Having completed the main part of your healing and rehab and hopefully having taken some of my advice from part 1, it is time to start building back up your strength so you can return to sport. Anyone who has spent time in a wrist cast will know how your arm wastes away to something resembling Mr Burns from the Simpsons, a situation which is not conducive to sporting prowess! Before you get back to your sport you are going to need to regain some of that strength and muscle mass.
The questions is, how do we best go about doing this?
The first thing to do is to establish the current difference in strength from left to right. Assuming it is safe to do so, you can do this in a number of ways, either using machines at the gym, free weights or just your bodyweight. For example you could use the leg press machine to test your single leg strength from left to right. Simply set a reasonably demanding weight, complete max reps on the non-injured leg and then max reps on the rehabbed leg. You should use a weight that you can do 10-20 times on the stronger leg. Record the difference in strength as this is the starting point for the next part of your training.
Let’s take the example of a single arm dumbbell shoulder press. You can do 12 solid reps with 15kg on your right arm, but can only do eight or nine reps on the left. That is a large strength endurance deficit of 25-30% and an issue that needs addressing. Traditionally you could take one of the following two routes to try and close the gap:
1. Train the weaker left arm first, hitting eight to nine reps and then matching those reps with the stronger, right arm even though you could do three to four more reps on that arm. This can help close the gap, but the stronger arm may in fact lose strength and size due to the reduced volume of work. It would look something like this:
| Single Arm DB Press @15kg | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Total reps @15kg |
| Left | 9 | 8 | 8 | 25 |
| Right | 9 | 8 | 8 | 25 |
Or you may take an approach like this one:
2. Continue to train each arm to its capacity, with eight reps on the left and 12 on the right, but add an extra set on the left arm at the end, so it gets some extra volume. We have simply increased the volume of training on the shoulder, but not necessarily the intensity. Gains will come, but will take some time. Also, the right arm may still complete more reps as illustrated below, further increasing the gap.
| Single Arm DB Press @15kg | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 Left Only | Total reps @15kg |
| Left | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 32 |
| Right | 12 | 12 | 12 | —— | 36 |
The smarter alternative is to apply the ‘1st and 3rd Technique’ which applies the principles of a cluster set to make quick gains in strength in the weaker limb or muscle whilst maintaining or even developing the strength in the stronger side. With the 1st and 3rd, you simply split the reps you want to achieve on the weaker side into two smaller sets. You complete these smaller sets 1st and 3rd with the stronger side hitting all the reps in a single, 2nd set.
So, if we return to our example of a single arm dumbbell shoulder press with 15kg, but apply the 1st and 3rd technique, a set would look something like this:
| Single Arm DB Press @15kg | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Total reps @15kg |
| 1st -Left | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| 2nd – Right | 12 | 12 | 12 | 36 |
| 3rd – Left | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18+18=36 reps |
In a short period of time, both sides have experienced the same volume of work with the same weight. The left arm receives an intense training stimulus, helping to develop its strength and size whilst the right arm gets enough stimulus to at least maintain its current level of performance. It is simple, effective and time efficient.
Once you understand how to apply the 1st and 3rd Technique, you can also start to manipulate the basic principles to increase your gains further or to close a larger strength deficit. Taking the above example, you may find that you can do a little more than 6 reps on the 1st and 3rd, helping to close the gap faster. In week 1 you might hit 7 reps in the first set and 6 in the 3rd, the next week, 7 and 7 reps and so on. This offers constant progression without the breakdown of form that often occurs as you force extra cheat reps on a weaker limb playing catch up.
Whilst all of the examples so far have been strength endurance or hypertrophy focussed, with reps in the 12-15 range, the 1st and 3rd Technique can also be successfully applied at the maximal strength end of the spectrum. Hit 2-3 reps on the weaker side, followed by 4-6 reps on the stronger side and so on.
As always, after a block of training with this method, you should re-evaluate the left-right balance to assess any improvements and changes in your asymmetries. Remember, that you will probably never achieve perfect, 50/50 symmetry, so don’t become totally focussed on this as you will only end up disappointed!
What the 1st and 3rd Technique offers is a simple and versatile approach to improving imbalances and symmetry issues in athletes or anybody who trains. How you apply it just depends on your training goals and what your individual symmetry deficits are.
Stay Strong
Ben
