Do I have a glute imbalance?

darreneatschicken

Video of me squatting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzmXS_ovORc

Notice I am leaning a bit more to my right as I descend. Does this mean that my right glute is stronger than my left, because I also feel my right quad working more as I ascend.

These articles got me thinking:

https://bretcontreras.com/how-do-i-know-if-i-have-a-glute-imbalance/

https://bretcontreras.com/how-to-fix-glute-imbalances/

https://bretcontreras.com/2-1-method-fixing-glute-imbalances/

darreneatschicken

Just a bit of background on me:

I just finished phase 1 of the OPT model by NASM. I stayed with it for 6 weeks. In other words, the stabilization/endurance phase. My trainer called it plyometric balance core program (he designed the workout for me). Along with this, I was doing cardio and had a foam rolling program.

I thought it would fix my glute problem, but it didn’t, because when I tried squatting, I still felt my right quad/leg working more on the way up.

So I did more research, and I came across bret’s articles. I did the activation stuff he told me to do in his article (pretty much just hammering the glute that's weak), and now i feel my left glute firing even harder than the right. It’s causing me to use my left leg more when I ascend during the squat lol. I’m beginning to suspect that maybe both glutes are equally strong, it’s just that my muscle-mind connection to my left glute was weaker than for the right, but now that it’s been isolated and fired up more, it is on par, and even overpowering the right one. So for tomorrow and the next few days, I’m going to be trying brett’s 2-1 method before squatting, so that both glutes will be fired up, but the left one will still be fired up a bit more. If this is still causing me to use my left leg more, than I will have to assume that my glutes are equally strong and that the muscle-mind connection for the left glute has also caught up, so I can try doing two legged glute activation exercises before trying to squat (e.g., two leg floor bridge rather than one legged floor bridge) and trying real hard to work on that muscle-mind connection for when both glutes are working/coordinating together. Note that when I was two leg floor bridging during the stabilization/endurance phase, I was also feeling my right glute working more than the left one. If I had to describe it, the left glute felt sort of limp. I feel like the left side of my body is weaker/more retarded/less connected than the right because on a related note, my left scapular seems weaker than my right. For instance, I was doing band pull-aparts, and I felt a burning sensation in my left scapular, but not in the right. This requires a separate post on scapular retraction and bench-pressing because I'm starting to ramble now, but yeah, I've been working on it.

jimmmer

Could be millions of things.

Have you done any unilateral testing on yourself to see if you have any significant L/R deficits? Start there. Look for stuff like ROM differences, strength differences, muscular endurance differences. Try your best to fix the stuff you find. Test. Re-test.

But, in the first instance, smashing and stretching your glutes/piriformis/psoas/QL and seeing how it affects you would take all of 15 minutes - you could try it now.

One thing's for sure - don't load that up until you've fixed it. Don't really want that happening under a 1-3RM load

darreneatschicken

jimmmer wrote: »

Could be millions of things.

Have you done any unilateral testing on yourself to see if you have any significant L/R deficits? Start there. Look for stuff like ROM differences, strength differences, muscular endurance differences. Try your best to fix the stuff you find. Test. Re-test.

But, in the first instance, smashing and stretching your glutes/piriformis/psoas/QL and seeing how it affects you would take all of 15 minutes - you could try it now.

One thing's for sure - don't load that up until you've fixed it. Don't really want that happening under a 1-3RM load

Yes, regarding the L/R deficits, like I said, I feel that my L is weaker than my R, for both the glutes and the scapulars (so far... hopefully I don't find any other weak "left" parts). Tried smashing my left glutes and results are listed above in that long paragraph lol.

I went through a whole assessment phase with my trainer (actually plenty of trainers) but the one that gave me the OPT routine was the best, and he also said that my flexibility was *kitten*, and that's why he prescribed me a huge flexibility routine with the foam roller as well. I use the rumble roller now and barely feel a thing, I've been working with it for a long time and doing lots of stretching after every workout as well.

But yeah, for now, I'm still squatting with no weight.

EvgeniZyntx

You may be overthinking this.

As you go through strength endurance phase be sure to work on the various lateral movements and stretches of the legs to continue to build stability. A true glute imbalance is a functional issue - related to functional objectives.

As Jimmer says, unilateral testing comparison makes sense. try doing single leg exercises like pistol or skater squats and see if that demonstrates a difference.

Some laterality is normal, don't worry about it too much unless you see the need for specific activity.

jimmmer

You expanded on your OP while I was typing. Nobody is totally symmetrical. We all have a dominant hand/foot and we all have differences due to it. I have asymmetries all over my body - it's natural. The point is to keep them within sight of each other. I can kick harder with my right foot, punch harder with my right hand. My left hamstring is way more flexible than my right. My left lat is stronger than my right. All that being said, I step under the bar and I can squat straight down and back up again.

If you've got triggered up glutes on one side and not the other, you've likely got something in the surrounding tissues that continually causing it to re-trigger. I would release everything from the psoas to the TFL to the glutes, piriformis, QL, spinal erectors, quads, calves. Full spectrum assault.

Try to throw a band around your knees when you air squat - this may reinforce the right patterns. Screw your feet, set your core, lats, fire your glutes and then squat. See what happens. If you're still shifting, try the band around one leg only and see if consciously reacting against the band cleans things up.

Lots of things to try. You've got the time. Get testing and retesting and you'll figure it out.

darreneatschicken

EvgeniZyntx wrote: »

You may be overthinking this.

As you go through strength endurance phase be sure to work on the various lateral movements and stretches of the legs to continue to build stability. A true glute imbalance is a functional issue - related to functional objectives.

As Jimmer says, unilateral testing comparison makes sense. try doing single leg exercises like pistol or skater squats and see if that demonstrates a difference.

Some laterality is normal, don't worry about it too much unless you see the need for specific activity.

When I did one legged squats as part of my stabilization/endurance phase, I did them with cables as to add resistance (just following trainer's instructions). I didn't feel much difference between the two legs.

However, when I first started trying one legged hip thrusts the other week, I found that I could feel it more in my right glute when I did it on my right side (my right glute feels like it an flex more and feels more "fat"). When I did it on my left side however, I felt my left glute working less (it felt more limp), and as a result, I felt my left hamstrings working more as to make up for the left glute weakness.

darreneatschicken

jimmmer wrote: »

You expanded on your OP while I was typing. Nobody is totally symmetrical. We all have a dominant hand/foot and we all have differences due to it. I have asymmetries all over my body - it's natural. The point is to keep them within sight of each other. I can kick harder with my right foot, punch harder with my right hand. My left hamstring is way more flexible than my right. My left lat is stronger than my right. All that being said, I step under the bar and I can squat straight down and back up again.

If you've got triggered up glutes on one side and not the other, you've likely got something in the surrounding tissues that continually causing it to re-trigger. I would release everything from the psoas to the TFL to the glutes, piriformis, QL, spinal erectors, quads, calves. Full spectrum assault.

Try to throw a band around your knees when you air squat - this may reinforce the right patterns. Screw your feet, set your core, lats, fire your glutes and then squat. See what happens. If you're still shifting, try the band around one leg only and see if consciously reacting against the band cleans things up.

Lots of things to try. You've got the time. Get testing and retesting and you'll figure it out.

*kitten* man.... I'm scared lol. I've been working on this for a long time (3 years), and can never seem to figure it out. The muscle groups you mentioned I know nothing about, so it may be time to re-hire my trainer... sigh....

That being said, I will try to squat with a band around my knees, see what happens.

darreneatschicken

Just got back from the gym. Hammered both my left and right glutes before I tried squatting. Because I have been smashing my left glute so much this past week, I feel it overpowering the right glute sometimes, which is funny, because before, it was the other way round. So what I'm assuming now is that both glutes are equally strong, it's just that my muscle-mind connection to the left one was weak at first, but now that it's connection has improved, it is on par, and even over-powering the right glute. So from now on, I'm probably going to be smashing both glutes equally pre-workout with one legged exercises only. The reason being that I feel much more isolation and thus, activation when I split the glutes up. Before, I was doing two-legged glute exercises as a warm-up, and like I previously said, could feel the right glute working more. But now that my muscle-mind connection to both glutes seems to be on par, I think it is just a matter of smashing them equally with one legged exercises. That way, before I squat, I can feel both glutes activated to the same amount (not one more than the other, cause right now i feel my left glute way more from all that extra work lol). There's no point in warming up with two legged glute exercises if both glutes aren't coordinating properly together during the squat. Therefore now, it's all about improving that muscle-mind coordination for both glutes working together, and that's going to start with smashing both glutes equally with one-legged exercises so as to feel equal burn/activation in both, then practice air squatting as to work on that dual coordination.

That being said, I did try squatting with a band around my knees today, and I found that it didn't make much difference; I was still using one side more than the other on most reps. However, what I found was that, when I ascended, if I did so extremely slowly as to totally embrace every single sensation, I found that it was easier to get both sides working equally. This happens when I air squat without the band as well, but I think with the band it was a bit easier to get to that optimal coordination. Dunno, gonna have to experiment more with it.

I also googled some of the muscles you listed. Well actually, I only googled the psoas, and it came up with a bunch of yoga articles and such on how to strengthen/stretch/release it. Going to take some time to research all these weird muscles lol, but I will, and am going to learn all the stretches for them.

Right now, as part of my flexibility routine, I foam roll the calves, hamstrings, glutes, IT band, quads, hip flexors, groin, thoracic extension, lower back, and lats, but my trainer never said anything about the psoas, TFL, piriformis, QL, and spinal erectors lol. I've honestly never heard of these weird sounding muscles before, so it will be interesting doing the research.

darreneatschicken

Practiced more squatting today. Hammered both glutes equally with one-legged exercises pre-workout. Then did some air squats with and without the band. I'm starting to really like working with the band. You can feel your knees working more to push out against the resistance. However, even with both glutes activated equally, I was still feeling either leg working more than the other. Sometimes it will be my left leg doing my work, sometimes my right. Sometimes both (if I go really slow on the way up and really focus on it, embracing every single sensation). Gonna have to do that research on those weird sounding muscles soon and stretch/strengthen them. If that doesn't help, then I'm going to probably see a physiotherapist when I get home in 3 months. Really leaning towards that idea right now.

Cherimoose

I didn't read all your posts (no time now) however your glutes are fine. Your right foot splays outward.. probably because of tight calves, but also check if your arch is flatter on that side.
By the way, elbow are supposed be straighter on NASM's squat assessment.

darreneatschicken

The video is almost two years old. I will try to upload a new one soon, as I have been doing a lot of mobility work since then. I dunno if my arch is flatter on one side, but when I was little, I had this problem called in-toeing (where I would walk with toes pointed inwards to each other). Had to wear an insole for some years, but stopped after awhile. Dunno if that has an impact on my squatting anymore. Also, I remember a long time ago, going to a physiotherapist or something and I briefly remember her telling me that one leg was longer or shorter than the other or something like that. I dunno, sounds like I may have a lot of problems... maybe best to see a physiotherapist soon, but I will defs keep working hard in the gym and will try to get a more recent video up soon!

darreneatschicken

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su6uH3Q5Gls

darreneatschicken

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhl8Yi9WPBg

jimmmer

Dern420 wrote: »

The video is almost two years old. I will try to upload a new one soon, as I have been doing a lot of mobility work since then. I dunno if my arch is flatter on one side, but when I was little, I had this problem called in-toeing (where I would walk with toes pointed inwards to each other). Had to wear an insole for some years, but stopped after awhile. Dunno if that has an impact on my squatting anymore. Also, I remember a long time ago, going to a physiotherapist or something and I briefly remember her telling me that one leg was longer or shorter than the other or something like that. I dunno, sounds like I may have a lot of problems... maybe best to see a physiotherapist soon, but I will defs keep working hard in the gym and will try to get a more recent video up soon!

See, all that information would have probably been helpful before.

Specialist inserts, leg length discrepancies, etc. - go see a sports physio who can hopefully check you out and put you through some screening to see what's going on.

You may actually have a limb discrepancy, or you may be twisted up and the end result is that it appears your legs are an unequal length. A proper exam from a qualified professional might reveal more.

darreneatschicken

Yeah, i just booked an appointment with the fitness doctor at my school. Going to ask him for a referral to see a physiotherapist.

darreneatschicken

I just got home from my first session with the physiotherapist, and it turns out I have a bunch of small little problems. For example, my right leg is half an inch longer than my left, my psoas is tight as **** (same as my IT bands), my right glute activates stronger than my left, and I am lacking in hip mobility. Also, my serratus anterior, rhomboids, scapulars, and lats are all weak and need strengthening before I can start to bench heavy. So the physiotherapist just gave me a bunch of stretches and strength training exercises that I need to do. She said that after two weeks, if there is no improvement, she will make a heel for my left foot!

cgvet37

I have one leg longer then the other. Never really knew until they fitted me for uniforms in basic training. I wear a insert in my right shoe. Not saying that's the issue with you, but it's something I would look into.

darreneatschicken

cgvet37 wrote: »

I have one leg longer then the other. Never really knew until they fitted me for uniforms in basic training. I wear a insert in my right shoe. Not saying that's the issue with you, but it's something I would look into.

Yeah definitely, if there is no sign of improvement over the next 2 weeks, I will probably have to end up getting one.

darreneatschicken

so it's been about one month since i've first seen the physiotherapist

been going to the gym everyday to stretch out my hips and do either lower or upper-body mobility work

squat still hasn't improved (still feel one leg working more than the other)

so the physio gave me a half inch heel lift for my left foot since she says that my hips keep being misaligned due to the leg discrepancy, bad posture, and sitting lots

tried squatting with the heel lift, and i think that it actually helps a bit

i find that if i go really really slow, especially on the way up, i can get my left leg to engage in the lift more (as my right is my dominant leg)

so the physio said to add 3 sets of 10 squats to my lower-body day and add weight when i can do the 3x10 perfectly, with both legs being engaged equally

i am very happy now, finally making progress after 3 years of lifting and not knowing what was up

she said that in two weeks, i can also start trying to bench press again