Contrary to what many people believe, there is no clear evidence that exists to link tightness or weakness of a particular muscle group to injury. However, it has been shown that a significant amount of injuries were noted in those trainees with right-left strength and/or flexibility imbalances (asymmetries).
When evaluating new clients, I always like to use certain movement patterns to find any right-left imbalances that may exist. Rather than putting each client under a looking glass, I’d much rather get them out on the floor and observe how they move and see what “shakes free.”
The half kneeling cable chop is a great assessment tool, and is also a exercise that I like to use in many of my clients’ training programs to improve overall core strength and endurance.
As I have stated on numerous occasions, the core’s main function is to keep the trunk over the pelvis by preventing hoop stress (rotation). Additionally, the core serves as an “intermediary,” transferring force in a spiral or diagonal pattern from the lower body to the upper body.
What’s great about this particular exercise is that it takes advantage of the body’s natural tendency to function in those same opposing spiral/diagonal movement patterns. The chop (or lift…which I’ll showcase some other time) can be performed in various lower body positions to specifically address and identify imbalances that may exist in the core.
Key Points to Remember:
1. There really isn’t much I can say that the video doesn’t show. The key here is to not cheat and make sure you complete quality repetitions. The moment you have to lean forward, or hike your hip, or rotate your shoulders to complete the movement, you know that either you’re using too much weight or an imbalance exists. If you do happen to find an imbalance between the left or right side, then you know which side needs more work.
