Dominant Leg

Most of us have a stronger side. In my case it is definitely my right side that is stronger and more coordinated. When I run my right leg produces the support and strength to run, my left leg feels that it is there to just keep me upright.

I strained my right calf running about 4 weeks ago, nothing serious but enough to stop running for a while.  You would think that your quadriceps muscles or your hip muscles take most of the strain but the soleus muscle in your calf takes about 7 x your body weight when running and so it needs to be strong. As soon as I could , I started to strengthen my right calf by doing calf raises, split squats and muscle stretching. Three weeks later there has been negligible improvement, I still get the odd sharp pain in and around my achilles /calf area. Why was I not improving at a quicker rate? Nothing to do with age ! I thought about for a while realised and needed to get back to basics. The best approach was not only to strengthen my left leg but improve my coordination and skill in moving. Look at my video, halfway through I loose my coordination. I needed to connect, synchronise and coordinate my movement to produce efficient flowing athletic movements. This means not just calf strength but skill and coordination through the whole body. The standing leg swing exercise will help teach my brain to move better through my left and right sides.

To do this effectively you must keep the weight bearing knee straight, move alternate arms to leg, stand up straight, don’t over arch your lower back, and don’t lean forwards. If you play a running sport and you have a ‘weaker’ side, try this drill it is harder than it looks.

My thanks to Jason Francis PT at Strength Dept Personal Training in Norwich for filming from his fantastic studio on the river in Thorpe.  https://strengthdept.co.uk/