What are contralateral exercises?

A contralateral exercise is any exercise where the resistance comes from the opposite side of the working limb. If you do small group training, you have likely heard this weird vocab word that we use to make us trainers sound smart.

What is a contralateral movement?

To review, contralateral movement refers to any movement coordinating opposite sides of the body and often crossing the anatomical midline. An example of a contralateral movement would be marching in place, and using opposite arm to leg motions while marching.

Is running a contralateral movement?

We can break down contralateral movements into a few different familiar exercises/patterns. Crawling is just one. There is also rolling, marching, climbing, walking, running. Anything that moves opposite arm and opposite limb is a contralateral movement and has tremendous benefits for the brain.

Why is contralateral movement important?

Contralateral exercises allow for: contralateral stability as each side of the body will counteract rotational and translator forces created by the movement; making it much easier to maintain proper form.

Which is the correct definition of a contralateral movement?

What is: Contralateral Movement. A contralateral movement pertains to exercising muscles on opposite sides of the body from one another. To give you a better idea, in the figure above the man is doing a core movement called opposites. It is a contralateral movement because he is extending his left arm and his right leg simultaneously.

When to perform a contralateral or ipsilateral exercise?

When performing the movement with the weight in the same hand as the forward leg (ipsilateral), the focus will be on glute activation and minimization of compensatory movements. When the load is on the opposite side of the forward leg (contralateral), central stability and range of motion are challenged.

Which is an example of a unilateral exercise movement?

A unilateral exercise movement is when each limb works independently of the other to create the desired movement ( 6 ). As with any attempt to classify exercise-based movement patterns, there will always be exercises that do not necessarily fit neatly into a classification scheme. For example, consider upper body exercises that use dumbbells.

What are some activities to improve bilateral coordination?

Using a knife and fork Cutting with scissors Doing buttons Lacing activities Using a ruler to draw a line Back to Top The Three Basic Bilateral Movements Your child needs to develop bilateral coordination skills in three different areas: symmetrical movements, reciprocal movements, and movements requiring a supporting hand.