Single leg training, otherwise known as unilateral
training, may be the most underdeveloped and overlooked area of strength &
conditioning. Just because an athlete
can squat 500 pounds on two legs doesn’t mean they can squat and control their
own bodyweight on one leg. The
development of single leg strength is extremely important in athletics. For example, running is simply a series of
single leg bounds where the athlete spends little time in contact with the
ground. If an athlete is not strong on
one leg, they will be unable to cut and fun fast while staying injury free.
Stabilization plays a key role in injury
prevention. An athlete must be able to
stabilize their extremities while resisting external forces and do so under
extreme conditions. In order to
stabilize the lower extremities during single leg movements, the body utilizes
what Mike Boyle calls the lateral-sub system.
The lateral-sub system is comprised of the gluteus medius, the adductors,
and the quadratus lumborum (Boyle, 2007).
The muscles of the lateral sub-system are recruited only during single
leg activities and work to stabilize the femur by resisting rotation
(2007). During double leg or bi-lateral
exercises, the lateral sub-system is not called into action and therefore not
being trained. This is why single leg
training is so beneficial and functional to an athlete’s physical development
and injury prevention. So the next time
you train, try to add some single leg squats or lunges in your workout.
You are absolutely right Charles, being strong with both arms or with both legs, as in the bench press and the back squat, doesn’t make an individual strong unilaterally. I’ve seen it many times before in the past, a guy has enormous maxes in all the main lifts, but isn’t capable of stabilizing on one foot to do a single one legged squat or even a Bulgarian split squat. I myself was subject to this instability in the past before I added single leg moves such as you stated, and it didn’t take long at all to gain stability in my extremities and my core. When I became more stable by using single leg/arm movements, my main lifts went up dramatically. Everybody should train unilaterally in their workouts to gain all around stability and strength.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both you and Cody. Unilateral strength is crucial to the athlete. As both of you mentioned, an athlete can be as strong as they want with the bench press or back squat, but have nothing to show for when it comes to strength individually in those areas. Not does it help prevent injuries but it also makes the athlete well-rounded when it comes down to game-time. Agility and core strength are definitely improved and the sub-lateral system should be emphasized more to athletes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that unilateral training is something that is overlooked. Unilateral movements may not drastically increase your bench or squat but they will definitely improve range of motion and activate the sleeping stabilizer muscles you mentioned. Unilateral training will also improve balance of an athlete or individual. The lateral-sub system is something that is worked on a consistent basis in many yoga classes. This is one of the reasons that yoga is becoming so popular in the NFL. Practicing yoga puts an increased focus on muscle groups like the lateral-sub system helps to not only enhance strength, flexibility, and balance, but also helps to prevent injuries.
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