[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
Bit of an off-beat question for you. Or, rather, a concept that I’m curious for your input on, since I don’t know that there’s a single question here.
Reason I’m asking: my favorite lift is the single-arm kettlebell clean and press (I am trying to get better at it with both arms, not just one). I have noticed that I am slightly better with my right arm than with my left arm - not hugely, but enough to be noticable (i.e. being able to consistently perform 3x88 with right arm vs. 2x88 with left arm). I do not believe this is a difference in strength, but rather coordination or confidence, as I feel no significant difference in pressing strength when performing bilateral exercises (i.e. when performing a double-KB or double-DB press, my left arm does not give out before my right).
When you were training for your prior comp, in your press medley I believe that you went axle, log, keg, and then DB for reps. I don’t recall if you did the DB pressing with the right arm every time or if you alternated reps between arms. If you always did it with the right, I am curious whether you developed any imbalance in pressing strength when performing bilateral exercises.
If you alternated, I am curious whether you felt more proficient with one side vs. the other. I understand that this was sort of an “event practice” for you, not necessarily a training focus, and thus perhaps is not something you gave much thought.
Anyways, curious for any thoughts you have on the matter of single-arm training with a complex exercise like the clean and press, and whether it can lead to imbalances if you are more proficient with one side than the other. Given that strongman events often have some kind of awkward object or one-handed stuff, I figure you may have some thoughts. Many thanks.[/quote]
I’ll gladly lend my perspective, thanks for the question.
For me, the 1 armed clean and press is never about getting STRONGER at the movement, just about getting better at it. As such, when I have it in my training, it’s less about getting those muscles stronger, and more about learning how to recruit all the muscles that I have spent extra time getting stronger into the movement itself. Usually an increase in the number of reps is a reflection of an increased proficiency.
As such, when it came to the medley, I only trained my right arm under the specific conditions necessary for the contest. However, I did still try to keep my left arm somewhat trained as well, but it was less in terms of matching “rep for rep” and more in terms of matching effort. I’d do 3 sets of as many reps as possible with the right arm, and then after enough rest do the same thing with the left. The left was good for about half as many reps, which again was less a reflection of strength and more one of skill/coordination. I am right arm dominant, and have little confidence in my left arm.
When performing bilateral presses, an observer would actually be inclined to believe that my LEFT arm is the stronger, because it tends to lockout first. However, I believe this is actually a reflection of WEAKNESS, as my body tries to quickly lockout the weaker arm so that the weight can be shifted to the stronger arm to complete the task. The end result is that I’m always struggling to lockout my right arm, especially on bench.
I don’t believe I developed any sort of notable imbalance, but at the same time, I only perform single armed presses when a contest dictates it. Otherwise, my pressing is always bi-lateral. I can’t imagine 2 months of 1 style of training would overcome a decade+ of another type, so it would be difficult to witness.
My opinion (no science to back it up) is to focus on the above mentioned idea of equal effort versus equal volume. Coordination is hard to compensate for in these instances, but if you are going balls out on both sides, at least something is getting done. Otherwise, you could always rest pause the left side and match rep total, even if it takes more sets.
Bit of a ramble, but let me know if I can address any more points in detail.