Too Many DOUBLE SIDED Exercises Will LOCK In Your IMBALANCES
It’s just the reality of the situation.
Too many programs rely too heavily on the use of bilateral (double sided) movements.
Things like barbell bench press, barbell squats, lat pull downs, etc…
These types of exercises aren’t necessarily “bad” if you have good muscular balance and alignment, but they can be very detrimental if you are someone with imbalances.
This is due to the fact that bilateral movements will often times LOCK in and exacerbate your muscle imbalances even further. This is obviously not something you want to happen.
Check out the video below where I break this down in detail and discuss alternative movements for you!
Leave me a comment down below and let me know what YOUR favorite unilateral exercises are. I’ll personally respond 🙂
Thank you for this series!
I’ve struggled with muscle imbalances in my back and glutes a lot, especially after an SI & back injury. I’m going to use these exercises for the low body, but any recommendations for the back/lats in future installments would be appreciated. I always feel the erectors in my left side getting super tight, while my right feels like it’s hardly working. This is especially apparent with deadlifts, even with decreasing the weight, and chin-ups. But it even occurs with chest exercises, like bench press.
Looking forward to future videos!
You are welcome Jess! My favorite exercises for this are actually the single leg deadlifts discussed in the video AND an exercise called bird dog. Look that exercise up, it’s awesome. It’s also going to be a part of Intelligent Strength 🙂
Great. Will try. Thanks for responding!
Hey Blake!
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Hey Blake, thank you for this video it’s exactly what i needed at this current moment, I do have a question though in regards to the number of reps and weight that’s used in unilateral excersises, should you use the same weight and do the same amount of reps on the weak side and the strong side, and also, is it possible to not have so much muscle weakness in one leg for example then the other, or just have weaker nerves that don’t fire properly? I hope my questions make sense and I look forward to hearing back thanks buddy!
You’re welcome Harold! Yes, never do more volume on one side, even if its weaker, because this can create other problems. Sometimes there can be impingement of the nerves that enervate the leg which can cause these issues!
Thank you again for the very informative video. For myself, I notice a difference in my shoulders. My left shoulder seems to be less stable and more active in the upper traps which seems to cause it to move upward and forward rather than staying in a stable position when exercising. Any thoughts on how to address this problem? Thanks again. Keep up the good work.
Hey aaron, yeah you can release that upper trap before training by using a lacrosse ball or theracane. Both are quite effective. Have a video on this on youtube!