Hello and welcome back to Get Fit Guy. This is Kevin Donne. Now, most exercises that form

staple workout routines in the gym are what we call bilateral. You've probably done plenty of

bilateral training without even knowing it or thinking about it.

But what I want to ask today is, are bilateral exercises the best pick for your individual goals?

To help you better understand these exercises in this episode, I'll cover what bilateral exercises are.

Their benefits, potential drawbacks, a sample exercise day and a sample training session.

Now, bilateral exercise is an exercise where both extremities are performing the same movement pattern.

An example of a bilateral pattern in the lower body is a squat, where your hips, knees,

and ankles are all flexing and then extending

symmetrically at the same time. The benefits of bilateral exercises are, first of all, it's the

best way to develop absolute strength because more muscles are used in the movement. Balance

isn't a limitation so you can funnel more intensity into lifting

heavier weights. Secondly, it's a great way to develop motor control in the bending and squatting

patterns because engaging both extremities at once helps you to handle more time under tension,

which is what we need to create motor control,

because again, balance is not a limitation as it is in unilateral or single-sided variations of these patterns.

And thirdly, it's the best way to develop muscular endurance and strength endurance.

Muscle endurance is the foundation for all other contractions, muscular endurance and strength endurance. Muscle endurance is the foundation for all other

contractions. Muscular endurance activities are typically higher reps, lower intensity, intensity we define as

load, and have higher time on the tension. The limitation for muscular endurance training is

motor control, as muscular endurance is extended out over time, and that's where motor control begins to break down.

Strength endurance is similar to muscular endurance, however, is done at higher tension than muscular endurance, so now your limitation is more the ability to overcome the external load

...