Favouring my right leg

[Kjb04]

First time I’ve posted here. I’m on week 4 of Ju Ju’s magic plan and it’s going well. 50min run today in the rain but felt strong. My question is I seem to favour my right leg which can lead to muscular aches and stiffness. Is there a technique I can try to even up the use of both legs? Any tips greatly received! The thank you 😊

Ps I do try to mentally think about my left leg and use it more whilst running but it doesn’t last long! 😂🙄

[nowster Graduate10]

It's easily done. One tip from a physio is to do some dynamic squats before the run, to help activate the upper leg muscles.

Feet as far apart as you're comfortable with, then whilst gripping one hand with the other in front of you, gradually lower into a squat position as deep as is comfortable and then gradually stand up again. Repeat about ten times. All movements should be smooth and not jerky.

Leg swings may be helpful too. As ever, James Dunne has advice too:

youtube.com/watch?v=sfF4f-Q...(Not working as expected?)

[Kjb04 Graduate10 in reply to nowster]

Thank you nowster I’ll try that.

[Woollyweaver Graduate10]

I know what you mean about feeling uneven. Last year, over on Strength and Flex a bunch of us completed the James Dunne 30 Day Challenge:

kinetic-revolution.com/30da...

It's a free strength training programme for runners. I found it really helpful, and one thing that it made me aware of was the imbalance between my left and right side. The exercises are tough, but they definitely help to address these differences. You can find all of the info via the above link, or

if you pop over to Strength and Flex I'm sure CBDB will point you in the right direction.

[Kjb04 Graduate10 in reply to Woollyweaver]

Thank you, I’ll take a look. 🙂

[Kjb04 Graduate10 in reply to Woollyweaver]

Watched the intro video and I’m going to give it a go! 😊

[Woollyweaver Graduate10 in reply to Kjb04]

Excellent! Do let us know how you get on 🤗

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to Woollyweaver]

oh yes! This was our summary post! healthunlocked.com/strength...

Well done for starting on that! Feel free to post in the days of the above summary post as it probably will give you a sense where we were at when going through the programme as you progresss through it!

Brill!

[nowster Graduate10]

I do naturally favour my left leg a little.

This is one reason why I have one of my gadgets: a running dynamics pod which clips to the back of my waistband. I've had it since August last year. One of the stats it gives me is left-right balance. Nowadays it's fairly even at 50.5%:49.5%, but when I first got it the balance was closer to 52:48.

(The other reason is that I'm your typical gadget freak and can't resist such things.)

[Kjb04 Graduate10]

now that sounds interesting, I like a gadget too! Does it let you know the balance stats as you run?

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to Kjb04]

It can, yes.

After Oldfloss 's response, I have been reminded of this:

youtube.com/watch?v=njK6zQp...(Not working as expected?)

[Kjb04 Graduate10 in reply to nowster]

Brilliant! Not seen that before 😂

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate10]

I'm not sure but I think most folk might favour one side of their body generally including legs.. My left leg is the favoured strong one since I tore my Achilles tendon in the right ankle a few years back.. ( not running related).

This is going to be interesting.. !

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate10]

I’ve got a weaker right knee-whenever I do squats, lunges etc it’s always the one that dips down. Now I’m aware of that (or my PT shouts “knee!” at me!), I can focus more on what it’s doing. Over time it’ll get stronger and that will become more automatic, although when I’m tired I think it will always be the first thing to lose form! If your budget allows, it could be worth a few sessions with a PT (mine specifically works with runners) or physio to look at specific ways of strengthening your weaker spots which will support you when you’re running.

[Kjb04 Graduate10 in reply to MissUnderstanding]

Thank you for that. I’m going to try some strengthening exercises and see if that can balance me up!

[Reggit Graduate10]

This is typical of my runs - from my Garmin HRM (which is a glorified running pod).

I have a damaged left shin and the muscle that runs over the front of it which I think makes it weaker (got hit by a car whilst I was on a motorcycle about 30 years ago) - never sought professional opinion though as I don’t have any ill effects of being lopsided 😂 .

Screen shot from my Garmin showing left right balance of 52/48%

[Kjb04 Graduate10 in reply to Reggit]

Those stats look clear. I think my Apple Watch does tell me this info but I can’t work out what the graphs mean!! 🙄

[Doubray Graduate10 in reply to Reggit]

Hi Reggit, is your 'Ground contact time' data a standard feature on your Garmin? or have you downloaded an app? I can't see this on my Garmin 245. Thanks

[Reggit Graduate10 in reply to Doubray]

you need a Garmin running pod or heart rate monitor paired to your watch for these stats.

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to Reggit]

And here's mine. It's interesting that it shifts sides depending on whether I'm walking (first 5 mins) or running.

Ground contact time balance graph showing 50.5:49.5 ratio.