Bodybuilding - Opposing Muscle Groups

Balance between opposing muscle groups

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anne28

Question:

Balance between opposing muscle groups

How do you know if you're getting the proper "balance" in strength between opposing muscle groups... i.e. quads/hamstrings and lower back/abdominals? I feel as though there are way more abdominal and quad exercises to do that make it impossible to achieve a true balance. I've heard you need balance to avoid injury.

Asked by anne28 - 1 answer - 14 weeks 3 days ago

physioroute

your larger muscle groups tend to need more maitenance that others which is why there are more exercises for the abdominals and quads. A general rule of thumb I tend to stick to is a 2:1 ratio. For every abdominal exercise you do try and add one back exercise, and the same for the quad. Muscle imbalances can arise from overworking one group more than the other as well as just the way your body's made.
Your muscles devide into 4 Levels
Local stabilisers (trans abs etc)
Global stabilisers (glut med)
Local movers (rotator cuff muscles in shoulders) Global movers (abdominals)
If when you are doing exercises you chose a good mix of all of the above you should turn out a "balanced individual". (try the core workout book on this site or the "Elphinstone and P"ook one - my favourite for challenging balanced exercises)
Hope this helps

Submitted 13 weeks 4 days ago by physioroute