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Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike
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I am consistently around 55% on my left pedal and 45% on the right. Wondering how close you should actually be to 50/50. My OCD has me correct it to exactly 50/50 every time I look down and see it. I know one leg is a little longer than the other. My dominate side is my right side and my left leg is a little longer....which makes me wonder if it is a strength thing or a fit thing. Would shimming or adjusting the right side pedal/shoe position make a difference or should I just focus on building more strength on my right side?
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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It doesn't make any difference. It is an aerobic sport, not limited by the size of your leg muscles so it doesn't matter if you use both equally or not.

As an example, Alex Simmons was a competitive cyclist then lost the lower part of one leg. It wasn't easy but eventually he returned to the same threshold power, and ABOVE what he was capable of before:

http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com/...1/retro-respect.html

aerobic sport, don't worry about it, turn the left/right display off.

also it is completely normal to have a discrepancy, almost all people do.



Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter
Last edited by: jackmott: Feb 1, 13 7:04
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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Especially if you do triathlon, might be good just to check if you have a leg strength discrepancy, as it can affect the run as well.

Just try single leg squats and see if there is a huge difference between the right and left leg, if there is its something to work on just to keep your body balanced and prevent any injuries that could come as a result of it.

http://www.jennacaer.com
Instagram @jennacaer
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [jennacaer] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the info.
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [jennacaer] [ In reply to ]
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jennacaer wrote:
Especially if you do triathlon, might be good just to check if you have a leg strength discrepancy, as it can affect the run as well.


Just try single leg squats and see if there is a huge difference between the right and left leg, if there is its something to work on just to keep your body balanced and prevent any injuries that could come as a result of it.


couple months ago I tried the one leg squat and my right leg couldn't support my weight for crap! After a couple months of "addressing" it I can do the same exercises with both legs without any problem.

Did it makes me faster? I sincerely doubt it but I had pain in my left hip/butt that has been getting better and better :)

The entire event (IM) is like "death by 1000 cuts" and the best race is minimizing all those cuts and losing less blood than the other guy. - Dev
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [camaleon] [ In reply to ]
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Thats just it, keep it pain free. Something that hurts a little now, can be debilitating later if not dealt with.

http://www.jennacaer.com
Instagram @jennacaer
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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NeverEnough wrote:
I am consistently around 55% on my left pedal and 45% on the right. Wondering how close you should actually be to 50/50. My OCD has me correct it to exactly 50/50 every time I look down and see it. I know one leg is a little longer than the other. My dominate side is my right side and my left leg is a little longer....which makes me wonder if it is a strength thing or a fit thing. Would shimming or adjusting the right side pedal/shoe position make a difference or should I just focus on building more strength on my right side?

Just for the record, how are you coming up with these numbers? Quarq, Power2max, Look, Computrainer? All of these except the Look pedal system are really guesstimating the right left distribution more than actually measuring it.

YMMV,

Hugh

Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [sciguy] [ In reply to ]
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sciguy wrote:
NeverEnough wrote:
I am consistently around 55% on my left pedal and 45% on the right. Wondering how close you should actually be to 50/50. My OCD has me correct it to exactly 50/50 every time I look down and see it. I know one leg is a little longer than the other. My dominate side is my right side and my left leg is a little longer....which makes me wonder if it is a strength thing or a fit thing. Would shimming or adjusting the right side pedal/shoe position make a difference or should I just focus on building more strength on my right side?


Just for the record, how are you coming up with these numbers? Quarq, Power2max, Look, Computrainer? All of these except the Look pedal system are really guesstimating the right left distribution more than actually measuring it.

YMMV,

Hugh

Quarq
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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If you would like an instant 10% boost in your FTP you should just switch to a Stages power meter;)

Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [jackmott] [ In reply to ]
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jackmott wrote:
It doesn't make any difference. It is an aerobic sport, not limited by the size of your leg muscles so it doesn't matter if you use both equally or not.

As an example, Alex Simmons was a competitive cyclist then lost the lower part of one leg. It wasn't easy but eventually he returned to the same threshold power, and ABOVE what he was capable of before:

http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com/...1/retro-respect.html

aerobic sport, don't worry about it, turn the left/right display off.

also it is completely normal to have a discrepancy, almost all people do.

Hmmm. I'd say that in terms of cycling, L/R balance is almost as important as cadence.
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [RChung] [ In reply to ]
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RChung wrote:
Hmmm. I'd say that in terms of cycling, L/R balance is almost as important as cadence.

Ohhh and you wonder why people call you a troll!



Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [RChung] [ In reply to ]
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are most people left dominant? I was wondering if that was due to it being the drive side, maybe?
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [RChung] [ In reply to ]
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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NeverEnough wrote:
I am consistently around 55% on my left pedal and 45% on the right. Wondering how close you should actually be to 50/50. My OCD has me correct it to exactly 50/50 every time I look down and see it. I know one leg is a little longer than the other. My dominate side is my right side and my left leg is a little longer....which makes me wonder if it is a strength thing or a fit thing. Would shimming or adjusting the right side pedal/shoe position make a difference or should I just focus on building more strength on my right side?

It is important to the point where you can identify the problem and find a solution. Is this a natural problem? In other words have you always been around 45/55? or were you at 50-50 a month ago, now at 45-55 then a month from now at 35-65?

If this is the case then yes maybe there is an issue that you can identify, we had this in the summer with an athlete. Noticed on a longer ride that here pelvis was slightly tilted, did a bit of testing and she was in the 40-60 range when before she was always 50-50, and total power was down (FTP, Peak and IM power)

Went to see a chiro for a small adjustment and then a good sports physio and the problem was fixed in about 10 days, FTP and more importantly sustainable power at IM were back to normal and progressing as per plan. The Issue was a weak Glute med (small glute muscle on the side of your ass) the fix was a bunch of band exercises which took about 15 min 3X per week.

And in terms of O2 vs CO2 in working muscle groups when the imbalance is new or injury related, the numbers are bad, or worse than they were before. Higher ratio of CO2 production lower VO2 and shift in the wrong direction of power at threshold and sub max (IM power) in other words it affects the RER curve in a very negative way at a given power output.

We were lucky in that we had a couple of physios in the group, whenever we rode we had a couple good sets of eyes checking her out and understanding the problem as it related to intensity/ duration etc.

So the question is when it is showing 45-55 is your overall power lower (and going lower) or normal (and going up week over week) Some of these issues just are what they are, and some imbalances are formed when you are younger (did you play a lot of soccer, figure skating or snowboarding in my case) but if the problem is new then yes, it is likely both identifiable and fixable and you should be pursuing a solution.

As another poster mentioned shims might work, or as someone else mentioned try a few one leg squats say on a bosu (body weight only) to identify a possible problem. If you feel it is a new issue then go see a good sports physio.

Cheers,
Maurice
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [jackmott] [ In reply to ]
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> It is an aerobic sport

What sport? Alex is a trackie, and most track events involve very significant use of anaerobic / neuromuscular power. I'm not suprised about his FTP, but I'd wonder if his MMPC changed at all.



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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [RChung] [ In reply to ]
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>Hmmm. I'd say that in terms of cycling, L/R balance is almost as important as cadence

Then, using Jack's example cyclist, it must be really important because there's a near perfect correlation between cadence and speed on the track!
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [sciguy] [ In reply to ]
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sciguy wrote:

Just for the record, how are you coming up with these numbers? Quarq, Power2max, Look, Computrainer? All of these except the Look pedal system are really guesstimating the right left distribution more than actually measuring it.


Except those "guesstimates" are actually pretty darned close to reality due to the nature of the pedal stroke, the utility of the measurement notwithstanding...


edit:..and after seeing some of the L/R data from the Look/Polar and understanding that there's no way to calibrate each side, or even measure how much they're off from each other, I think I'd actually trust the numbers from those "guesstimators", as you call them, over what's coming out of the Look/Polar. Seriously.

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/
Last edited by: Tom A.: Feb 1, 13 15:21
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [Tom A.] [ In reply to ]
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Tom A. wrote:
.and after seeing some of the L/R data from the Look/Polar

Yes. I wonder how many Look/Polar users have attempted to change their pedaling style to attain 50/50 balance.
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [RChung] [ In reply to ]
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RChung wrote:
Hmmm. I'd say that in terms of cycling, L/R balance is almost as important as cadence.

*That* much!!! Wow!

AndyF
bike geek
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [AndyF] [ In reply to ]
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AndyF wrote:
RChung wrote:

Hmmm. I'd say that in terms of cycling, L/R balance is almost as important as cadence.


*That* much!!! Wow!

Sorry Andy. Only one troll allowed per thread. Robert beat you to it.

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [Tom A.] [ In reply to ]
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Tom A. wrote:
AndyF wrote:
RChung wrote:

Hmmm. I'd say that in terms of cycling, L/R balance is almost as important as cadence.


*That* much!!! Wow!


Sorry Andy. Only one troll allowed per thread. Robert beat you to it.

Drat! Foiled a-gain!!!

AndyF
bike geek
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [AndyF] [ In reply to ]
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AndyF wrote:

Drat! Foiled a-gain!!!

...says the aerodynamicist.

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [jackmott] [ In reply to ]
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jackmott wrote:
It doesn't make any difference. It is an aerobic sport, not limited by the size of your leg muscles so it doesn't matter if you use both equally or not.

As an example, Alex Simmons was a competitive cyclist then lost the lower part of one leg. It wasn't easy but eventually he returned to the same threshold power, and ABOVE what he was capable of before:

http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com/...1/retro-respect.html

aerobic sport, don't worry about it, turn the left/right display off.

also it is completely normal to have a discrepancy, almost all people do.



I would say you will last longer if you can use all the muscles equally. Sure the stronger leg can compensate, but that could set off injuries eventually.

http://www.TriathlonShots.com
Full event coverage of triathlon/ironman in photos.


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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [NeverEnough] [ In reply to ]
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The Quarq meters do not show true L vs R power since there is not seperate L and R strain guages. It is only measuring half of your pedal stroke for each leg. If you do not lift your opposite leg enough while pushing down with the other your numbers will be off from your true balance values. Polar and Rotor are the only power meters with a true L/R balance value.
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Re: Balance (Power Distribution Left Vs Right) on Bike [dross] [ In reply to ]
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dross wrote:
The Quarq meters do not show true L vs R power since there is not seperate L and R strain guages. It is only measuring half of your pedal stroke for each leg. If you do not lift your opposite leg enough while pushing down with the other your numbers will be off from your true balance values. Polar and Rotor are the only power meters with a true L/R balance value.

See posts #17 & #18 above.

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/
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