by Sofia Moreau

Achieving better muscular balance, a robust core, and enhanced resilience to injuries with unilateral or single-sided exercises may sound like laborious tasks. But aren’t these the vital blocks of our fitness foundation that we often overlook? Understand the profound impact of these exercises and start incorporating them into your workout routine without further ado.

While the prospect of working out one side of your body at a time may seem like a slow, potentially boring process – and indeed, it will demand some patience – the rewards of such single-sided, or unilateral exercises are profound.

Research supports these potent moves as powerful allies in bolstering muscular balance, enhancing core engagement, and even aiding injury rehabilitation, proving that sometimes going back to the basics is the best way to fortify our health foundations.

Instead of prioritizing sheer weight and asking ‘how much can I squat?’, shift your focus to optimizing performance while reducing injury risks. This healthy shift of perspective can be achieved with the adoption of unilateral methods in your workout.

The Mechanics of Unilateral Exercise

Unilateral exercise involves movements executed using a solitary limb. For all of us, one side tends to be dominant, and by focusing on one side at a time, these unilateral moves seek to harmonize the body in a manner that the two-limbed, bilateral exercise fails to accomplish.

Starting from a young age, we develop a habitual reliance on one side, leading to common muscular imbalances. This discrepancy is further exaggerated by injuries to a specific joint or muscle group on one side of the body. A rehabilitative approach to balance and strength restoration can leverage unilateral training significantly for injury recovery, regaining a harmonious strength distribution across both sides of the body.

How Unilateral Exercise can Benefit You

Suppose you’ve ever observed higher post-exercise soreness or discomfort on one side. In that case, it could be a sign that your stronger side is assuming a greater load during exercises. Unilateral training targets your weaker side specifically, offering a highly effective method to address any imbalances. Additionally, it can even help resolve strength discrepancies between two muscles on a single side.

Embrace Unilateral Exercise

Integrating unilateral exercises into your workouts can significantly enhance your proficiency in compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. As exciting as this sounds, it’s crucial to be aware of some common errors to avoid when adding unilateral work to your regimen.

1. Start with Your Weaker Side: Beginning your weights set with your stronger side may seem tempting, but this can often lead to you not being able to replicate the performance with your weaker side. Instead, commence your unilateral training with the weaker limb and strive to match the metrics with your stronger side.
2. Gauge Weights Appropriately: Overloading is a mistake. It can compromise your technique and hinder proper core stabilization. Choose a weight that doesn’t sabotage your ability to maintain perfect form.
3. Utilizing Machines: Free-weights should not be your sole source for unilateral exercises. Machines like the leg press can offer better control in single-limb movements while challenging your core strength.
4. Mindful Movement: Unilateral training demands cognitive awareness. Pay close attention to the targeted muscle and ensure you maintain control throughout the lift.

Unilateral Exercises to Try

Ready to journey into unilateral training? Here are six unilateral exercises – including the classic Split squat, Single-leg Deadlift, and Renegade row – to incorporate into your routine to boost muscular balance and core strength.

1. Split Squat
2. Single-leg Deadlift
3. Single-leg Hip Thrust
4. Single-arm Overhead Press
5. Renegade Row
6. Medicine Ball Push-up

Dive into this fitness regime and lay a robust foundation for optimized workouts and reduced risk of injuries.

workouts, unilateral training, muscular balance, single-sided exercises, core strength, strength imbalance, injury recovery, single-limb exercises