Lack of balance?

Bex953172
Bex953172 Posts: 4,180 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
hey everyone,
I started a new workout routine the other day, just one of them 30 day butt workouts.

But I noticed when I do things like lunges, on one leg I'm pretty steady and the other leg I wobble every time, causing me to re-do the lunge.

Does anyone know why I do this?
How i improve?
How do I figure which leg has the imbalance?

I'm only 28, never had any surgeries or problems regarding movement etc.
So yeah, bit of a mystery.

I'm not overly concerned, its just very annoying lol, I want to make sure I have proper form and i cant when I'm wobbling everywhere!

Replies

  • RepswithRyan
    RepswithRyan Posts: 171 Member
    I’m not an expert on balance but my balance improved a lot from doing balance poses.

    One legged exercises or poses really developed my balance! Tree pose is one you can do anywhere standing and develops balance.

    Royal dancer is also another pose that develops a lot of balance.

    I also love the shrimp squat which is a precursor exercise to the pistol squat.
  • Fit_Chef_NE
    Fit_Chef_NE Posts: 110 Member
    Source: I am a certified personal trainer.

    This is one of those things that personal trainers look for in the first appointment so they can help you strengthen or stabilize whatever area is a little weak. Without seeing you in person, it would be hard to be certain where the issue is. Usually we work with people to correct any imbalances before moving on to a more comprehensive program. You don't want to start pushing a lot of weight if you may be losing form since it could result in an injury or strain.

    Often the issue is that you either need to strengthen the glutes. You could work pevlic tilt exercises into your routine and also do some stretches to open up your hip flexors before you get into the lunges. I have to open my hip flexors to do *kitten*-to-grass squats, so I can relate.

    Some ideas for pelvic tilt exercises: https://google.com/search?q=pelvic+tilt+exercises&rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS731US731&oq=pelvic+tilt+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l7.7352j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

    Hip flexor stretch: https://www.google.com/search?q=hip+flexor+stretch&tbm=isch&chips=q:hip+flexor+stretch,g_1:kneeling:GXpFS-XGQb8=&rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS731US731&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwii2onB_5rrAhWJTd8KHduWAFYQ4lYoAXoECAEQFw&biw=1522&bih=750
  • SunflowerQueen36
    SunflowerQueen36 Posts: 1,272 Member
    Same issue here. Thanks @Fit_Chef_NE for posting the links 🌻🖤
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    Not a mystery at all we all naturally have a dominant side. The side that you're wobbly on is most likely your less dominant side and therefore weaker. It'll come. Be patient. Learning to engage your core will help with keeping your balance. I do sports that require a lot of balance and I am only able to because of my strong core. Well at least that's what I attribute it to
  • Bex953172
    Bex953172 Posts: 4,180 Member
    Fit_Chef_NE wrote: »
    Source: I am a certified personal trainer.

    This is one of those things that personal trainers look for in the first appointment so they can help you strengthen or stabilize whatever area is a little weak. Without seeing you in person, it would be hard to be certain where the issue is. Usually we work with people to correct any imbalances before moving on to a more comprehensive program. You don't want to start pushing a lot of weight if you may be losing form since it could result in an injury or strain.

    Often the issue is that you either need to strengthen the glutes. You could work pevlic tilt exercises into your routine and also do some stretches to open up your hip flexors before you get into the lunges. I have to open my hip flexors to do *kitten*-to-grass squats, so I can relate.

    Some ideas for pelvic tilt exercises: https://google.com/search?q=pelvic+tilt+exercises&rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS731US731&oq=pelvic+tilt+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l7.7352j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

    Hip flexor stretch: https://www.google.com/search?q=hip+flexor+stretch&tbm=isch&chips=q:hip+flexor+stretch,g_1:kneeling:GXpFS-XGQb8=&rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS731US731&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwii2onB_5rrAhWJTd8KHduWAFYQ4lYoAXoECAEQFw&biw=1522&bih=750

    Wow amazing info! I had a personal trainer 10 year ago and I think I remember him testing my balance haha i deffo remember doing the hip flexor lol!!

    I think i used to stumble backwards doing squats.
    And when i do a backward lunge, when my right leg is forward and my left leg back I wobble all over the place lol!!

    Thanks so much for the links!
  • Bex953172
    Bex953172 Posts: 4,180 Member
    RepswithRyan wrote: »
    I’m not an expert on balance but my balance improved a lot from doing balance poses.

    One legged exercises or poses really developed my balance! Tree pose is one you can do anywhere standing and develops balance.

    Royal dancer is also another pose that develops a lot of balance.

    I also love the shrimp squat which is a precursor exercise to the pistol squat.

    Thanks for that, dont know why I didn't think of checking out balance poses! Ill deffo look into them!

    I'm gonna have to learn all the different squats it seems aswell, didnt realise there was more than a couple!
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    My balance is poor, not helped by intermittent positional vertigo. However my lunges etc have got much better simply by getting stronger and doing more of them. If you find it really tough to do them but want the movement then try using a suspension trainer (TRX) and gradually reduce the amount of help you are getting from your arms.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Also, everybody loses their balance as they age, so this is one of those things that's worth working on. Start from a better place and keep working on it so you're never in one of those old "I've fallen and I can't get up!" commercials.

    It's actually really easy to improve your balance. Just use it:

    * It can be as simple as standing on one leg.
    * If that's too simple, move the other leg in circles.
    * One leg on a throw pillow from the couch.
    * Get a wobble board, you can find one for $10 on Amazon. One leg on that thing is a challenge!
    * Single leg deadlifts, you can do them with body weight. Or an empty cup to make sure you're going down far enough.
    * Yoga.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    Bex953172 wrote: »
    But I noticed when I do things like lunges, on one leg I'm pretty steady and the other leg I wobble every time, causing me to re-do the lunge.

    First do a single-leg balance test - simply stand barefoot on a hard surface and raise 1 leg. Check if your foot caves in.
    Next check your lunge to make sure your leading foot is tracking forward, and not inward, which is less stable.
    Also check your lunge form on video, to make sure you're stepping out the proper distance. Place the camera at your side for this.
  • Onedaywriter
    Onedaywriter Posts: 326 Member
    I have a similar problem. In my case my trainers say it was due to weak core as well as tight hip flexors from sitting a lot. For the hip flexors I do some dynamic stretching and after lot’s of core work, the problem has definitely lessened a lot!

    Still noticeable if I try one legged or “pistol” squats but getting better. For now I do these to a box. In a similar way, if you’d like to do lunges, for now reverse lunges may be better.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Perfectly normal.

    Everyone has imbalances we are human.

    You are experiencing difficulties because you are novel to the movement and perhaps exposed to more stimulus than needed. Fatigue will accentuate are weak spots and more than likely this is the reasoning. Just as anything in life I'm confident the more practice you gave the less noticable it will be to you.

    I encourage you to dismiss any info you come across that uses the term "imbalances" as it is bogus unless we are talking bodybuilding in majority of cases. I've seen many people over the years literally waste their time trying to correct this "made up" problem instead of just moving forward and concentrating on progress.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,731 Member
    One of the focuses of yoga is balance, as in balancing both sides. It’s recognized that most people have a weaker side, so the emphasis is on bringing both sides up to the same level.

    Some basic yoga classes might be very helpful.
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