Unilateral Training: The Basics

By Rachel Rowenhorst, NASM CPT
Personal Trainer at Harvard Recreation

What is it? 

            In the most basic sense of the term, unilateral training is a training style that exercises one limb at a time as opposed to having both limbs perform the movement together (bilateral training). For those at home with only one dumbbell or kettlebell (or even those with weight sets) unilateral training is an effective way to create a challenging and robust workout. 

Why do it? 

Aside from the convenience standpoint (if you only have one DB/KB/etc), unilateral training offers many benefits if performed correctly. 

            First, it exposes and corrects muscle imbalances. Generally speaking, everyone experiences muscle imbalances in one way or another. Whether this means one arm or leg is stronger/weaker/tighter/looser. Performing single limb exercises not only exposes these imbalances by not allowing the other limb to compensate in the movement, but also allows for the working limb to balance the discrepancy. Nifty. 

Second, unilateral training builds core (read abdominals AND back AND hip) stability. With unilateral training your core has to stabilize differently than during bilateral lifts. Specifically, your obliques work to keep both sides of your torso equally long as you resist the gravitational pull to twist, bend, or rotate with weight on one side. Example: in an offset loaded squat, your core works to keep length on the weighted side versus falling into the weight. Furthermore, stabilizer muscles around the working limb and joint are shown to have increased recruitment with unilateral training compared with bilateral training. Meaning, even though you are quantitatively lifting less weight your muscle recruitment and activation are greater on the working limb compared to a bilateral lift.

            Third, certain unilateral exercises strengthen your balance. Specifically lower body exercises like step-ups, single leg (SL) squats, SL deadlifts, SL (aka rear foot elevated) lunges can all improve muscle strength and balance. Balance training benefits everyday life and movement. Normal activities such as walking, stairs, running, riding the T, all require balance. Furthermore, balance training is key for both fall prevention and creating a greater sense of grounding in your body for your lifts. 

            Fourth, the first three benefits of unilateral training all aid in injury prevention. Increased core activation, joint stabilization, balance, and muscle imbalance correction are all key factors to prevent injury while working out and in everyday life. In many ways, unilateral training mimics everyday life and can prepare your body for the lopsided lifts we perform daily. 


How can you integrate it into a strength routine?

I’ve included several (of many) unilateral exercises for your perusal and integration into your own workout programs. 

  1. Single arm Bent row               Not every exercise you do now needs to be unilateral (think
  2. Single arm OH press               how long it would take to finish a circuit…). However,
  3. Offset squat                            changing out one or two bilateral movements for unilateral
  4. Single leg deadlift                  exercises in each workout would give you the benefits of
  5. Offset lunge                            unilateral training.







Location: 39 Holyoke St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

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