Unilateral training is something that is often overlooked by newcomers to fitness in general and weightlifting in particular. The most famous exercises – pushups, pullups, squats, deadlifts, bench press – are generally what newcomers to weightlifting go for first, because they are such effective exercises. They are fantastic for building strength, gaining size, and improving your body’s capabilities for doing certain movements. However, those exercises are not the end-all be-all of weightlifting, and can actually lead to some deficiencies in other areas if used solely.

An important component of exercise, and for full-body strength, is unilateral strength. Unilateral strength means working out one side of the body at a time, so if you want to do a unilateral workout, you would do a one-armed chest press instead of a bench press. Generaly this is done with a dumbbell in either hand, but for an added challenge keep your opposite hand empty. This necessitates using your core to stabilize your entire body to keep you from rolling off the bench or tipping over, and that’s where one of the real benefits of unilateral training comes in. It necessitates more use of the core stabilizers than bilateral training does.

There are other benefits to unilateral training as well. Doing a two-armed bench press or two-armed barbell curl will not highlight muscle weaknesses as clearly as doing dumbbell presses or one-armed curls will. Generally speaking, most people are stronger on one side of their body than on the other, and they can use that strength to help a bilateral exercise. These principles apply to lower body workouts as well as upper body ones. Not only will doing a one-legged squat or deadlift improve strength in that leg, but it will also help you work on your balance, which is an often overlooked aspect of fitness.

The upshot is this: if you are looking for a new, challenging way to work out, or want to improve your overall fitness without sacrificing weightlifting time, unilateral workouts are the way to go. They will improve core strength, single-side strength, balance, and a whole host of other things.

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Kisar Dhillon – A Personal Fitness Trainer in Portland, Oregon. Need to get toned, lose weight, lose body fat, and increase lean muscle. If you need fitness trainer in Portland, then Kisar is the one. He is a personal trainer Portland OR with 25 years of experience and has expertise in health & fitness industry.For more information visit us today : http://kisardhillon.com