Here’s a quote from hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley that corresponds with the first Top-5 Efficiency, Productivity, and Safety Factors of exercise (on page 15 of Old Man, Young Muscle):
Bilateral exercises (which involve two limbs working together) involve a lower level of motor unit recruitment than unilateral exercises (which involve one limb working at a time), most likely because of greater perceived effort levels during bilateral efforts. (Herbert, R.D. and Gandevia, S.C. (1996). Muscle activation in unilateral and bilateral efforts assessed by motor unit and cortical stimulation. J App Physiol, 80(4), 1351-1356.)
So to get the most mass-building bang for your effort buck—more fiber activation and growth stimulation—train one side at a time, as with one-arm curls, one-arm cable laterals, etc.
Some muscle groups aren’t conducive to training one side at a time, such as chest and mid back. There are stability issues with some exercises…
For example, a one-arm dumbbell bench press may have you flipping off the bench—a video that would score big on Instagram.
The next best thing to unilateral is to use a dumbbell in each hand or a separate cable handle—decline dumbbell presses or cable chest presses.
Those will at least give you independent action on each side rather than having your hands pinned in place on a bar.
OMYM is your efficient fast-mass blueprint: Learn how to accelerate your mass gains with the STX method, Speed Sets, and complete ideal-exercise-based training. The 35-minute workouts also include the best stretch and contracted add-on moves. Get Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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