WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:05.680 --> 00:00:06.310 Speaker: Hey guys. 00:00:06.315 --> 00:00:06.940 Welcome. 00:00:06.940 --> 00:00:11.680 Welcome to today's fun fact, Friday on the Lifting Lindsay channel. 00:00:12.070 --> 00:00:17.590 I'm really excited to break down a question that I often get a lot 00:00:18.070 --> 00:00:22.840 actually, and that is, what do I do if one side is stronger than the other, 00:00:23.080 --> 00:00:31.240 or maybe visually one side has a, seems like it has a little bit more muscle. 00:00:31.705 --> 00:00:34.105 Than the other, what could be done. 00:00:34.465 --> 00:00:37.645 So super, super important that you understand this. 00:00:37.975 --> 00:00:45.715 Majority of ex of people, majority of people experience this to some degree. 00:00:46.585 --> 00:00:46.915 Okay? 00:00:46.915 --> 00:00:51.685 So this is actually really, really common and it's more 00:00:51.745 --> 00:00:55.735 common with newbies in the gym. 00:00:56.500 --> 00:01:02.680 So the, the, if you've only been lifting for a year, you are probably going to 00:01:02.680 --> 00:01:07.390 spot this and be more aware of this than people who have been lifting longer. 00:01:07.690 --> 00:01:11.260 Because with enough time and training, I. 00:01:11.865 --> 00:01:20.025 These discrepancies do go away, not for everybody, and maybe varying degrees, but 00:01:20.025 --> 00:01:26.415 for the most part, these discrepancies do kind of take care of themselves. 00:01:27.555 --> 00:01:33.735 But what if you're worried that it's not going to, or maybe 00:01:33.735 --> 00:01:36.105 you've been lifting smart. 00:01:36.475 --> 00:01:42.175 Four years and you're still noticing it to some degree and you want 00:01:42.175 --> 00:01:47.875 to be a little bit more proactive or quicker in diminishing the gap 00:01:47.875 --> 00:01:52.165 between those two sides, the the strong side and the weaker side. 00:01:52.585 --> 00:01:53.485 What can be done. 00:01:54.145 --> 00:01:57.805 So we're gonna talk about a few options that, that you have that we 00:01:57.805 --> 00:02:01.705 can utilize in the gym and we'll talk about why these may be good options. 00:02:02.595 --> 00:02:05.415 Uh, before we dive into that, I do wanna say though. 00:02:06.225 --> 00:02:11.145 That with mothers, especially newer, um, or I should, I shouldn't say 00:02:11.145 --> 00:02:16.065 newer, new mothers, but mothers to younger children, we tend to 00:02:16.065 --> 00:02:18.645 see these discrepancies even more. 00:02:18.645 --> 00:02:19.425 Why is that? 00:02:19.695 --> 00:02:24.675 Because they tend to use just one side to carry a baby, to pick 00:02:24.675 --> 00:02:27.735 'em up, to grab the car seat. 00:02:28.425 --> 00:02:33.675 They tend to use just one side, and now you could say, well, they're using 00:02:33.675 --> 00:02:34.965 that one side because it's stronger. 00:02:35.880 --> 00:02:41.520 It doesn't matter if using that one side made them stronger or they're using it 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:50.460 because it is stronger, it doesn't matter because continuing to overuse that one 00:02:50.460 --> 00:02:55.110 side for picking up the car seat, picking up and holding the child is just going 00:02:55.110 --> 00:02:59.670 to continue to widen the gap between the strong side and the weaker side. 00:03:00.075 --> 00:03:04.395 Okay, so I bring that up because for those of you who have younger children, 00:03:04.605 --> 00:03:09.315 I just want you to be a little bit more aware that if you're noticing that in 00:03:09.320 --> 00:03:13.155 the gym you, maybe you're just starting out in the gym and you're noticing this 00:03:13.155 --> 00:03:15.315 discrepancy, then go ahead and start. 00:03:15.550 --> 00:03:20.890 Using the other side to scoop up and pick up that car seat or the child, 00:03:21.250 --> 00:03:28.810 uh, try to balance it out a little bit more and that can actually have some 00:03:28.815 --> 00:03:37.450 pretty good impact in this, uh, dominant or weaker side that we're seeing. 00:03:37.780 --> 00:03:41.380 So that's one thing that I just want to bring to your attention. 00:03:42.390 --> 00:03:45.630 Now moving on as far as in the gym, what can we do? 00:03:45.990 --> 00:03:54.480 Well, my first suggestion would would be, let's use more unilateral exercises. 00:03:54.780 --> 00:03:56.010 So what are unilateral? 00:03:56.015 --> 00:03:59.040 Well, bilateral means two, right? 00:03:59.040 --> 00:04:01.380 So that's using both sides at the same time. 00:04:01.650 --> 00:04:05.130 Unilateral is using one side at a time. 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:10.320 So if you are noticing it in. 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:19.500 Um, biceps or delts, maybe let's start doing some unilateral movements. 00:04:20.250 --> 00:04:28.470 Actually using the weaker side to gauge how much weight and reps that we're using. 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:29.520 Okay. 00:04:30.090 --> 00:04:36.930 Um, another thing is if we're constantly doing bilateral movements, 00:04:36.930 --> 00:04:41.130 let's just say for legs, you're constantly using bilateral, but 00:04:41.130 --> 00:04:43.950 yet you feel like one side is. 00:04:44.280 --> 00:04:49.920 Dominant and stronger could very well be that constantly using bilateral, 00:04:50.900 --> 00:04:56.450 the body can kind of lean to that one side, for example, in a squat, 00:04:56.900 --> 00:05:01.850 that it can, it can lean on that, that stronger side to get you up. 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:09.080 And sometimes that can lead to discomfort in the exercise or even. 00:05:09.440 --> 00:05:10.460 Post-workout. 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:16.610 Um, and so using unilateral movements, make sure both sides are strong, 00:05:17.775 --> 00:05:24.050 it is a really good idea and both sides are actually contributing to the load. 00:05:24.050 --> 00:05:27.350 And moving the load is a really, really good idea. 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:31.220 And like I said, using kind of the weaker side to guide. 00:05:31.580 --> 00:05:39.590 This is how much weight or reps that we just do, and this allows the weaker side 00:05:39.590 --> 00:05:43.700 to kind of catch up to that stronger side. 00:05:44.840 --> 00:05:52.640 Now another thing that we can do, and this has a little bit more to do with muscle 00:05:52.640 --> 00:06:00.500 size than necessarily strength, but it can also lend towards strength, and I am going 00:06:00.500 --> 00:06:08.570 to do a another podcast episode solely on what is strength and hypertrophy? 00:06:09.410 --> 00:06:12.200 What is the crossover and what are the differences? 00:06:12.205 --> 00:06:17.150 Because a lot of people assume that strength and hypertrophy training is 00:06:17.150 --> 00:06:24.920 the exact same thing when it's not so think about in terms of extremes. 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:29.780 Let's think about a power lifter, which would be a strength athlete. 00:06:30.935 --> 00:06:34.145 Totally different training than a bodybuilder. 00:06:34.505 --> 00:06:39.815 And bodybuilders are focused on muscle and increasing muscle and aesthetics. 00:06:40.475 --> 00:06:44.435 Okay, so there can be some crossover. 00:06:44.705 --> 00:06:44.735 I. 00:06:45.455 --> 00:06:47.405 But not always. 00:06:47.705 --> 00:06:56.495 And depending on how we train, you may see more or less of muscle or strength. 00:06:56.735 --> 00:07:02.615 So this is why I tell people all the time, you just telling me you go into the gym. 00:07:03.235 --> 00:07:10.405 You move weights doesn't necessarily mean that you are doing so in a way 00:07:10.795 --> 00:07:19.540 that will lead towards your goals because it's not just weight lifting 00:07:20.545 --> 00:07:26.875 that leads towards a certain body composition or even towards strength. 00:07:27.205 --> 00:07:29.545 It's how you do it. 00:07:30.425 --> 00:07:31.835 Is going to lead towards it. 00:07:31.985 --> 00:07:37.085 So I oftentimes tell people, think about how many sports 00:07:37.085 --> 00:07:40.295 there are that use balls, right? 00:07:40.300 --> 00:07:45.635 There's basketball, there's soccer, there's baseball, there's 00:07:45.635 --> 00:07:51.905 volleyball, there's, what was it that my husband played a water polo. 00:07:52.535 --> 00:07:53.405 I totally space it. 00:07:53.615 --> 00:07:54.245 There's golf. 00:07:54.455 --> 00:07:55.595 They're all balls. 00:07:56.195 --> 00:08:02.345 Just 'cause you know how to maneuver with one doesn't mean like if you are great at 00:08:02.345 --> 00:08:12.665 basketball, that doesn't mean that you are going to be great at soccer or baseball. 00:08:13.505 --> 00:08:20.255 So weight training is kind of like the ball may be relatively the same, but 00:08:20.255 --> 00:08:24.095 what you do with the ball, what you do with weight training will determine. 00:08:25.100 --> 00:08:30.140 How good you are at your sport or how well you move toward, towards your goal. 00:08:30.500 --> 00:08:36.770 So I often say to people, look how you've been weight training, how 00:08:36.770 --> 00:08:43.010 you've been using those weights has not been leading you to your goal. 00:08:43.400 --> 00:08:50.180 The same as if you really wanted to become good at basketball, but every day 00:08:50.180 --> 00:08:53.510 you go to, you go and you play soccer. 00:08:54.785 --> 00:08:58.535 Just because you have a ball doesn't mean you're gonna become amazing at 00:08:58.535 --> 00:09:01.385 all the sports that use balls, right? 00:09:01.655 --> 00:09:06.815 You still need to practice the actual sport that you want to become good at. 00:09:07.505 --> 00:09:09.185 Weightlifting is the same way. 00:09:09.425 --> 00:09:14.315 You need to learn to train in a manner that actually gets 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:17.165 you towards your end goal. 00:09:17.165 --> 00:09:21.215 This is why a lot of times women go into body pump classes. 00:09:21.995 --> 00:09:28.025 After years of doing it are kind of like, so why don't I look like I lift weights? 00:09:28.185 --> 00:09:33.955 I have amazing, instructors, body pump instructors come to me saying, 00:09:34.645 --> 00:09:38.605 I don't look like I teach this class and I wanna look the part. 00:09:38.635 --> 00:09:39.475 Can you help me? 00:09:39.745 --> 00:09:40.435 Yes. 00:09:40.990 --> 00:09:44.650 And we're gonna train differently than what you actually do in body pump because 00:09:44.980 --> 00:09:52.720 body pump is more metabolic type work and it's not necessarily hypertrophy training. 00:09:52.780 --> 00:09:57.640 So just because you're moving weights doesn't mean that you 00:09:57.640 --> 00:10:02.740 are doing so in a way that lines up with your personal goals. 00:10:02.770 --> 00:10:03.070 Okay. 00:10:03.070 --> 00:10:04.870 So that's really important to understand. 00:10:06.040 --> 00:10:10.420 So back to, um, the weaker side versus the stronger side. 00:10:11.515 --> 00:10:16.915 Like I said, this will work a little bit better for those that see muscle 00:10:16.915 --> 00:10:24.115 discrepancy, but it still can work a little bit with strength too. 00:10:24.985 --> 00:10:28.675 But this is adding maybe one more set. 00:10:28.675 --> 00:10:28.705 I. 00:10:29.320 --> 00:10:36.220 Or 20 to 25% more volume to your weaker side, that can actually 00:10:36.250 --> 00:10:39.760 help bring that muscle up. 00:10:40.330 --> 00:10:45.940 So let's just say you feel like your Dels are really coming along. 00:10:45.940 --> 00:10:47.410 You're really excited 'cause you have this goal. 00:10:47.980 --> 00:10:53.260 Your specific goal is, I really wanna build out my doubts, but my 00:10:53.260 --> 00:10:57.760 right side actually looks bigger. 00:10:57.760 --> 00:10:57.820 I. 00:10:58.855 --> 00:11:00.475 Then my left side. 00:11:01.255 --> 00:11:06.625 Well, one of the things that you could do would be after you're done with, let's 00:11:06.625 --> 00:11:08.635 say your training program has three sets. 00:11:08.995 --> 00:11:13.615 After you're done with your three sets on both sides, you actually do 00:11:13.620 --> 00:11:19.525 a fourth set on the smaller side. 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:26.380 And if you want to help bring up the strength, then maybe lower the 00:11:26.380 --> 00:11:33.460 reps that you do it to, closer to eight to 10, because lower reps will 00:11:33.460 --> 00:11:35.440 contribute more towards strength. 00:11:35.860 --> 00:11:39.010 Higher reps won't per se. 00:11:39.670 --> 00:11:40.000 Okay? 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:44.710 So if you want to see the amount of weight that you can 00:11:44.715 --> 00:11:47.590 move, go up, then choose from. 00:11:48.190 --> 00:11:49.720 A lower rep scheme. 00:11:50.170 --> 00:11:54.160 Okay, so that is one thing that you can do. 00:11:54.760 --> 00:12:01.180 If you feel like you have a dominant side, a stronger side, a little bit more 00:12:01.180 --> 00:12:05.110 muscle on one side versus the other side. 00:12:05.110 --> 00:12:11.560 So hopefully this has helped and you guys are always free to DM me and 00:12:11.565 --> 00:12:13.900 ask me any questions you would like. 00:12:13.930 --> 00:12:14.860 I'm here to help. 00:12:14.890 --> 00:12:16.390 I really appreciate you guys. 00:12:16.390 --> 00:12:17.170 Love you guys. 00:12:17.500 --> 00:12:19.030 Thank you for joining me today. 00:12:19.300 --> 00:12:20.740 Have a wonderful weekend.