Different Full Body Workouts
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Different Full Body Workouts
Have you ever used your non-dominant hand to pick up an object, and suddenly realized that it’s a lot harder to lift with that hand as compared to your dominant hand? This is a common feat experienced by many people that displays the difference in strength between two limbs or muscle groups.
Often people who perform Bilateral Exercises will experience this phenomenon. It can manifest itself as an imbalance in strength in your arms, or in your legs or back. If this is the case for you, it can be a good indicator that you need to try a Unilateral Exercise Routine.
Keep reading to understand the difference between Bilateral and Unilateral Exercises, and their effect on the body.
Bilateral Exercises
Bilateral Exercises are exercises that use both muscle groups within your body. For instance, the Squat uses the muscle groups in both legs to perform the movement. Same as the Push-Up, which uses the muscles in both arms and legs to complete the exercise. The word ‘Bi’ means two, so remember that Bilateral Exercises use both sides of the body. In general, Bilateral Exercises have high transferability to our everyday activities, but can result in muscular imbalances. These muscular imbalances come from one side of the body (that may be stronger than the other) over compensating for the weaker side of the body, but still allowing you to complete the movement as normal.
Unilateral Exercises
Unilateral Exercises are not as common as Bilateral Exercises. They isolate one side or half of the body. The word ‘Uni’ means one, so remember that Unilateral Exercises only use one side of the body. We use Unilateral Exercises to help correct any muscular imbalances of the body, by targeting the weaker side of the body and building its strength up to par. An example of a Unilateral Exercise is a Single-Leg Squat, or Single-Arm Row.
Dominant vs Non-Dominant
We all have a dominant side of the body that is used for activities such as writing, kicking a ball or swinging a bat. Having a dominant side of the body can lead to a muscular imbalance without us even knowing! This is because slowly over time, our dominant side of the body has become stronger than our non-dominant side as a result of constant use.
This can be seen when we choose to wear our backpack over one shoulder more than the other. When you go to place the backpack on the non-dominant shoulder, you will most likely notice it is uncomfortable, and harder to keep the backpack on that shoulder for a long period of time. This is a fundamental example of muscular imbalance, and how Unilateral Exercise can help to correct this.
Are Imbalances Bad
For some people, muscular imbalances are hardly noticeable and have little to no effect on their everyday activities. For others, this can cause possible injury when lifting heavy loads or create setbacks if you are looking for bodybuilding symmetry. Depending on your activities and goals, muscular imbalances can potentially have a negative effect on the body. You can reduce muscular imbalances in the body by performing Unilateral Workouts!
Should I Dedicate An Entire Session To Unilateral Exercises
This is a great question! Let's say you do a standard full body workout 3 times per week, swapping one of those sessions and simply working on unilateral movements would be a good idea. Alternatively breaking it up into every session is another idea. As long as you are working through all the planes of motion then you will be good to go.
Bilateral vs Unilateral Swaps
Deadlifts to Single Leg Deadlifts
Squats to Split Squats
Pull Ups to Single Arm Pull Downs
Planks to Dead Bugs
Barbell Curls to Dumbbell Curls
Barbell Overhead Press to Single Arm Overhead Press
Bent Over Row to Single Arm Bent Over Rows
Pushups to Single Arm Chest Press
Example Full Body Unilateral Workout
Split Squats 3x10/side
Single Arm Overhead Press 3x10/side
Single Arm Pulldowns 3x10/side
Deadbugs 3x12/side
Single Leg Kettlebell Deadlift 3x10/side
Single Arm Chest Press 3x10/side
Single Arm Bent Over Rows 3x10/side
Example Full Body Bilateral Workout
Back Squats 3x10
Barbell Overhead Press 3x10
Pull Ups (or Lat Pulldown) 3x10
Planks 3x30 seconds
Dumbbell Deadlifts 3x10
Pushups 3x10
Bent Over Rows 3x10
Unilateral Workouts for Athletes
Prior to every training block for athletes, it is very important that we help identify muscular imbalances by performing movement screening. This will help to correct any potential imbalances prior to bilateral movements. The reason for this is in nearly all sports there are repetitive motions performed at maximum intensity. By helping correct these movements we are helping to reduce the risk of injury by creating a balanced body.
Our focus as their trainer should be to identify their weak sides pertaining to strength and mobility and bring them up to par so they can then proceed with sport specific time goals and related activities. Overall, Unilateral full body workouts can be a major factor in an athletes longevity!
Unilateral Training for Parents
Parents have a tendency to carry their child on one side of their shoulders/body. At first this might not seem bad with a light 7-pound baby. However, sooner than later you're carrying a 30-40lb toddler on one side of your body for a few hours a day! If you have bad posture, or are constantly leaning towards one side, this is no good.
Eventually, you might begin to experience a looming pain in your back and/or arm. The thought of switching to carrying your child on the non-dominant side of the body may seem impossible! Unilateral training can help you increase strength on the non-dominant side of the body to bring it up to par with the dominant side of the body. Once you have done this, it will be a lot easier to carry your child as you can switch sides from time to time to avoid possible overuse injuries or excessive fatigue!
Overall, we have learned that Unilateral Exercise is extremely advantageous in many settings, regardless of your demographic. Try incorporating one Unilateral training session in your exercise routine per week to start. The benefits range from increased strength, physique, sports performance, injury prevention and overall increased quality of life.
What Is Unilateral Training
Unilateral training is training that involves only side of the body. For instance, a Single-Leg Squat or Single-Arm Row. This type of training is used to fix muscular imbalances in the body.
What Is Bilateral Training
Bilateral training is training that involves both sides of the body, such as the conventional squat. This type of training has the possibility of creating muscular imbalances, especially if you are lifting heavy loads.