Unilateral training is an effective fitness strategy for improving muscle balance and overall strength. Join Jenni Lynn Patterson-LaCour for a 50-minute aquatic fitness class that emphasizes single-side training with and without a foam dumbbell. Your class members can enjoy this cardio strength workout in both deep and shallow water.
Most traditional water exercises are performed with arms and legs performing bilateral symmetrical (same) movement or bilateral reciprocal (opposite) movement. There is nothing wrong with this, however if you have muscle imbalances between limbs, the dominant side compensates for the weaker side. Incorporating unilateral or one-sided training in your classes can isolate and focus on the weaker side, helping your class participants improve overall strength and function.
BENEFITS OF UNILATERAL TRAINING
- Day-to-day activities in our jobs and home life can leave us with muscular imbalances in our upper and lower extremities. Unilateral training can help correct these imbalances.
- Muscular imbalances can cause pain and leave more prone to injury. Therefore, single-sided fitness training can help prevent injury and lessen strain and pain
- Unilateral training also activates the core which requires us to work harder to stabilize the body and counteract the movement generated by only one side. Emphasizing core stabilization provides your class members with a much stronger midsection, which has its own set of benefits.
- In summary, unilateral training in the water offers numerous advantages such as enhancing balance, stability, coordination, core engagement and can play a crucial role in injury prevention and rehabilitation.
WORKOUT-AT-A-GLANCE
This 50-minute water workout includes a warm-up, cool down and five working segments.
Segment 1: Cardio Ladder
Designed to expand the cardiorespiratory warm-up, this segment kicks the cardio up a notch. The movements in this segment also have an emphasis on core stabilization.
Segment 2: Unilateral Base Moves
This segment introduces a series of unilateral or one-sided moves that challenge the body with cardio and core activation.
Segment 3: Dynamic Plank Ladder
Featuring movement that is performed in a forward or rear plank, this segment provides a lower body and core challenge.
Segment 4: Unilateral Buoy Moves
Showcasing a single foam dumbbell, this segment takes many of the moves shown in segment two but introduces the challenge of buoyant resistance for even greater muscle imbalance correction and core stability.
Segment 5: Buoy Combo Moves
The foam dumbbell single-sided moves progress in this segment with some challenging buoy combinations.
Fitmotivation extends gratitude to Jenni Lynn for sharing her passion and knowledge with subscribers. Stay tuned, another video with her husband Chris is posting next week, along with two 20-minute express videos featuring the aquatic fitness power couple.