Thread: Help this beginner plz :)

Hi all! I'm a newbie to the site and bellydance(1yr) and I really like the friendly and knowledgable responses that I have seen so hopefully I can get some good advice. ,r:;

My right hip, knee, and arm are way stronger, flexible, and have better endurance for repeated moves than my left side. What is the best way to get my left side up to par with my right? I work out on a regular basis with cardio and strength training, yoga, along with the dance classes. Should I get one of those weight belts and just drill the left side way more than the right? Thnx!

I have a bum hip, and when I worked with a personal trainer she measured my legs and found that the gimpy one was two whole inches less meaty than the other.

I did alot of exercises on one leg at a time, so the smaller one would be forced to build up muscle. Examples: lunges, single leg dead lifts, leg press one leg at a time, single leg extensions -- basically everything you could possibly do on one leg at a time, I did. HUGE HUGE improvement. Also lots of Pilates things on one leg.

You don't need a personal trainer however, but she helped me alot - and also monitored me for the correct form. She also warned me against squats b/c I would start to favor the bad leg and would lean to one side.

I think one sided drilling for dance moves will help your dance immensely, but the weight/cross training will help with strength, coordination, balance, etc.

I've also done single sided arm stuff too, it's definitely a fun challenge.

Basically, do more reps on the left than right. If you do 8 on the left, do 12 on the right.

In time, you will notice them coming into congruence.

{{{HUGS}}}

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

Basically, do more reps on the left than right. If you do 8 on the left, do 12 on the right.

In time, you will notice them coming into congruence.

{{{HUGS}}}

I am right dominate in general and ended up with a major strength imbalance after a knee injury on my left a few years ago. I tried to even out the imbalance through my dance training but what I really needed was targeted strength training on the weaker side, dancing alone wasn't enough for me. The thing that ended up working for me was pilates, but I was working one on one with a good instructor.

doesnt your teacher have you do steps going both directions?...well, we do, practice all your steps on both sides!
if the music changes, and you need to change steps, you cant keep jumping to your right leg ! lol.
ha ha ha, last year, the only american tribal group had a 2 day work shop "my left hip".we cracked up...2 frikken days, at an additional cost to go to the left?

thnx for all the responses :) i haven't tried the pilates yet so maybe I will give that a try. yea we do our steps on both sides, i still struggle with it though, however i like the idea of the "my left hip" workshop lol

I had this same issue. I have a good Physical Therapist. She works me in cycles with emphasis on the weaker side. It seems to be helping. Of course my dance instructor is AAhmazing so that is a huge plus!