Gaining muscle unevenly

FutureFit2020

I was feeling really good about life yesterday when I noticed I was finally getting some muscle in my legs and general butt area. But I've actually realised on closer inspection that it's happening unevenly. I have knee pain in my right knee and I'm pretty knock knee'd so I've obviously been over compensating while doing exercises (and probably while just walking normally).

Do I just up the exercise on the other side, or stick to exercises that only work one leg and avoid things like squats?

FutureFit2020

Actually, this is probably the wrong section for this, but hopefully, someone can give me some advice

SnifterPug

I wouldn't stop things like squats altogether. But add in some single leg exercise, start on the weaker side to do as much as you can and then only match that on the stronger side, even if you feel the stronger side could do more.

MaltedTea

^^ This. While it may not be ideal, when single arm DB OHPs were a part of my workouts this fall, I tended to use a heavier DB with my left arm than my right. Every 10 days or so, I'd do the exercises with the same weight to check my progress (aka did my left arm still make me feel like crying when lifting anything more than a feather).

Perhaps check in with a kinesiologist or sports therapy professional about your concerns. They'll check form, make suggestions based on your goals, etc.

Chieflrg

A question that is common.

We are human and are not symmetric. Even with the most devote training over years we can't expect perfection.

I would never avoid squats from the info you have given. I would make adjustments if your knees are banging together.

That being said there are the exercise selection pool is deep and if you dont plan on competing you don't "have" to squat.

I wouldn't focus on isolation work from the info you have given.

I would just train with proper load management.

sijomial

No I wouldn't stop doing squats but I would try not to favour the stronger side not just in the gym but in everyday life.

I lost a huge amount of muscle and strength from one leg following injury and it took conscious effort to make sure I didn't favour my strong leg. The Doctor asked me if I realised I stood with nearly all my weight on my right leg - didn't have a clue but it explained the back pain I'd developed. I also realised I started every set of stairs or step ups with my strong leg, lowered myself down drops with the strong leg etc. etc.
Took a while to retrain my movement patterns but it did work.

Had same issue last year after (yet) another knee injury and it took a while to even up my cycling power and get back to mostly 50/50 effort across both legs.

FutureFit2020

SnifterPug wrote: »

I wouldn't stop things like squats altogether. But add in some single leg exercise, start on the weaker side to do as much as you can and then only match that on the stronger side, even if you feel the stronger side could do more.

That's a good idea. I will try that for a few weeks and see if I can see a difference.

FutureFit2020

Thanks for all the good advice everyone!

sijomial wrote: »

No I wouldn't stop doing squats but I would try not to favour the stronger side not just in the gym but in everyday life.

I lost a huge amount of muscle and strength from one leg following injury and it took conscious effort to make sure I didn't favour my strong leg. The Doctor asked me if I realised I stood with nearly all my weight on my right leg - didn't have a clue but it explained the back pain I'd developed. I also realised I started every set of stairs or step ups with my strong leg, lowered myself down drops with the strong leg etc. etc.
Took a while to retrain my movement patterns but it did work.

Had same issue last year after (yet) another knee injury and it took a while to even up my cycling power and get back to mostly 50/50 effort across both legs.

I hadn't given it too much thought, but I definitely favour one side on things like the stairs. I will make a conscious effort to try and use the other side of my body.

michaelchamp24

Be mindful that there are multiple muscle groups/heads for every body part. Training one muscle group while neglecting others will cause issues with joints and posture. I learned this the hard way with my shoulders and knees. Underdeveloped hamstrings and rear deltoid muscles.