The value of using bilateral or unilateral exercises with strength training is one of those topics that has been greatly debated in recent years. There is one school of thought believing it is preferable to predominately use bilateral heavy exercises like the bench press, squats and deadlifts where maximum load can be lifted. And the other school of thought believing it is more beneficial to use single limb exercises that try to even out imbalance and asymmetry. There are pros and cons to using both types of exercises and I fall somewhere in the middle and often use a combination of both types of training depending on the person and the situation in front of me. I always believed the unilateral exercises were more for rehab and core stability and the bigger bilateral exercise the preferred choice for sports and increasing serious muscle and strength. Once again I was proven wrong and this article we explain exactly how unilateral exercises provide greater strength gains than many realize.

What is the overall purpose of every training program? Answer - To exceed your current level of ability and improve overall performance. But before any of this can happen the very first thing you must do is exceed the demands of life! What do I mean by this? This means that life will place various demands on our bodies that we must be able to sustain for if we are unable to meet these demands injury is very likely. Our training must prepare our bodies for all the activities we require in our lifestyle by exposing the muscles and joints to load, speed, and complex positions. We have covered in great detail many times in most of our articles the 7 key movement patterns we all need as a bare minimum but what I am going to share with you today is the four key exercises that takes these foundation exercises to a new level. I have found that anyone who can complete these four exercises effectively, regardless of their age has the capacity for great athletic movement that is free of pain and limitation. And anything that life throws at them is a piece of cake.

Power training is a very unique training method that is often misunderstood, neglected and even abused in many strength programs. In simple terms power is the ability to exert maximum muscular contraction instantly in an explosive burst of movement. Most sporting and athletic activities require a fair degree of explosive power, whether it is needed to move explosively to hit a golf ball or tennis ball, jump, sprint, break away from an opponent, react to an opponents offensive tactic or handle an open-field hit, the need to produce power is an essential component. But it is not limited to sports with many daily activities also requiring this ability. We need power and speed to complete simple tasks like getting out of a chair, walking up stairs, or crossing a road quickly. When you understand that we lose this ability very quickly if nothing is done to prevent it, you begin to see just how important power training is to ALL of us. This article we explain how to not only preserve it, but improve your power no matter what age you are.