About a year ago I woke up, got out of bed, took one step, and felt my knee grind against its socket.
I took a step with my other leg. Same thing.
For about a week I walked around with my knees grinding, clicking or popping with every step, then I went to my doctor.
Turns out I had over-developed my quadriceps by working them out way more than my hamstrings – this was before I knew as much as I do now about fitness. I had to go to physiotherapy and now I do specific stretches and leg exercises each day to rebalance my leg muscles.
It can be easy to develop a muscle imbalance when working out if you don’t know what you’re doing. A lot of people focus on the muscles in the front of their body because they are the vanity muscles; they’re what you see when you look in the mirror – the pectorals, biceps, abdominals, the front of the deltoids (shoulders), etc.
But this can have serious effects on your body’s health.
It’s important to focus on groups of muscles and opposing muscles rather than just isolated muscles. For example, if I only ever worked out my abs, and never my lower back, my abs would get so tight and so much stronger than my back that they would be pulling my upper body forward and down, giving me a hunched look and wrecking my posture.
Also, it looks ridiculous.
Picture an arm. Now imagine it has a very well developed bicep. Now imagine that the tricep practically isn’t there. It’s weird.
Physiotherapists recommend a front to back muscle ratio of 2:3. This means that you should be working the muscles on your back – your glutes (butt), your triceps, rear shoulders, hamstrings, lats, etc. a bit more than you work the muscles in the front of your body.
When you have a strong back, it pulls your spine straight, giving you better posture.
And like I’ve said in a previous column, for those of you who want a tight core, working out your lower back strengthens the whole torso, giving you a trunk as solid as an oak.
So try doing exercises that force you to activate more than one muscle. For your arms and shoulders, do the upright row. You grab a barbell with your palms facing inward, stand up straight and lift it up to your chin while bending your elbows up and out to the sides.
For your legs, do walking dumbbell lunges. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, step forward with your right foot and lower your left knee to the ground. Then do the same with the other leg. This activates your quads, hamstrings and glutes all at once. Just make sure that your knees are bending inwards – keep them past your middle toe to avoid knee problems.
Change your routine now if you have to, because it takes a long time to correct an imbalance.
Alex Vietinghoff is a certified ski instructor, works at the J.B. O’Keefe Fitness Centre and is currently studying to be a personal trainer through Fitness NB. He is also vice-president student life of the St. Thomas University students’ union. Questions or comments about his column? Contact him at [email protected].
