Ground Up Strength

Now, I know people read it. I have stats that tell me so. But they don't tell me how much they hate me for it. Maybe because they know I'm right? I doubt it. Okay so I know links to my site get censored by certain, uhem, strength coaches but that's not exactly controversy.

Of course I don't say things just to stir up controversy. Yet I know the things I say are controversial sometimes. Probably the reason it goes ignored is because I am not seen as an authority figure. To my mind then, if and when I ever am seen as one, by that time, I could do a lot of damage (in a good way). Never ignore the enemy at your border because of the enemy at your door!

Of all the things I've said, saying that I don't think "fitness" is a "thing" has GOT to be the most controversial. Man, I should be alienating trainers and bloggers by the dozens. I mean I've said it dozens of times in many different articles and posts. So maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we are getting away from the bland and ambiguous concepts of training. But probably not.

The fact is, nobody can define fitness without naming specific goals or skills. Which means that fitness has no concrete definition and how could it? It's nothing but a concept. So the idea of "fitness training" is, to be blunt, stupid.

I've actually read statements defining fitness that go something like this:

"To be fit one should be able to easily complete all the Triathlon events."

image by babasteve via Flickr

I would say one should be able to knock all his opponents out of a tree and just basically kick butt in a fantastic way like Tony Jaa in "ong bak". But that's me.

You getting the point? That's specific. That's goal oriented. That's not a vague and squishy thing.

So do me a favor, my correspondents, read the article Fitness as a Goal or Strength as a Goal: Fitness Writ Large and tell me what you think. Does what I say make sense or have I been knocked out of too many trees? Comments are at the bottom and you don't have to be a member to do it.

In that article I mention some of the hybridized fitness/cardio concepts that try to make strength training more like fitness training by simply cutting down the rest periods or using circuit training. If you subscribe to this newsletter I figure you must be interested in maximal strength to some extent. Well rest periods are everything when training for maximal strength gains. You must get your rest periods together. If they are inappropriate you will never see your potential. I've probably linked this before in a newsletter but just in case, see my blog post on rest periods for strength training. That will get you sorted out and if you have any questions or need any help then you know…ask.

Particularly, a short blog post on Vitamin E and C for strength and bodybuilding by myself. That post links as well to a fantastic overview of exercise induced oxidative stress.

Also, we have two long research reviews on vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12

See the Vitamin category for more on vitamins.

The importance of unilateral movements has started to come to the forefront in the past few years. As is usually the case, however, it gets watered down into simplistic one size fits all notions. Here, I want to address, in a straight forward fashion, just what all the fuss is about.

Here is an example of a typical question asked by a strength or bodybuilding trainee:

"I have a pretty significant difference in the amount of weight I can lift on my right side as compared to my left side. I am right handed, and definitely stronger on that side. How can I adjust my workout to bring my left side even in strength with my right side?"

Typical Answer:

"Use independent weights. You can do this by using dumbbells and exercising the weak side first. One side may always be a bit stronger than the other since one is dominant but you can even it out a bit.

This type of advice is often given as a knee-jerk response to any question involving contralateral discrepancies in strength. The question gave no information about the nature of the strength difference. There was no mention of what exercises were affected and whether they were complex movements or single joint isolations.

We can be pretty safe in assuming that the the question was referring to bicep curls or triceps curls (bicep curls being most likely). The answer may be justified based on this assumption and in fact, the typical trainer faces this question on a regular basis regarding bicep strength.

But what of the advice? Unilateral work is good but is going unilateral always the way to go?

In the case of isolation exercises there is a bit of irony at work. Most strength differences between one arm and another, are small and quite normal. The irony is that you probably won't notice them unless you use dumbells or something like a hammer strength machine. When we use barbells and are sensible enough to keep the bar parallel to the floor during curls, we don't notice small differences in strength between one arm and the other. Only large ones.

So here we have a difference in strength that we would not likely have noticed if we weren't using unilateral isolations. And the cure that is most often advised: unilateral work! That's irony, don't you think?

The classic bodybuilding magazine prescription is to use dumbbells and do the weak side first. Then do the same amount with the strong side. Probably not the best approach since it is much harder to ensure consistent form between one arm and another. Often, we make small cheating movements or other compensations of the weaker side without realizing it. Add to that the fact that is is more likely a difference in strength endurance rather than maximum strength and things get messy.

It is easier to ensure consistency with a straight bar using bilateral curls. Especially if one were to use preacher curls or an exercise that helps to isolate elbow flexion. As long as the bar goes up evenly the weak side will fatigue first and in time the strength discrepancy will even out. Most novices will come into training with at least small differences between one limb and another. After all one side is "dominant".

If you watch enough trainees doing standard types of dumbbell curls you will notice that on one side they will tend to use more shoulder rotation without being aware of it. Favoring the weaker side through slight cheating movements helps exacerbate the small difference in size and strength between one arm and the other. Dumbbells can make it harder in that respect because one must concentrate more on being perfectly strict. This is especially true of exercises like curls and tricep extensions but even to some extent of bench press and and overhead press (use dumbbell pressing often, however).

So, again, using a straight bar is the best way to cure these kinds of bilateral strength discrepancies in simple movements and especially isolation movements. The strong arm cannot compensate for the weak or the bar will go up uneven. The weaker arm will fatigue faster which fosters even development over time.

With more complex movements the relationships are more complex so this simple prescription breaks down.

Unilateral work becomes much more important as movements become more complex. Multi-joint or "compound" exercises involve more stabilizers and require a complex coordination of firing patterns between groups of muscles known as intermuscular coordination (think I mentioned that last newsletter). The kind of imbalances that occur and are fostered through bad habits, form, faulty movement patterns, etc. favor the dominance of some muscles over others leading to imbalance and eventually to injury.

The more complex a movement is, or, in other words, the more muscle groups involved in a complex firing pattern, the more likelihood of developing these imbalances which can go unseen for a long time.

Antagonistic strength ratios are often focused on for injury prevention. For instance, those who are "quad dominant" may be more at risk for hamstring injury owing to the relative weakness of the hamstrings versus the quadriceps. However, it is questionable whether the ratio between prime mover and antagonist is as important as absolute strength. In other words, being stronger tends to protect one from injury, regardless of antagonistic ratios. It is unclear how and when ratios versus overall strength development should be focused on in every case.

However, contralateral discrepancies in complex movements are often overlooked. And such discrepancies, when fostered, WILL lead to injury in the long run. For instance it is not uncommon to find a difference in hip hip abductor strength between dominant and nondominant sides in healthy and asymptomatic individuals. These muscles are very active in complex bilateral exercises such as the squat and deadlift and their variations. Small differences can be compensated for in these movements which can bring about further change in the movement pattern leading to injury when heavy weights are brought into the training regimen.

Single leg movements such as split squats, lunges and step ups are useful in ironing out these differences. Many seem to be turning to isolative exercises even for this. I'm seeing X band walks with very short extremely heavy resistance bands to "strengthen" medial glutes (major hip abductors). Due to the problems of "strength transfer" there is not that much difference between this kind of thing and using one of those thigh abductor/adductor things. Except that heavy resistance bands are seen as more legit for powerlifters. And if the problem was contralateral you'd likely foster further discrepancies.

You don't have to be an expert in movement assessment. All you need to do is keep some unilateral work in your training. If you try some unilateral Romananian deadlifts you will likely notice a big difference between one side and the other (strength, fatigability, balance, etc.) In this case, YES, do the weaker side first.

The place on the body where things start to break down is at the shoulder. The shoulder complex is the most complicated joint in the body and due to the nature of the scapula in relation to the stability of the glenohumeral joint you can have difference in performance between one arm and another that have nothing to do with actual force capability. For instance, I have a history of problems on my right side in all pressing movements which all the dumbbell pressing in the world could never solve. Such differences could be scapular problems or even neck problems, for instance. Sensing injury potential these obscure problems cause your body to "shut down" before further damage can occur. This of course could happen anywhere on the body but the shoulder is the most likely and difficult case.