The Benefits Of Unilateral Exercises
Ask yourself these questions: Are walking and running one or two leg activities? Do you perform most of your daily activities using one arm, or both arms at exactly the same time?
The answer to the first question is “one”. You walk and run on one leg at a time, unless you hop like a kangaroo to get around.
The answer to the second question is also “one”. Can you think of many daily activities you perform that require both arms moving the same weight together? Okay, moving furniture and rowing are two that come to mind, and thankfully these aren’t daily activities for me!
Since a vast majority of our daily activities are performed unilaterally, it seems odd that most gym equipment is focused on bilateral exercises such as barbell bench presses, seated leg presses, seated rows, pulldowns, etc.
Bilateral Exercises Can Lead to Body Dysfunctions and Injury
Limiting your workouts to bilateral exercises will keep your body unbalanced, as your dominant strength side will always “take charge” of the movement, with the weaker side doing less work. Bilateral exercise forces the body to play a constant game of catch up between the weak and dominant sides, leading to body dysfunctions and injury.
To balance the strength across your body, replace bilateral exercises using barbells and seated gym machines in your workouts with unilateral alternatives. Excellent equipment options available at most gyms for unilateral exercises include: dumbbells, kettlebells, TRX suspension trainers, and functional trainers (cable machines).
Unilateral exercises force each limb to work independently, allowing the weaker limb to get stronger and reduce imbalances. Unilateral exercise also more effectively strengthens the core since it has to laterally stabilize the body during the one-sided movements.
Unilateral Exercises That Correct Strength Imbalances
Add these unilateral exercises to your workouts to reduce strength imbalances and help achieve a more healthy and balanced body.
One Arm Dumbbell or Kettlebell Shoulder Press (instead of barbell and seated shoulder presses)
One Arm Dumbbell or Cable Row (instead of seated rowing machine)
One Arm Cable Pull-Downs (instead of seated pulldown machine)
One Arm Cable or Dumbbell Press (instead of barbell bench presses)
Single Leg Press (instead of using both legs on the leg press machine)
Single Leg Deadlifts (instead of two leg deadlifts)
Single Leg Curls on the Exercise Ball (instead of the leg machine curls)
Click on the link below to learn more about adding unilateral exercises to your workouts.
