imbalance in leg strength

[tommydid]

My right leg is significantly weaker than my left and I am starting to notice it in my squatting. I don't really want to devote a ton of energy into the rehab (is that what you would call it?) as I am squatting multiple times per day and am going for max's on a consistent basis in my lifts.

Does anyone have any advice for daily single leg strengthening or some other methods of training that they use to correct some imbalances in the weaker leg. Would you just do these exercises in the weak leg or do both legs? Is it worth doing, or should I just worry about getting stronger?

I read on kirksmans blog about how the chinese do lunges for a time to correct imbalances (or something to that extent).

[RayC]

Same thing happened to me. What i did was 1 legged squats (it was very awkward and i kept losing my balance) and 1 legged leg press. I don't know if these things helped, they probably did.

Also when I squat, I would lean on my weak leg and let it push most the weight. Then after all these shenanigans I deloaded until I could push the weight equally with both my legs and eventually the imbalance was gone.

[SeaOfTeeth]

I have this as well, although I'm a beginner and not squatting multiple times a day. I noticed I occasionally shifted left in the hole, so I replaced some work sets with very deliberate 1+1/4 squats to try to fix that pattern. If I do slightly favor my left leg on a rep then I'll intentionally shift slightly right in the hole on the next rep. I've also noticed my left leg is easier to activate in squats (as well as kb swings, but not pulls), so I mentally cue to activate my right leg while the left takes care of itself. All of this has helped me substantially, but it's going to take a while for my right leg to completely catch up to my left.

[glennpendlay]

The most effective thing i have seen is to simply squat in a very symmetrical manner, using constant coaching cues, or even a mirror. Keep paying extra attention to this till the imbalance is gone.

[Dustin Oranchuk]

My left leg is weaker then my right, and because of that i find that my right leg gets more loaded then the left and the left knee gets sore after a while.

Im going to make an effort from now on to when ever i sit down or stand up, i will try to do so with ONLY my left leg, same with climbing and going down the stairs in my house.

Eventually i will try to work up to doing pistol squats equally with both legs. Hopefully this will allow me to squat heavy and often and avoid too much pain.

i think if i can do 3-5 pistol squats at 94kg that would be fairly impressive

[arnibjorn]

I just recently started doing pistols and that's the first time I noticed how imbalanced I am. My right leg appears to be weaker and I cant for the life of me do a pistol on the right leg.

I was doing some drills where I was jumping up stairs on one leg and jumping on the left leg was no problem, I then tried the right leg and that was way harder. Strange.....

[Ape]

I had the same problem. I didn't do any one leg exercises, just a lot of pause squats. At the bottom really thing about coming up with equal force, good position etc. then drive up. Helped me a bunch.

[Daluke]

Originally Posted by glennpendlay

The most effective thing i have seen is to simply squat in a very symmetrical manner, using constant coaching cues, or even a mirror. Keep paying extra attention to this till the imbalance is gone.

Seems to me that would be the most effective approach if it's not a gross imbalance and one that's not related to any other neuromuscular issue. Form, particularly when squatting, should be the utmost focus, especially when repping high loads; trying to deliberately compensate for perceived weaknesses in one leg by shifting your body weight and/or foot placement around (when squatting under load) can be a sure-fire recipe for lower back, knee or other injury. I'd had an imbalance myself, due to an auto accident a while back; one that not only affects my squatting, but my pressing as well. It may just be no more than anecdotal and personal in nature but in my (limited) experience in the weight lifting world, precise form and symmetric performance (like Coach says) of the squat in particular should be a major emphasis; likely even more-so when (minor) strength imbalances exist.

[80sMediumSized]

Originally Posted by arnibjorn

I just recently started doing pistols and that's the first time I noticed how imbalanced I am. My right leg appears to be weaker and I cant for the life of me do a pistol on the right leg.

I was doing some drills where I was jumping up stairs on one leg and jumping on the left leg was no problem, I then tried the right leg and that was way harder. Strange.....

Same situation here. It makes sense that the leg you lead with on the jerk will be stronger and more balanced; every time you jerk it's like you're doing a unilateral partial squat on that leg and not the other. I can do 5 pistols on my left and 0 on my right.

[DebbieD]

Originally Posted by Dustin Oranchuk

My left leg is weaker then my right, and because of that i find that my right leg gets more loaded then the left and the left knee gets sore after a while.

Im going to make an effort from now on to when ever i sit down or stand up, i will try to do so with ONLY my left leg, same with climbing and going down the stairs in my house.

Eventually i will try to work up to doing pistol squats equally with both legs. Hopefully this will allow me to squat heavy and often and avoid too much pain.

i think if i can do 3-5 pistol squats at 94kg that would be fairly impressive

I read your post this morning and decided to try give some a try and sure enough one leg was much weaker than the other and I couldn't do it without balancing with the wall. But now tonight I feel like I did 20 rep squats this morning. So. Sore.

I am going to keep them up though, I think it's a going to help.

The crossfit regionals had a workout today with 50 of them, alternating. Yikes.