Kettlebell asymmetric ladders?

[guardian7]

If my left arm max press is a couple of reps short of my right arm press should I program my press ladders asymmetrically?

L 1,2,3,4,5
R 2,4,5 for example?

Or add an extra left ladder?

I wonder why is there so much symmetry in published KB programming when probably almost everyone has imbalances they should be working on. I understand that there is some neurological transfer during unilateral exercise and there is always a hormonal response to exercise, but this would not match the effect of concentrating on one side.

I think I recall Pavel mentioning adding more reps to your weaker side somewhere, but I rarely see this issue mentioned in articles, which is curious. And I almost never see people doing uneven sets in the gym.

 

[Smile-n-Nod]

[Note: I forgot about Pavel T's strong-side/stronger-side distinction when I read the original version of @guardian7's post. So, my post below is irrelevant]

Wouldn't adding more reps to one's strong side simple increase the imbalance? There are probably some occupations/sports in which a person wants to be imbalanced (tennis, for example), but in general I think most people would want to be fairly symmetrical. I'm happy to be proven wrong, though.

 

[guardian7]

Wouldn't adding more reps to one's strong side simple increase the imbalance? There are probably some occupations/sports in which a person wants to be imbalanced (tennis, for example), but in general I think most people would want to be fairly symmetrical. I'm happy to be proven wrong, though.

It is a Pavel joke. You have a strong and a stronger side... I edited for clarity.

 

[Arryn Grogan]

Base your training on what your less strong side can do.

 

[Smile-n-Nod]

It is a Pavel joke. You have a strong and a stronger side... I edited for clarity.

Oh, yeah; I forgot about that. Oops.

 

[User 6372]

Part of it is neurological from what I understand. Our stronger side has better wiring than our strong side and unless you are willing to use your strong side exclusively for as many years as you have been alive (with no guarantee that it will even match your stronger side if you could) just accept that you will always have a strong side and a stronger side.

 

[guardian7]

Base your training on what your less strong side can do.

Sure, I understand, that but why not take it a step further and try to get your less strong side as close to your stronger side as possible with greater practice. By definition, when we are doing equal sets of unilateral exercises, we are not training our stronger side optimally anyway.

 

[User 6372]

Sure, I understand, that but why not take it a step further and try to get your less strong side as close to your stronger side as possible with greater practice. By definition, when we are doing equal sets of unilateral exercises, we are not training our stronger side optimally anyway.

Look at it as leaving reps in the tank for the side that does the lion's share of work. One of the signs that I am over training is my 2nd grader hand writing looks like a kindergartener who has had one too many hits off an 8 ball.

 

[Arryn Grogan]

Sure, I understand, that but why not take it a step further and try to get your less strong side as close to your stronger side as possible with greater practice. By definition, when we are doing equal sets of unilateral exercises, we are not training our stronger side optimally anyway.

If it's just the typical imbalance (a rep or two more on your dominant side), it shouldn't take too long for them to balance out. My dominant side is only noticeably stronger when it comes to a 1RM, which I almost never do. During training, however, I don't notice a difference in the perceived effort from left to right.

Pick a pressing program and work it. You'll probably have the imbalance fixed pretty quickly and without the extra thought to creating a separate program for the other side.

 

[Steve W.]

By definition, when we are doing equal sets of unilateral exercises, we are not training our stronger side optimally anyway.

Also when doing bilateral exercises. But in most cases it is a distinction without a difference.

I agree with @Arryn Grogan that when you continue to train within what the weaker hand can do, you progress overall and the discrepancy tends to be small and mostly insignificant. In most contexts it just doesn't seem worth the energy to worry about.

Maybe if you have achieved a milestone 1RM on your stronger arm, but not on your weaker arm, you might do something short term to get the weaker arm over the hump. But as a steady diet during normal training I don't see the need.

 

[guardian7]

Arryn and Steve thanks. I am persuaded that less to think about and just sticking to the program will trump minor tweaks in programming.

 

[North Coast Miller]

Part of it is neurological from what I understand. Our stronger side has better wiring than our strong side and unless you are willing to use your strong side exclusively for as many years as you have been alive (with no guarantee that it will even match your stronger side if you could) just accept that you will always have a strong side and a stronger side.

This mirrors what one of my MA instructors taught me - train to be ambi, but in the real world we all have a strong side and a preferred way of operating and to go against that is to handicap yourself in a real tight spot.

I have had to face the possibility of imbalances in another aspect - long term outside the baseline stuff. My degenerative disk issues hit my right arm with a 10% approx penalty. I really only notice it on 3-5 rep max, but is undeniable. I do not have a 1 rep max for pressing or max reps for one hand pushups anymore, I have a 1 rep max L/R.

At what point does one train to the weaker side (my advice to to others going back decades and what I currently advocate for myself) and at what point does one embark on an asymmetrical strategy - if one was missing an arm or the arm had profound/obvious/undeniable neurological or physical issues, we wouldn't advise to work from the weaker side...