My right quads are way stronger than my left ones, how do I correct this?

musculature wrote:

Should I pick a stronger weight for the weakers quads, do more sets (or reps), or just don't work on the stronger quads? .

Yes.

ok, so work the weaker ones until the strength matches up? Are there any other muscle groups that I should work on that might be related to this imbalance like the hip flexors, ilioband or glutes? Also, how do you know when the strengths match up? Do a 1 rep test or how many reps I can do at a certain weight, or does it matter?

Muscle asymmetry is the result of having longer muscle bellies on one side than the other, which in turn translates to having greater muscle volume on that side. It's 100% genetic and there is nothing that you can do about it, nor is there any reason to think it a problem in the first place.

I had a similar issue with my shoulders. My right shoulder was stronger than my left because of bad form in the exercise I was doing. It took me a while to fix it because I had done the exercise wrong for months. Keep using the same weight for both sides. Make sure your form is perfect and keep the stress exactly the same. Eventually your weaker quad will catch up, then you'll be good.

Asdfghjkl wrote:

Muscle asymmetry is the result of having longer muscle bellies on one side than the other, which in turn translates to having greater muscle volume on that side. It's 100% genetic and there is nothing that you can do about it, nor is there any reason to think it a problem in the first place.

What if an injury may have resulted from the muscle imbalance? Would a leg length discrepancy possible cause changes in muscle asymmetry?

The correct word is asymmetry, not imbalance. Calling it the latter assumes that both quads need to be equally strong in the first place, which there is no reason to believe. If you couldn't strengthen the weaker quad enough to make it strong as the stronger one, would you want to go egalitarian and try to weaken the stronger one to make it as weak as the weaker one? Just make both as strong as possible and forget "balance." If one is insufficiently strong to prevent an injury, that is a problem, but it's still not the comparison to the other leg that matters.

Try some hopping! It's great fun and will definitely benefit your running

single leg squats or jump squats

Here is a good strength training article.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/strength-training-for-runners-how-to-do-it-right.html

In my experience (both personal, and advice from working with a professional strength coach), the ideal way to fix this is by doing two-legged exercises, and focusing on good form. Squats and deadlifts are some of the best, as balance is a significant component. The goal, both in terms of athletic performance and injury prevention, is to get both sides of the body to operate in harmony with each other, and that requires training them together.

The only time single leg exercises are useful is if the balance is so extreme (usually only comes up when recovering from an injury) that the weaker leg can't even operate on the same scale as the stronger leg.

musculature wrote:

ok, so work the weaker ones until the strength matches up? Are there any other muscle groups that I should work on that might be related to this imbalance like the hip flexors, ilioband or glutes? Also, how do you know when the strengths match up? Do a 1 rep test or how many reps I can do at a certain weight, or does it matter?

Ignore the first response. There will always be assymetry but strength training and form will help iron out any serious discrepancies.

You're probably just worrying too much, like most teens do.

coach d wrote:

single leg squats or jump squats

Jump squats are the most criminally negligent exercise in existence for a coach to prescribe, especially in the context of rehab. Once again you solidify your status as one of LRC's big time coaching pseudo-experts.