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Anyone has any experience with leg muscles imbalance? I'm 100% sure most skateboarders have this, since you cannot perfectly divide your skateboarding sessions to 50% in regular and goofy stances, but I have only noticed it now, when I did a forced split with one leg on the board.
I've been heavily preferring my regular push leg that was not injured and can now really tell that the other leg is weaker. Seems like I need to start a routine with some unilateral exercises. Makes me wonder about the skateboarder that are known for their power and only regular stance skateboarding ... seems like a recipe for major imbalances.
Not a PT expert but 1 legged squats / calf raises off a step seem to be a good start.
Look up Kyle Brown on IG, lots of skate specific workouts that I find helpful.
https://www.instagram.com/dr.kylebrown/?hl=en
I find that if I do the ankle strengthening exercises (flicks w/ resistance brands), my kickflips work out better and I don't ninja kick them.
https://www.instagram.com/dr.kylebrown/?hl=en
this advice seems to be pretty spot on. I sustained the worst ankle injury I've had back in January and am still not back to even close to normal. My pop sucks, straight up, but it's getting better and will take time. In the meantime, PT had me train to get back to running and while the ligaments in my ankle are still tight and the fascia requires working everyday,
the rest of my lower body is stronger than before the injury.Since February, with with gradual changes in length, rep count, and intensity, I've been doing the same exercise for both legs.
-1 leg balance calf raises on the edge of stair. stretch and strengthen. 3x10
-1 leg balance heel drop from stair (stand on one foot, extend other leg, drop heel of extended leg to floor) 3x10
-1 leg balance on pile of pillows 1 minute each leg
-monster walks with level 3,4,5 resistance band around ankles/calves (as many as I can handle)
-1 leg squats until butt touches chair (3x10)
-deep but short length lunges (1x10)
-resistance band exercise (stretching in each direction- medial, lateral, posterior, anterior- 100xdirection, 1 leg at a time, increasing resistance level when it's easy)
I'm trying to find a jump rope this week. Although my pop sucks, I'm running faster than I was before the injury and I am stronger everywhere but the ankle, allowing the ankle to get strong over time. Anyways, those exercises have been super helpful at equalizing imbalances. If you're going to try any of them, try to be mindful of the direction your knees are pointing as you squat. Allowing the knees to knock inward has the potential to cause issues later down the line. Pay mind to the distribution of weight on your feet too, try to keep it equal. Favoriing even one side of the foot, such as leaning toward the outer edges while standing still, creates a lot of imbalance.