Asymmetric lifting is what physical trainers can use during training sessions to help correct an imbalance. Personal trainer education teaches that functional fitness is important for all individuals whether you are a competitive athlete or just someone who wants to stay healthy. If you have an imbalance, doing the wrong exercises or having improper form can make the imbalance worse or even cause injury. Asymmetric lifting can help correct those imbalances and help build strength.
Asymmetric lifting is when you perform weight training exercises on just one side instead of both at the same time. For example, if you were performing a bench dumbbell exercise, you would only use one dumbbell instead of two. Proper supervision from a certified fitness health trainer is important to have if you have never done asymmetric lifting before. These types of exercises are easier to perform incorrectly than correctly and you could be more prone to injury if your weights are too heavy or if you have improper form or technique. Having someone spot you to ensure you have proper weight training form is ideal.
Asymmetric lifting can also be used as functional fitness training for sport specific performance. Body building will use these techniques to help achieve a specific muscular look to have perfect symmetry. Our bodies are not always perfectly symmetrical in muscular definition. Asymmetric lifting could be used to help balance that, helping body builders to achieve success in their sport. Other sports will use asymmetric lifting to build functional fitness as well. Golfers will swing a club with a dominate arm. Football players will throw with a dominate arm. The less dominate arm may need more work to build strength since it is not used as much. Strength training can also be done on the dominate arm to create more power and more strength. Each sport is unique in their specific needs, yet asymmetric lifting can increase functional fitness for many different types of sports.
Check out ASFA’s certifications to include in Functional Fitness and Sport Specific training by clicking the link below!
