Muscular balance is not just a concept, it's a key to unlocking your full potential and preventing injuries. Many injuries are caused purely by muscular imbalances, but by striving for balance, you can enhance your performance and stay injury-free.

Athletes and Dancers often use one side more than the other in their sports or performances. But it is crucial that in training outside of that, we train the body equally and not on the "favorite" side.

I certainly don't expect a tennis player to learn to use their racket with both hands, but in training and preparation for the sport, the workout should be equal in strength training and flexibility. The same goes for a dancer who may turn primarily on one side. The strength training before the choreography should include equal balance training.

Training the muscles equally from right to left is important, but muscular balance also means training opposing muscles equally. Think of the cartoon character Popeye the Sailor Man; his forearms were huge, and the rest of his body was very small. I know you have all seen the weightlifter who only bench presses and never trains the back, causing that person to walk with their shoulders curved forward and back open. That is caused by overtraining, which we call the "vanity muscles." The vanity muscles are the muscles you can see look good from the front. You wouldn't want to have large muscular biceps and no triceps; besides looking funny, you would also be more susceptible to injury. Let's say your quads were powerful, your hamstrings were under-trained, so your knees and hips are more likely to get injured in everyday activities.

We see this a lot in back pain caused by under-trained core muscles, which cause the back to work overtime and become injured.

Our bodies are not just a collection of individual muscles, but a beautifully intricate kinetic chain. Each muscle is meant to work in harmony with the others, supporting all the joints and muscles in our bodies. When we train with imbalance, we disrupt this harmony. 

Here are some ideas. Try lifting with your weakest side first during each exercise or stretching your least flexible side first. The first side usually gets more attention. 

Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is a perfectly balanced body. We will never be perfectly symmetrical in strength and flexibility, but with patience and consistent effort, we can close the gap. It will take time to make each opposing muscle group and your body from right to left equal, but it will happen.