Tibial LLD, Fixing Muscular Imbalances

[ursian1]

I was diagnosed by a doctor as having a leg length discrepancy to which he said was "about a half an inch". I went and had my weight lifting shoe shimmed .48 inches believing my doctor knew what he was talking about.

Immediately upon using the shim my lifts went up drastically from 175 x 8 to 205 x 6 in a very short span of time (body weight 157 @ 5 11"). To which point they stalled completely.

I have measured this on my own and have come to the conclusion that my right tibia is short by 5mm.

My legs are full of muscular imbalances, from initially squatting without any correction and then using an over correction. I found it interesting though that when I over corrected this problem, on the short side my quad did not really grow, but rather it targeted my hamstring on the short side.

I have come to the belief that shimming a shoe for leg length discrepancy is not enough to correct the problem.

The body always breaks down into the strongest position and I think that unless you address muscular imbalances caused by leg length discrepancy, you cant really progress at all.

Currently my left quad is stronger than the right, my left hamstring is weaker than my right.

I have two questions:

Is my theory about the importance of addressing muscular imbalances accurate?

What is the best way to address the muscular imbalances? - I thought a compound exercise like a lunge (on the weak side) would have good carryover to the squat, but an exercise like that is going to target other muscles, which is going to create a further imbalance. Would this be a scenario where using isolation machines would be the best approach?

Thanks

[mrflibble]

This is a very strange post.

* 175x8 to 205x6 isn't a drastic increase at all. If we ignore the drop off in reps, it's the sort of increase a novice ought to see in a week or two of squatting 3x5.

* body weight 157 @ 5 11" -- are you male or female? (Either way, you need to gain weight.)

* Neither you nor your doctor are capable of accurately measuring a leg length discrepancy. Get imaging done if you want a certain answer.

* Your "theory about the importance of addressing muscular imbalances" is complete bullshit and doesn't even deserve to be called bro-science.

The fact is, you are small and weak. Learn correct form. Use it. Post a form check if you really want to learn something and are not just looking for permission to puss out and take the easy machine option.

If you post a form check, don't delete it this time.

[Aimee]

A lot of people have slightly different leg lengths. I had my legs imaged and my own discrepancy is just over .5 of an inch. It's never worried me in the slightest during weight training. It used to bother me during long distance jogging. Long distance jogging sucks though.

[Kyle Schuant]

What is the best way to address the muscular imbalances?

Squat, press and deadlift with good form, adding weight to the bar when you can.

I have a bigger LLD than this, and scoliosis. Just lift with good form, adding weight to the bar when you can. Imbalances will always be there, but instead of Weak on one side and Very Weak on the other, you can be Very Strong on one side and Strong on the other.

[ursian1]

Thanks for the advice Mr. Flibble, I guess the two years I have been powerlifting and barely making any progress just has to do with the fact that I am weak and small and looking for excuses....Or maybe it is the fact that you know jack shit about biomechanics.

I can look down at my legs and see that one leg is overly developed as opposed to the other one. The body will always break down to the point that it is the strongest. Every time I squat with relative heavy weight it shifts to my left side. I can see it on video and I have the musculature to prove it.

175 to 205 was a drastic change for me, considering I have run Smolov, Starting Strength, Candito's Linear Program, etc. All for around 2 years now. I hired Josh Hancott as an online coach and he gave me a workout plan and form check services and he did not see anything wrong with my form.

The last 2 years I have been lifting I have done everything in my power to video tape my form, gauge intensity. Form is not the problem, intensity is not the problem.

Perhaps it is possible that an anatomical discrepancy can actually severely impact performance on an issue that you know nothing about.

I have be doing one legged lunges and pause squats with an emphasis on the weak leg. I will be testing my one rep max soon to see if I have in fact learned how to fix the problem.

Sorry I weigh 157 because I realize how long it takes the body to build pure muscle and I have no interest in drinking a gallon of milk a day and adding globs of fat to my body, which is neither athletic or healthy. If I want to recomp, that is my own decision...

I'm actually a pretty smart person that trains harder than most people, but if I have an anatomical problem, it doesn't matter how hard I train or what I do, I have to address it. I am going to have to solve it with my own unique strategies that the vast majority of people would probably never figure out on their own. Hell, it took me 2 years to finally understand what was going on.

The point I am trying to make is that once the body becomes strong with a muscular imbalance, it is very hard to correct the problem by running a normal progressive overload program. The body is going to break down and use that strong side and the problem isn't going to get fixed. I think you have to address the imbalance before you can continue on a normal program. Can someone with a degree of knowledge answer this question?

So far my new solution is to implement pause squats with a conscious effort to use my weak leg, along with one legged lunges and maybe some one leg leg extensions. I also have a piece of plywood that is 5 mm that I stand to artificially extend the tibia and create balance.

[mrflibble]

Thanks for the advice Mr. Flibble, I guess the two years I have been powerlifting and barely making any progress just has to do with the fact that I am weak and small and looking for excuses

Pretty much that. You should have ended your post there.

Immediately upon using the shim my lifts went up drastically from 175 x 8 to 205 x 6 in a very short span of time (body weight 157 @ 5 11"). To which point they stalled completely.

Compare to your post from almost a year ago:

I type this post after just finishing my workout. Lifting 205 lbs for 2 sets of 5 and it felt heavy!
...

My form is perfect, I eat maintenance calories and weigh ~175 (dry) @ 5 11". I am not trying to really gain size at this point. I just want to maintain my weight, gain muscle and lose fat.

So in almost a year, you've lost 18lbs and gone from squatting 205x5 to 205x6 ... a whole extra rep!

To be clear, your insane desire to be small (and get even smaller) is why you are still weaker - and getting weaker.

You want to believe it's muscle imbalances, because that gives you a nice easy excuse. It's not. And for the record, I know about biomechanics. I have tertiary studies in A&P. I really don't give a fuck if you believe me.

On the off chance you're not a troll, you might need psychological help. No, I'm not diagnosing you over the internet. But if genuine, you do appear to have body image/eating issues.

[Kyle Schuant]

Tonight this is what I had to say to leg length discrepancy and scoliosis, pulling 130kg/286lb for 5. You can see I'm staying well within what I can handle without things turning messy. 135 next week, then drop to 115 and build to 140 over 6 weeks, then to 120 and 145, and so on.

So I'm in no position to do macho chest-thumping about the size of my lifts, but even if I were I wouldn't. I don't really care how much you lift, nor do I care what your issues are. I care only that you keep lifting, and progress the effort over time. I can do it, and I am lazy, more messed-up physically than you, and older than you. You need to take a teaspoon of cement with your weeties each morning.