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Fine Tuning Your Body Improves Your Sports Performance

By My Fitness Hut | November 14, 2008

I was training a client yesterday and I noticed what I always do about that client---one side of his body is stronger than the other....this is nothing unusual. If you are right-handed, your right side is probably stronger than your left side. Two other problems I have seen in other clients: One side of the body doesn't align with the other side and one hip is looser than the other. Training can help with these problems.

It is important for your body to be in muscular balance to prevent injuries and to help you perform better. For example, the frontside of your body should not be significantly stronger than your backside. And, your quadriceps should not be significantly stronger than your hamstrings.

Four effective ways to keep your body balanced are:

1. Full body strength, power and speed training,

2. One-legged and One-armed strength, power and speed training exercises,

3. Doing exercises in all 3 planes of motion and

4. Keeping all areas of the body flexible.

Training with bodyweight and dumbbell exercises force each side of your body to do its share of the work. And, you see right way if a side of your body is weaker than the other. Some of the best exercises for this are:

--Step ups
--Lunges
--Single leg squats, deadlifts and good mornings
--Single leg/arm cable exercises
--Pushups
--Two-armed and one-armed dumbbell presses and rows
--Single leg arm and leg curls
--Medicine ball exercises working all sides of the body

Train hard and smart!

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