Do I Need Unilateral Training?

You mean I CAN WORK MY OPPOSITE LEG MUSCLE WITHOUT REALLY WORKING IT?⠀

Yes…
And no.

You open up Google and type in the search engine what is unilateral training? Various pages show with different answers here and there, but you are still left wondering. You’re looking for the best possible way to get strong, get better at your sport, or move with you children at ease. So why does training seem so complicated?

Do I need unilateral training? What is it?

—> Unilateral training simply refers to training one-sided.

So why would I need to train one-sided?

Well, training unilaterally has several key benefits:
🔹Helps to avoid overtraining
🔹Helps from overusing dominant side
🔹Helps to isolate and correct muscle imbalances
🔹Helps improve balance
🔹Utilizes core muscles
🔹Aids in injury prevention
🔹Facilitates rehabilitation

𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙣-𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 (Green et al., 2018).

How often should I train unilaterally?

While this is dependent on individual goals/needs, unilateral training is more beneficial in athletic populations! It’s not recommended for newbs. You should ideally be training this way 𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄/𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐀 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊.
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In cases where a client is crunched for time and we omit extra accessory work, you would not focus on unilateral training simply because it doesn’t align with your end goals/results.
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With that being said, when worked in properly, unilateral training is far more common and ‘easy’ to incorporate than you think.

So yes, you can reap benefits from working one-sided. BUT if you want major gains, don’t focus solely on this type of training.
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𝑴𝑨𝑲𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑻 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑵𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵.

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