Muscle imbalance

[Sweeptheleg7]

Do you guys work both sides when 1) learning a new technique in class and just putting the reps in 2) doing reps of a technique to get the mechanics down after class or during open mat 3) drilling a move with various levels of resistance and 4) using the technique during sparring. I am extremely one sided and when I first learn something, I just focus on one side because I’m a slow learner and this helps me understand it better. There are so many techniques to learn but over time I am able to hit various techniques on my weak side. The level of execution is pretty low though and I’m definitely way better in my dominant side. I try to drill both sides when doing reps to get the mechanics down and I don’t drill that much and when I spar, I just use my strong side because I’m still trying to figure stuff out. I have a lot of muscle imbalances and was curious how other peoples experiences are.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

Do you guys work both sides when 1) learning a new technique in class and just putting the reps in 2) doing reps of a technique to get the mechanics down after class or during open mat 3) drilling a move with various levels of resistance and 4) using the technique during sparring. I am extremely one sided and when I first learn something, I just focus on one side because I’m a slow learner and this helps me understand it better. There are so many techniques to learn but over time I am able to hit various techniques on my weak side. The level of execution is pretty low though and I’m definitely way better in my dominant side. I try to drill both sides when doing reps to get the mechanics down and I don’t drill that much and when I spar, I just use my strong side because I’m still trying to figure stuff out. I have a lot of muscle imbalances and was curious how other peoples experiences are.

I am currently dealing myself with muscle imbalance and it is a very real thing and can cause injuries / issues.
I just wanted to add that from my perspective it is in real day life that imbalance starts getting problematic, when it creeps in your posture. Like if you always cross your legs on one side for 30 years. Or if you always carry your child on the same side side. Or if you always rest on one hip while standing up, etc. . These things will also fuck you up in the long term. One which is super easy to omit is if you always use the same hand on the mouse

Our bodies are not designed to absorb the asymetry we subject them to without even knowing in with sedentary lifestyles.

 

[Sweeptheleg7]

I am currently dealing myself with muscle imbalance and it is a very real thing and can cause injuries / issues.
I just wanted to add that from my perspective it is in real day life that imbalance starts getting problematic, when it creeps in your posture. Like if you always cross your legs on one side for 30 years. Or if you always carry your child on the same side side. Or if you always rest on one hip while standing up, etc. . These things will also fuck you up in the long term. One which is super easy to omit is if you always use the same hand on the mouse

Our bodies are not designed to absorb the asymetry we subject them to without even knowing in with sedentary lifestyles.

Yeah, that’s true. I didn’t even think about aspects outside of training besides sitting at work.

Have you adjusted how you train or trained to address the imbalance? Do you do any corrective exercises to address the imbalance?

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

Yeah, that’s true. I didn’t even think about aspects outside of training besides sitting at work.

Have you adjusted how you train or trained to address the imbalance? Do you do any corrective exercises to address the imbalance?

I am currently dealing with a herniated disc and what appears to be a major imbalances in the hip areas, as well as major inflexibility issues. In hips and lower back.

PT will start in 2 weeks, now I just made up a routine watching YT rehab vids.

To tell you the truth I don't know where I am on the fucked for life to fine in a month scale. All I can tell you is that I knew for years that I had mobility issues but it didn't bother me sparring so I didn't address it.

 

[EndlessCritic]

I am so imbalanced that I have different games on each side.

ie: When I play half guard with my opponent to my right, I play knee shield. When I play half guard with my opponent to my left, I always work to get the butterfly hook inside, because I'm very strong at butterfly sweeping to my left.

I pretty much only play leg lasso on my left side.

When my opponent stands, I always prefer to go tripod sweep such that I'm holding their foot with my left hand.

etc. etc. etc. I think this is all normal.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Three habits that dicked up my posture and movements in daily life have been (in order of impact) 1) Always boxing orthodox and favoring my lead side, 2) Always going for right side throws in Judo randori and competition, 3) In BJJ, always playing right side HG knee shield and always trying to pass opponent's guard on their right side.

Even though I only boxed for 2 years, this one had a big impact because I still semi-frequently hit pads/bag/sparred over the course of 20+ years. So I got used to standing orthodox with my chin tucked to my left shoulder and rotating my hips into a power right cross and I unconsciously favored this movement pattern in daily life. This led to a big flexibility imbalance in my neck and hips, to the point that I physically couldn't tuck my chin into my right shoulder or even stand in a serviceable southpaw stance even if I wanted to.

In Judo, only going for right side throws dicked my lower back up bad. I remember at least 5 or 6 times over the 4 years I competed regularly, I threw out my back badly enough that I couldn't get out of bed the next morning and struggled to put my pants on for a few days. Have never been diagnosed with a herniated disk but I think it's all but a given at this point.

I've only been focusing on BJJ for the past 4.5 years so this one is relatively new. Even still, I have overuse injuries from posting on my right arm and a hip flexibility imbalance.

Not sure what the answer is, but these imbalances have become very noticeable over the past few years and I've deliberately been stretching every night trying to correct them. Also looking up YT flexibility and mobility drills. I've also been trying to play guard and pass on my bad side, and sometimes go for left sided throws (even if I know I won't land it) just for shits and grins.

 

[rmongler]

Three habits that dicked up my posture and movements in daily life have been (in order of impact) 1) Always boxing orthodox and favoring my lead side, 2) Always going for right side throws in Judo randori and competition, 3) In BJJ, always playing right side HG knee shield and always trying to pass opponent's guard on their right side.

Even though I only boxed for 2 years, this one had a big impact because I still semi-frequently hit pads/bag/sparred over the course of 20+ years. So I got used to standing orthodox with my chin tucked to my left shoulder and rotating my hips into a power right cross and I unconsciously favored this movement pattern in daily life. This led to a big flexibility imbalance in my neck and hips, to the point that I physically couldn't tuck my chin into my right shoulder or even stand in a serviceable southpaw stance even if I wanted to.

In Judo, only going for right side throws dicked my lower back up bad. I remember at least 5 or 6 times over the 4 years I competed regularly, I threw out my back badly enough that I couldn't get out of bed the next morning and struggled to put my pants on for a few days. Have never been diagnosed with a herniated disk but I think it's all but a given at this point.

I've only been focusing on BJJ for the past 4.5 years so this one is relatively new. Even still, I have overuse injuries from posting on my right arm and a hip flexibility imbalance.

Not sure what the answer is, but these imbalances have become very noticeable over the past few years and I've deliberately been stretching every night trying to correct them. Also looking up YT flexibility and mobility drills. I've also been trying to play guard and pass on my bad side, and sometimes go for left sided throws (even if I know I won't land it) just for shits and grins.

The most important factor for correcting postural imbalances is not just loosening tightness in some areas, it's also strengthening weakness in other areas.

When one has been spending a lot of time in unbalanced patterns, some muscles strengthen along a pattern, while others weaken, and over time as the disparity becomes greater these differences in strength will be pulling your body out of alignment even when you aren't engaging in a particular pattern.

Correcting these maladaptations requires identifying the motive groups involved in the pattern, and strengthening the ones that counteract it.

 

[ChickenBrother]

The most important factor for correcting postural imbalances is not just loosening tightness in some areas, it's also strengthening weakness in other areas.

When one has been spending a lot of time in unbalanced patterns, some muscles strengthen along a pattern, while others weaken, and over time as the disparity becomes greater these differences in strength will be pulling your body out of alignment even when you aren't engaging in a particular pattern.

Correcting these maladaptations requires identifying the motive groups involved in the pattern, and strengthening the ones that counteract it.

I think there's a lot of truth in this. On top of stretching, ass to grass squats (in particular front squats) and most recently full cleans and my garbage attempt at snatches have been great to strengthen my posterior chain and improve/fix some imbalances in my ankles and hips. Pre-COVID I had just started doing one-arm kettlebell snatches (lack the flexibility to do them properly with a barbell), and I believe they were improving my posture and movement. Have been trying to do one-arm barbell snatches as a substitute but getting close to giving up on those and just paying up for some light kettlebells.

This is incremental and in addition to the big 3 powerlifting lifts.

 

[rmongler]

I think there's a lot of truth in this. On top of stretching, ass to grass squats (in particular front squats) and most recently full cleans and my garbage attempt at snatches have been great to strengthen my posterior chain and improve/fix some imbalances in my ankles and hips. Pre-COVID I had just started doing one-arm kettlebell snatches (lack the flexibility to do them properly with a barbell), and I believe they were improving my posture and movement. Have been trying to do one-arm barbell snatches as a substitute but getting close to giving up on those and just paying up for some light kettlebells.

This is incremental and in addition to the big 3 powerlifting lifts.

Yes, tightness and lack of mobility is a visceral effect, so it's usually what people tend to notice first and focus on, but in general terms adhesions are something that sets in after an imbalance in muscle strength and weakness has already compounded itself in the first place, and will simply reoccur persistently after mobilizing tissue work unless and until correction of the latter takes place.

In some respects the scarification is an expression of a protective effect; your body adapting to a 'normal' of a single repetitive pattern.

Mobility work by a therapist (whether they call themselves a sports doc, chiro, osteopath, or whatever) to physically move kinks back into place can have a dramatic effect; but it takes using that mobility to do the corrective strengthening exercise (which often also includes changing your movement patterns), or else the pre-existing imbalance will just pull the body right back out of alignment again.