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Most people absolutely loathe unilateral training. They view it as an unnecessary evil since it causes increased soreness and new amounts of pain. Unilateral training is kind of like the red-head step child of the training world yet it in of itself can prevent and fix injuries almost overnight.

When we’re talking about improving body composition unilateral work is extremely effective since it allows us to use a greater total amount of weight per limb. We must factor in core stability and balance in a unilateral case. I can dumbbell squat with dumbbells anywhere from 70-90 lbs in each hand for reps of 6-12 but I can barely split squat with a 20-pound dumbbell.

Well, what do you think is helping me squat with the heavier dumbbells in two limb? I’m surely not 50 lbs stronger on one side. Heavy weights aren’t always the answer as our body will go into panic mood and just try to get the weight up however it can. Unilateral training is going to allow greater recruit of assisting muscles.

So in a squat, I’d be using my glutes and lateral hip muscles more to stabilize my leg and not allow it to fall inward. Now I think it’s all goal dependent. I’m not going to tell everyone to run out and perform unilateral work. What I am saying is to gauge your own progress and your body. If I haven’t squatted in awhile then I’d suggest first going back to unilateral work.

If you’re experiencing some sort of shoulder pain then I wouldn’t necessarily drop all upper body pushing movements but I would look into unilateral upper body med ball and dumbbell movements.

If you want more information on unilateral training, one thing you can do is buy a weight loss guide. Good guides will generally cover this topic in quite a bit of detail. However, you need to know where to look, since there are a number of junk guides that don’t really teach you anything. That is why on my website I give comprehensive reviews of the best and worst weight loss guides around.

Article Source: Dumbbell Squats