Workouts getting a little stale? Not getting pumps like you used to? Maybe it’s time to take things “one at a time!” Uni-lateral training, or training one side of the body at a time is a great way to step up the intensity level of any workout as well as push past strength and size plateaus! Sure you have done single arm tricep extensions or concentration curls, but have you ever tried single-leg leg presses, one arm overhead dumbbell presses, or even single arm lat pulldowns? If not, you are missing out on a training technique that can quickly cause a growth spurt in every bodypart! Working one side of the body at a time will not only help you focus even harder on the muscle you are trying to work, but it will enable your nervous system to force an even harder contraction into the muscle than standard training ever could. In addition, uni-lateral training can help you overcome strength imbalances that you may have between your right and left sides. You see, if your right bicep is stronger than your left, for example, whenever you do a barbell curl, the right arm will usually end up taking some of the stress of off the left one. This only serves to enhance the strength imbalance, as well as cheat your left bicep out of growth! However, by working one limb at a time you will force the weaker muscle to do all the work on it’s own, stimulating it to get stronger and larger! Another benefit of uni-lateral training is that it will also make you stronger on all of your two arm/two leg lifts because of the evening out of strength between your two sides. I have witnessed clients of mine add 100 lbs on their two-leg leg press after doing the single leg version for just 4 weeks. Similarly, another client of mine improved his military press by 25 lbs after utilizing single arm dumbbell presses for just 3 weeks! I am not saying that you should make your training exclusively uni-lateral, but I personally try to include at least one single-sided exercise for each bodypart workout. Here are a few examples of uni-lateral exercises you may not have tried:
CHEST: single arm cable cross over, single arm machine press.
BACK: single arm lat pulldowns, single arm seated row.
DELTS: single arm upright row, single arm press.
QUADS: single leg extension, single-leg leg press.
HAMS: single-leg stiff deadlift, single-leg lying leg curl.
So, at your next workout give single-limb training a try, and you may just see double the results!
Posted by: ponyboy
Awesome post as always GP!
Just to add to this as well:
Unilateral movements can also help with stability and balance. Try many of these movements while seated on a stability ball and you'll notice a major difference in your core strength which will assist you in your everyday balance and movement. It will also help to protect your vital links and make you less prone to back injury. Good examples include:
Single Arm Cable Press on Stability Ball
One legged Stability Ball Squat
Single Arm Arnold Press on Stability Ball
Side Lying Single Arm Lateral Raise on Stability Ball
Once you can do the movements seated, try them while kneeling! It requires a huge amount of balance and core strength!
Posted by: vanity
good sound advice...
couldn't agree more.
Posted by: bballplayer4514
love it
have to give props to my gym, they have the trotter unilaterally moving machines....nice
