A stuntman tries to walk a tightrope connecting the top of two buildings, armed with only a long stick to help him balance. If he puts too much weight on his left, he falls. If he puts too much weight on his right, he’s says goodbye. But if he’s skilled enough to balance his left and right side, then he’s got nothing to worry about.
Most of our muscles work in a similar way. They need to be balanced for it to work perfectly. For every bicep that pulls your arm towards you, there’s always the triceps that pulls your arm away from you. Without the either one, your arm won’t function properly. That’s just the original design.
If that’s the case, shouldn’t we balance the power in each of our muscles when we go workout in the gym as well? The showy muscles make us look good but it doesn’t really do us any good if we don’t balance it out on the not-so-showy muscle counterpart. Why, you ask? Well, if you’re body is balanced, you don’t get injured as easily. According to Men’s Health:
Your body and its joints are held in place by opposing muscle groups (for example, chest and back, quads and hamstrings). These groups work together to control movement. If one becomes stronger or tighter than normal, that dominant muscle group will overwork its counterpart–that is, you’ll have a muscle imbalance. You don’t want a tug-of-war between muscles every time you move. Nagging discomfort can mean you’re at a much greater risk of injury.
That makes sense. Here’s a simple test to help you determine if you are balanced.
