Left, right side leg dominance and how to correct it?

[aktor]

I have noticed that my right leg is far more dominant than my left leg and I want to get your thoughts on this.

Some background - I am mostly into road cycling and do mountain bike races for fun. I stopped racing a few years back due to work commitments and serious allergies to motor vehicle emissions. Unfortunately most road races in our country is not full road closure and most of the time I would get affected. But with some new treatment I am a bit more resistant and want to get back into racing. I may also consider making mountain biking my primary sport going forward as there are no issues with cars and air pollution.

As a result of the allergies I am mostly training indoors. I have noticed that I am packing predominantly more muscle on my right leg than on my left leg. Most noticeable on the rectus femorus, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis group of muscles on the upper leg. It is also obvious that my right leg is stronger than my left leg.

• Any thoughts on the root causes?
• How much of a problem is it? Surely it will result in performance improvements on the bike if both legs are more in sync in terms of work rate?
• What tests can I do to determine the work rate of both legs and how much more work the right leg is doing over the left leg? It would be good to get more exact figures. E.g. Would it be possible to measure the power output per leg with a power meter?
• What can I do to correct the two legs into a more equal balance in terms of work rate?

• Could it be as a result of blood flow into the legs? As far as I am aware I do not present with any symptoms that could be as a result of blood flow but I have noticed a friend of mine experiencing issues with power in his legs as a result of blood flow. However he had more visible symptoms like pain in his legs, dead leg, difficulty walking etc.
• Do I need to make adjustments to my position on the bike, cleats etc? Where can I get advice on this?

• Any recommendations on what exercises I can do that would benefit the "cycling muscles" to correct/improve the left leg strength?
• I also realise that I will have to give it some time to build more strength and rehabilitate the left leg once I have figured out how to correct the balance.

Looking forward to your comments and your experience in dealing with this?

Muscle references:

 

[vspa]

the only thing i can think of is that one of your legs is longer than the other, which is something more or less common and can be taken care of with special shoes for example, and yes, Look Keo pedals + Polar computers came up with a powermeter built into the pedals that displays power output separateley for each leg, if you can afford it of course,

 

[maydog]

I struggle with an imbalance in my legs due to an old knee injury. My maximum flexion in my left knee is 110 degrees at best. This has affected the musculature and the legs look noticeably different. Pedaling my left leg requires more mental energy / focus than my right. I work daily to keep my left leg strong and flexible, and have limited the amount of strength work as to not get my right overly strong.

If you want objective data on the nature of the imbalance, many sports medicine / physical therapy clinics have tests and equipment that measure your force output at different angular velocities. If I were you and I was concerned that this may be an issue, I would schedule a visit with a sports medicine specialist.

You can still be a good cyclist with an imbalance. One nice thing about cycling is that the legs are linked together and work as a unit to put power to the crank. Also, maximal force output is not a significant factor.