The Importance of Unilateral Training

Why single-limb exercises shouldn’t be ignored.

There are a lot of effective techniques to incorporate into your training program, but I’m always surprised by how little attention is given to one very important concept: Unilateral training. This technique, where you train one limb or side of the body at a time, is essential to ensuring you continue progressing your strength and muscle gains. Here’s why: muscle recruitment One of the key benefits of unilateral training is the ability to recruit more muscles at one time, which means not only burning more calories, but also engaging important stabilization muscles that often get left out during bilateral training. For example, when performing unilateral leg exercises, such as those in the workout on page 10, the abductors and adductors are activated to keep you balanced, along with stabilizer muscles of the hips and pelvis. This total activation of muscle groups builds a solid foundation of support, which allows for smoother, more seamless movements and coordination patterns during weight lifting and athletic performance. Spine protection Unilateral lifting will also help to prevent spine injuries, and allow those who have experienced back injuries to continue lifting and building strength, with potentially less risk. Heavier lifts, such as deadlifts, put a tremendous amount of force and compression on the spinal column, creating wear and tear over time. But a unilateral deadlift (or squat, or leg press) puts literally half the load on your spinal column at one time. Also, previous injuries will often result in weaknesses in that area of the body, causing the stronger side to overcompensate during bilateral exercises. Unilateral training will eliminate this problem, helping to rebuild the injured area and even out strength imbalances throughout the body, which will help to reduce the risk of injury in the future. ADL Training for your activities of daily living (ADL), is also an important component of functional strength, greatly enhanced with unilateral movements. Most tasks that we complete throughout the day require the balance and strength of one limb or one side of the body, and this functional component transfers over into sports and weight room performance as well.