[quote]supertom wrote:
Thank you so much for such a deep analysis! I will try to find some better spot to shoot the squats. I will also try to stand up more in the squats. I guess it is caused by trying to get the bar as low as possible on the back and giving wrists and elbows too much rest. I also use thumbless grip, so it felt “safer” to be a bit bent.
Great tips for the benchpress. I will try to tighten up more and keep it for the whole set. Problem is i feel like my right arm gets fatigued sooner then my left arm. I might be more tight on the left side, because it looks like my right arm starts to drop lower in the later reps. Or it might be influenced by my scoliosis…[/quote]
Scoliosis might be a relevant piece of information lol.
Test your sides independently of each other with isolation movements for triceps, shoulders, and even lats. Execution of exercises must be ABSOLUTELY strict. Stricter than the pope. Since we are measuring unilateral strength it does no good to try to cheat even the tiniest bit to get more reps as that defeats the purpose of the test–to see if you are significantly physically stronger on one side or not. Outside of the actual rep execution, it can be a quick and dirty sort of test, just to get an idea. Pick dumbbell skullcrushers, or pushdown with elbows plastered to your side, strict dumbbell shoulder press and/or lean away lateral raises, and machine pullover with one arm. Hell you can even do single arm shrug and hold for time. Rest plenty between sides so you get a good “fresh” reading on your strength levels, and make sure to pick a weight that’s doable :).
You could potentially do a one arm dumbbell bench as well, but that requires a lot of core activation too and is probably unfamiliar to you so it wouldn’t be all that accurate to test on a new movement you haven’t done much.
There’s some variability to be expected side to side obviously, but if it’s pretty significant you might have an answer.