Recently I wrote a detailed article about a unique single leg exercises called the “hip airplane” that I have been using successfully with people suffering with foot, knee, and hip injuries. Within this one exercise I added some slight variations to increase the challenge and difficulty to further strengthen the weak and lazy gluteal muscles. I received many emails regarding various ways I might progress this exercise once it is mastered for there are a ton of single leg variations you could use. In this article, I will give you a quick look at some of my favourite progressions to try that will challenge your body with multiple skills and strength. I also include some progressions to include for those who play sports. One thing is for certain it is an exercise that applies to people of all ages and something we all should be trying our best to improve.
Why Unilateral Strength Exercises Provide The Biggest Gains
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. However, this is not the case and in this article I will explain exactly how unilateral exercises provide greater strength gains than many realize.