or sports the same way over and over can also lead to muscular imbalances.

Muscular imbalances can contribute to injury. Just like a team of people, when all the muscles needed to perform a task aren’t working together, the other muscles and tendons “take up the slack”. This makes the strong ones stronger and leaves the weaker ones weaker. As well, the joints (which include the vertebrae of the back) can be pulled out of alignment by the imbalance….

On the flip side, having an injury can lead to muscular imbalances. Last year, I seriously pulled a muscle in the back of my leg. I took some time off from fitness to let it heal and then took extra care not to overwork or injure it again. This meant changing the way I did some exercises and omitting other exercises for a while. Some time later, my massage therapist told me that although my leg had long since healed, I was not strengthening it. I thought I had been working it hard! So, I watched myself in the mirror and noticed that I was compensating with the other leg and creating imbalance. Lesson learned.

So what to do? Become more “body aware”. Check out your body and how you are moving it. Here are some ideas:


Use a mirror to check out your movements. If you are unsure how an exercise or movement should be, a good book or video on training form is a good idea.

Add yoga, ballet, tai chi or another activity that requires the mind to be fully focused on individual muscle movements in a slow, concise and specific fashion.

Stretch all the muscle groups after exercise.

Hire a trainer. A certified fitness trainer has the knowledge and skills to help you identify potential and existing imbalances in your body and prescribe exercises to prevent or correct them.

Enjoy more balance in your life!

Article Source: http://www.bodyformind.com/db

Ainsley Laing, MSc. has 25 years experience in Group Exercise, Nutrition and Personal Training. She writes exclusively for the Anti-Aging Fitness Program and Body for Mind - Wellness Lifestyle for Successful People. Download  a FREE copy of  "Perpetual Wellbeing - 4 Steps to Ageless Sex Appeal"

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