Ever since my legs have been getting more exercise, it seems as though my right leg is reaping more of the benefits than my left. My mom, who is also losing weight, says that she hears people talk about that at the gym and that it's because of hand-dominance.
Since I've been trying to become ambidextrous, how I would I start getting my left leg to tone up a bit more? I already realize that small things like starting to run on a certain foot contribute, but I don't think that's enough...
i notice that i favor my right leg more...i'm not sure if favor is the right word or not...but i notice that my right leg always seems more sore around the knee and stiff around the calf area...i dont think it's hand dominance though, i think it stems from the years of lower back injuries and the direction of the ruptured discs and uneven hip bones...but i'd never thought of hand dominance before, i AM mostly right handed
From an aesthetic standpoint, the body doesn't always lose symmetrically, and where your fat loss is happening will not be influenced by the exercise you're doing. (i.e., there is no spot reduction.)
From a physical performance standpoint, though, doing single-leg exercises supposedly has plenty of benefits. Note that if you're right-handed, your left leg is actually quite likely to be your stronger leg.
I'm rebuilding after 9 months of illness and leg surgeries. I've had to be close to sedentary for most of the year, so I've lost tons of strength on all sides of my body, but the leg that had all the surgeries is really weak.
As I rebuild, I'm really focusing on single leg exercises to try to fix the strength imbalances. I still do squats and deadlifts with both legs, but then I make sure to do a bunch of things like: lunges, step ups, Bulgarian split squats, and single leg Romanian deadlifts. That way my left leg can't overcompensate for the weakness in my right leg.
I have actually noticed that my left side is stronger. When I'm carrying something, my left arm is far better than my right, and so on. That was one of the things that made me curious. I guess it's just naturally stronger?
Anyway, thanks everyone, I'll start trying to do some single leg exercises and see if I can get it caught up.
I've found that doing an indoor cycling class is really helping my body to be more symmetrical. It is possible to cheat and favor one side of the body when cycling, but not as easy as it is when running or lifting weights on machines.