# Power balance right/left leg is out of whack



## Harley-Dale (Sep 2, 2011)

New to power, I see my discrepancies between right and left leg balance. Right is consistently 55% to 45% on the left.

Anything to worry about, or go with it? If I need to find more balance, what specific exercises are called for.

I am a 54 y.o. triathlete with a full aero bike/position. Not looking to make Cat 1 or Olympic team, just to do well in AG racing.

Thank you in advance.

Dennis


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## Got Time (Jan 23, 2009)

1. Are you sure the data is correct? (is it a powermeter that just guesses the balance?)
2. Do you have any (physical) problems that could be a result from the imbalance?
If not, you probably don't need to care.


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## Harley-Dale (Sep 2, 2011)

Hi GT...I am running a Power2Max spindle based PM. My read of how it works is it assumes push on one side, pull on the other and does some amount of math to derive actual metric for each side, per stroke.

So, presume its close, but the accuracy of the device is stated at +/- 2%. I dont have any physical issues other than one leg longer than the other. I do favor right side over left, being right handed. Makes me wonder if this is fairly consistent from rider to rider, as most tend to favor one side over another, based on whatever handed-ness we have.

I'm not too concerned about it, and will just keep on training away. If I need to address it, I will wait until racing season ends in December and I rebuild my base for next year.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

Yes. It can't distinguish power between left or right but rather between contribution based on which pedal is forward. For example, with right pedal forward it's saying the power is coming from the right leg, though whatever the left leg is doing either adding power by pulling or subtracting by being dead weight will sum in. If you're pushing equally with both legs but the right leg is lazy on pulling up, then it'll show the left side as producing more power.


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## Carverbiker (Mar 6, 2013)

Left/right power balance falls into the area of interesting information but "cycling science" has not yet decided what if anything to do with it. I have been riding a computrainer for several years and my l/r power balance is typically 50/50 but I have seen 51/49 or 49/51 but never more than that for a ride average. 

On the other hand, I can experience significant variation within a ride. When around my ftp it is usually 50/50, 150% or greater than ftp I might be 55/45 or 45/55, soft pedaling after hard intervals I have seen as imbalanced as 40/60 or 60/40. When tired at the end of the ride I might see a 2-3 % point shift in either direction but not always.

I think I have read other anecdotal accounts of riders saying the same thing that power balance can change day to day, as fatigue sets in, or at various exertion levels. So I would not be too concerned but a bike fit might help balance you if you have a leg length discrepency or other physiological reason for it.


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## Alex_Simmons/RST (Jan 12, 2008)

Asymmetry is normal.

A discussion on power balance:
Alex's Cycle Blog: Left Right Out of Balance


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