How do I fix my quad inbalance?

[danato138]

the muscle to the left of my knee cap (inside of leg) is much bigger on my right leg than my left. #4 in the pic



I noticed my right foot turns out more when I do squats. is this whats causeing it?

[powercage]

Your right foot turning out more would cause more of a focus on the teardrop (#4) in your quad. Turning your foot in focuses more on the sweep (outer part) of the leg

[jprockjr]

i found that doing front squats and lunges helped, cuz my tear drop was gettin too big

[chee_dee]

How do you position your feet on Leg Press to focus on the outer part?

[-Lucifer]

Your right foot turning out more would cause more of a focus on the teardrop (#4) in your quad. Turning your foot in focuses more on the sweep (outer part) of the leg

This is untrue. I have done a lot of wide squats with my feet pointing out, but my outer sweep is more developed than my teardrop. So I have the opposite problem. I'm guessing it's just genetic.

[unity]

could also be an issue of overall mass as well. took a while for that part of my leg to start showing up more.

[pezking7p]

It could be the way your stance is, or it could be simply that you favor one side over the other when squatting.

Best way to fix it is look for anything that favors that side in your leg work and correct it first. Then use unilateral work to fix the imbalance like lunges, bulgarian split squats, step ups, or single leg extensions.

[viperjax]

It could be the way your stance is, or it could be simply that you favor one side over the other when squatting.

Best way to fix it is look for anything that favors that side in your leg work and correct it first. Then use unilateral work to fix the imbalance like lunges, bulgarian split squats, step ups, or single leg extensions.

OP I have the same problem as you.

Let me tell you how I'm fixing it. This problem can lead to a condition known as patellofemoral syndrome. Let's just say it hurts like a c*nt to put a lot of stress on your weaker knee when you have PFS.

I have this now and I saw almost overnight results by doing hack squats for partial ROM (no deeper than 35-40 degrees) on a platform (heels raised). While doing them focus on really feeling the contraction in your weaker VMO. Because you're limiting the ROM you might find that you can go quite heavy. Avoid parallel squats like the plague (especially if they're very heavy). If you must do leg work, do hack squats before and after all other leg work.

The reason you have this problem is because your weaker VMO is not firing properly. The vastus lateralis and vastus medialis (VMO) must fire at the same time to extend the knee. Imbalanced VMOs usually means your VL on your weaker side is firing first. Doing hack squats before work sets will help improve the activation of your VMOs. I guarantee you'll feel the muscle working better after you've done a round of hack squats.

Lastly, to better activate the VMOs you can put a medicine ball between your thighs while doing hack squats. When your adductors are working, the VMOs are activated to a greater degree.