Have you ever seen someone who has a really strong upper body but skinny legs? Or perhaps you’ve noticed someone who has toned calves but not much upper body strength? Balancing your workouts is key to develop well-rounded results.
Balancing Your Workouts
There’s a simple concept that we have all have failed to do at some point. And that is balancing your workouts. We tend to do workouts based off our interests, insecurities, injuries, comfort level, and so on. Well that is probably one of the worst things you can do. Not balancing your workouts everywhere in the body leads to asymmetries and later on can lead to injuries and failed results.
Imagine the tires on your car as your joints and muscles. They are constantly working and being worn down over time. Well, what do we do to prolong the life of our tires? We rotate them to even out wear and tear. The same idea of balance all-around applies to your body. If you don’t “rotate the tires,” meaning balance workouts, you will have abnormal wear and tear on certain parts of your body and you will eventually have a “blowout”, or injury.
In order to balance your workouts, you should dedicate certain days to certain muscle groups. You could focus on your core, upper body, and lower body in different workouts or in a combination of ways. That way you’re focusing attention in equal amounts. Also, make sure you are doing the same number of reps for each arm/leg as not to cause asymmetry. Here are some tips to help you out.
Next time you workout try this!
- Do an even amount of push and pull exercises in one workout.
- Do the same number of reps and sets for your push and pull exercises.
- Do exercises that are multi-jointed.
- Try to do the same weight for push and pull exercises.
- Mix up your exercises.
Why Balance Your Workouts?
When it comes to strength and injury prevention, balance is key. You can’t be very strong if you’re injured, right? Balance your next workout with even amounts of push and pull exercises. It will prolong the life of your joints and give you a better workout. Balance out your weeks with upper and lower body workouts to achieve better results. Just remember you only have one body so take care of it!
If you need help balancing your workouts, come see me for a free fitness consultation and I’ll help you develop a new program!
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Written by Matthew Bishop, Certified Personal Trainer at Elite Sports Club – North Shore and Elite Sports Club – River Glen.
Matthew has a B.S. in Sports and Exercise Science from Wisconsin Lutheran College, is an American College of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, and Certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). He specializes in Sports Performance, Strength and Conditioning, Injury Prevention, Health and Wellness, & Functional Training. Matthew lives by the philosophy of “Anything worth having is worth fighting for” – Susan Phillips and he believes that if you want something, then go get it, and don’t stop till you do.