Rebalance

Asymmetry in our bodies is very common and can come for various different reasons such as one side being more dominant than the other, an injury, Scoliosis or leg length discrepancy and many more reasons. Consequently our bodies will start to compensate for these asymmetries, our joints will move out of place and muscles will not fire up in the order they were intended to. Ultimately we then end up with faulty movement patterns and inefficient movement. I will be posting a video out over the weekend with some exercise ideas on how we can work on rebalancing the body. In the meantime I will leave you with something I wrote a couple of years ago.The benefits of working the body in Unilateral movement….What is unilateral movement? Unilateral means working the body on one side, which could be one arm or one leg e.g. lunges, single leg squats. The opposite of this would be Bilateral movement, which means an exercise is performed with both sides of the body or with both arms or legs in the same way at the same time, eg Squats, deadlifts. Bilateral movements get you strong, fast and load the body evenly (well, providing you are working both sides evenly).I have been focusing a lot recently on rebalancing my body, I have a pre existing injury in my left shoulder and another in my right hamstring so unilateral work is important for me to bring balance back into my body. It is incredibly common for us to have one stronger side,this typically means we will use the stronger side to perform the movement, ultimately causing the weaker side to fatigue quicker, whilst the stronger side does most of the work. Working the body unilaterally is therefore important and a great way to rebalance the body. Looking at our movements in our day to day activities and in most sports, you will see that more often than not movement is unilateral, surely it makes sense to also exercise and strengthen in this way too?I often see people in the gym, one weight in each hand doing triceps over/behind the head with the weights held together. If this is you, try doing this exercise with the weights held shoulder distance apart aiming towards the shoulder blades rather than the head, you might find that one side tires quicker than the other in which case was your stronger side providing support for your weaker side? ….. think also about spicing up your Bridges and Squats next time you workout, both of these can be performed on one leg.Unilateral movements will also force you to switch on your core muscles as you are challenging the stability of your torso, it will also help with balance and overall improved mind body connection. The important thing though when you do work unilaterally, is to make sure you are trying to stay balanced, look at your hips, shoulders, waist length even the position of your head to check you are staying in alignment and not cheating/compensating by shifting weight or collapsing to one side. Perform the movement slowly so you can feel the difference and correct the imbalances. Start the day off with some walking lunges alternate which legs goes first or next time you walk up stairs start on you weaker leg (this feels remarkably weird). One of my clients stands on one leg whilst brushing her teeth.Perfect way to wake up the body and mind.