
It is so easy when exercising to stick with the exercises and stretches that we are good at because they make us feel athletic. Whereas doing the exercises and stretches that challenge us we avoid because they makes us feel pathetic. However, it is often these very exercises that we should be doing the most of, and not just to be stronger overall.

All muscles work synergistically with another, antagonistic muscle. For example, biceps and triceps have the opposite function in moving the arm, the bicep bends the elbow and the tricep extends the elbow. This same relationship can be seen in all muscle groups in the body.

Naturally, the function of this pairing is to stabilize muscles, be able to retract as powerfully, and to have an even tone when at rest to hold the body in perfect posture. However, because of our tendency to work the muscles that are already strong, stretch the muscles that are already weak, and avoid what is difficult we throw these synergistic relationships out of balance. Another culprit that leads to imbalance is doing exercises with improper form because of a lack of knowledge or because one is trying to move more weight than they should to look stronger.

What often happens is a a certain muscle group is overworked it begins to get stronger and tighter, while the antagonistic muscle is underworked and become weak and long. It is not always this simple, but for the purposes of this post we’ll keep it at that.

These imbalances lead to postural faults, such as having too much curvature in the back, rounded shoulders, and forward head posture. Not only do they look bad aesthetically, they also are bad for function. They reduce the body’s ability to move through full ranges of motion, stabilize dynamically, and put unnecessary strain on muscles. This can lead to chronic pain, trigger points, and even injury.

So, when choosing exercises, it is important that imbalances are found, understood, and addressed so that you can work the body back into balance. And it is important to choose exercises that compliment each other and do not facilitate imbalance. This is not necessarily an easy or fun process, but with it you will certainly see benefits from your exercise program and you will experience the success of overcoming challenges.

## How to Find and Address Imbalances

### 1. Look for postural faults

Bradley Chiropractic Nutrition Center Perfect PosturePerfect posture from the front is lining up the midpoint between the feet, the distance between the knees, the middle of the groin, the bellybutton, the sternum, the sternal notch, the chin, nose, level ears, and the eyes. From the back it lines up as the midpoint between the feet, the distance between the knees, the middle of the glutes, the spine all the way up the neck, the back of the head, and level ears. From the side it lines up just in front of the ankle, the middle of the knee, the top of the femur, midpoint of the abdomen, elbow, shoulders, and just in front of the ear.

Anything outside of this is a postural fault. Without the proper knowledge it can be difficult to know what these faults mean and what you should do. I found this simple guide on 5 Common Posture Problems (and how to fix them) however, there doesn’t seem to be a large knowledge base on postural faults so I am planning to make a comprehensive post about postural faults and how to correct them in the future. For the time being, let this be your baseline of your posture and look to improve it in the future, or trust your intuition in what might be causing that fault and do the exercise needed to reverse it.

### 2. Find Tight Muscles

Go through a full range of stretches, starting from head going to the toes, to get an idea of where your tight muscles are. Pay attention to when muscles are tighter in flexion vs extension. Such as the neck extensors (back of neck) vs. neck flexors (front of neck), pecs vs. rhomboids, abs vs. low back, hamstrings vs quads, ankle flexion (pointed toes) vs. ankle dorsiflexion (toes pulled up). Also pay attention to when one side, right or left, feels tighter than the other.

Note your tight areas and in your stretching routine, only stretch these areas.

### 3. Find exercises that you are weak in

Are you strong in crunches but weak in back extensions? Can you bench press a lot, but struggle to do rows? Are your biceps strong but triceps weak? Because of differences in muscle group sizes and fibers, it is not necessary for there to be a one to one match between these exercises, but pay attention to what exercises you feel the weakest in especially with synergistic muscles and begin to do more of those exercises. Also, pay attention to when one side is stronger than the other. Often our dominant hand is much stronger because we use it more. Or if you are an athlete such as a soccer player who always kicks with one leg, that side will be much stronger than the other. If this is the case, start an exercise set with the weak side, and only match, or even do less than that on your strong side.

### 4. Balance your exercise choice

This is really a continuation of the previous point, but it is is important that I wanted to give it extra attention. You should always be doing an equal amount (not necessarily equal intensity) of exercises in synergistic muscle groups, if they are already balanced! So you should be doing an equal amount of extension and flexion exercises. If you do crunches, somewhere in your program should be back extensions. If you do a pulling exercise, balance it with a pull (such as cable pull and push or bench press and row). If you work your hip flexors a lot you should also be working your low abs. And so on.

### 5. Practice perfect posture

This is probably the most effective method to improve imbalances, and it is very simple. Be aware of your posture through your day and in the gym. How do you sit when you work, how do you sit when you eat, how do you sit when you relax? How do you stand in line at the store? How do you walk? Another important one is to pay attention to symmetry, such as always crossing your legs one way, or always laying on one side to sleep, and beginning to balance this out.

In the gym, pay very close attention to your form when you do any exercise. Especially with exercises such as squats that load the back, you want to keep everything in perfect alignment to avoid injury. Be sure to do exercises that are functional and integrate many muscle groups together. Focus on using your larger muscle groups first and end a movement with smaller ones to avoid straining them.

At first it will feel awkward to correct these faults, and if you do this in the gym you will find that perfect form makes an exercise much harder and may even require that you lower the weight to complete the exercise, but it will be worth it. Developing this proprioceptive awareness is crucial to correcting imbalances, and it keeps you more in tune with your body through the day.

## Conclusion

Hopefully this will help you to develop a more balanced workout routine. I will continue to write posts that further explain these postural faults and how to balance exercise choices in the future, but I believe this is a good starting point for most. It is important to start to incorporating this idea of balance into your exercises and into your life if you want to be the healthiest you can be.

Keep in mind that if you want to go to someone with a comprehensive knowledge of how to build a balanced exercise program (in more ways than just balancing muscle groups!) consider going to a CHEK Exercise Coach or CHEK Practitioner such as myself. There are many of us across the country and we are top level athletic and personal trainers, very few have the knowledge that we do.


exercise

Where to Begin When Choosing Exercises: Finding Imbalances

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