
Level up your fitness as an anime hybrid hero with the benfits you can reap from unilateral training.
Unilateral training means training one side of the body at a time via single-arm or single-leg exercises; Think about Goku's famous image that can be found all over the web of him doing his one-arm push up or even Baki hanma's single arm crow pose. Unilateral movement occurs everyday in our lives from taking a step up onto a stair or reaching one arm out to pull a door open. Unilateral movement is also found in almost all sports from running, swimming and of course, martial arts! Unilateral training has a number of benefits but the key benefit of unilateral training is that your using both sides of your body equally. If you're looking for a new method to level up your fitness, here are the benfits you can gain from unilateral training and how you can implement unilateral training into your own routine.
Overview
Unilateral Training Benefits
Unilateral Exercises
How to Implement Unilateral Training
When to Implement Unilateral Training
Final Thoughts
Unilateral Training Benefits
Correct Muscle Imbalances
By only completing bilateral exercises such as a barbell bench press or barbell squat, muscle imbalances may develop without us knowing due to the body's natural tendency to compensate. Next time you do a bilateral exercise such as the squat, slow the movement down and take a minute to really focus on how much weight is placed on one side compared to the other. To improve a potential imbalance, you can include a split squat into your routine as an effort to maximize equal resistance on each leg.
Cross-Education of Muscles
Cross-education of muscles is a neural event that occurs when one side of the body is trained, the non-working side is also indirectly stimulated and strengthened. This is due to the brain pathways from the primary unilateral working muscle stimulating the same muscle on the opposing side. This means, when you complete a right arm shoulder press, the left shoulder is simultaneously being indirectly stimulated.
Improve Balance and Core Stabilization
Unilateral exercises will challenge your core muscles to stabilize the imbalanced load thus improving overall balance. Single-leg exercises recruit deep stabilizers of the hip (Piriformis, Gemellus Superior, Obturator Internus, Gemellus Inferior, Obturator Externus, Quadratus Femoris) to maintain balance and when performing upper body, unilateral exercises, the core must be engaged to prevent rotation at the trunk.
Avoid Overusing the Dominant Side
Most of us will naturally have a dominant side; personally for me, it's my right side. Training unilaterally can help us improve posture by maintaining proper spine alignment and prevent long-term, chronic stress in regions of the body that are commonly engaged such as the shoulders and hips.
Improve Athletic Performance
Finally, unilateral training can improve athletic performance through an increase in neuromuscular activation in the muscles, leading to better muscle recruitment and more efficient movement patterns when engaging in a particular sport that requires agility and power such as martial arts.
Unilateral Exercises
Although there are many unilateral exercises you can complete in your program, whether it be for strength, performance and or injury prevention, here are our top unilateral exercises that can help in all three of those areas:
Bird Dogs
Lateral Lunge
Air Lunge
Single Leg Hip Bridge
Split Squat
Single Leg Hinge
One Arm Push Up
One Arm Dead Hang
One Arm Plank Hold
Single Leg Squat Hold
How to Implement Unilateral Training
Unilateral training could and should be implemented into all training routines and should include at least one to two unilateral exercises. It's important to note that some unilateral exercises are more advance than others. For example, a one arm-push up may be more difficult than a one-arm dumbbell chest press or a single leg air lunge may be more challenging than a split squat. Every unilateral exercise is not meant for everyone, however there are different unilateral exercises that fit better for different individuals. Even though you may not be able to complete some of the exercises now, you have the potential to progress!
When to Implement Unilateral Training
Unilateral exercises can be used in the warm-up with zero or minimal load and or in the main bulk of your training session. For example, you could complete single leg hip hinges to prepare for deadlifts or you can load the single leg hip hinge and use it in the bulk of your training.
Final Thoughts
Unilateral training is an integral part to any type of routine whether it's for performance or movements of daily living. Unilateral training can help you run faster, punch and kick with more power and lift not only heavier but more efficiently with improved muscle recruitment. Take some time to review your current routine and choose some exercises that can be modified to unilateral exercises to further improve your progression as a well-balanced, Hybrid Hero.
Disclaimer: All information presented and written within this article are intended for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you should choose to follow or participate in any workout, program or practice, you do so voluntarily and do not hold Initial Mile and it's founder responsible for any cause of injury or death. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other health-care professional.
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