The Power of One: Why Unilateral Training Deserves a Spot in Your Routine

People often come to me with issues, injuries, or just plain aches-and-pains that they are hoping exercise will improve. One of my great secret weapons is unilateral training. What does that mean?

Unilateral training refers to exercises where you train one side of the body at a time (like single-leg lunges or one-arm dumbbell presses). Whether you are training for everyday functional fitness, athletic performance, or general strength, incorporating unilateral work can elevate your fitness in ways traditional movements can't.

Here is a look at why unilateral training is so important and how you can easily start incorporating it into your routine.

Why Unilateral Training Matters

1. Corrects Muscle Imbalances

Almost everyone has a dominant side. Over time, bilateral exercises can allow your stronger side to subtly compensate for the weaker one, masking side-to-side strength asymmetries. Unilateral training forces each side to pull its own weight, ensuring balanced strength and development across both sides of the body.

2. Improves Core Stability and Balance

When you perform a single-leg or single-arm movement, your center of gravity shifts. To keep you upright and aligned, your core muscles—including your transverse abdominis, obliques, and lower back—have to fire up significantly harder. This inherently builds greater core strength, balance, and joint stability.

3. Enhances Functional and Athletic Performance

Life rarely happens in a perfectly symmetrical position. Running, walking, climbing stairs, throwing, and kicking are all inherently single-leg or single-arm patterns. Training unilaterally strengthens the exact movement patterns you use in sports and daily activities, making your strength far more transferable.

4. Reduces Injury Risk and Supports Rehabilitation

By identifying and fixing weak links early on, you decrease the likelihood of overuse injuries caused by compensation patterns. Additionally, if you are recovering from an injury on one side of the body, unilateral training on the healthy side can help maintain strength on the affected side through a neurological phenomenon known as the cross-education effect (basically, working one side helps maintain your brain-body connection for both sides).

5. Helps Improve Bilateral Movements

If you're stuck in your workouts, you may not know what to do to get over a "hump" and continue to achieve progressive overload. Unilateral training to the rescue! If you cannot get your squat weight to increase, for example, you can take some time off of your usual bilateral squat (or instead of squating bilaterally twice a week, do one bilateral day, one unilateral day), work on a unilateral squat variation like a Bulgarian split squat or walking lunges, using a lighter weight but still working close to failure, and you when you return to your bilateral squat, you will be able to move more weight, just like magic! Only it isn't magic, it is the small improvements and corrections to strength imbalances, providing a stronger base to build up your bilateral movement. AKA, drop the barbell, pick up a dumbbell, alternate side, repeat!

Simple Tips to Start Incorporating Unilateral Work

You don’t need to completely overhaul your current workout program to reap the benefits of single-limb training. Here are a few practical ways to get started:

• Start with Your Non-Dominant Side First: Always perform your sets on your weaker or non-dominant side first. Let that side dictate the number of repetitions or the weight used, and then match (do not exceed) that effort with your stronger side. So if you're left leg is weaker, start with it, do as many repetitions as you can on that side, and then do the same number of reps on the right. I'm not usually a huge stickler for numbers when I train clients, but for unilateral, it is important to count reps!

  
  

• Swap a Main Lift Variation for a Block: Try substituting a standard bilateral exercise with a unilateral variation for a 4- to 6-week training block. For example, swap a standard barbell back squat for a Bulgarian split squat, or a barbell row for a single-arm dumbbell row.

  
  

• Use Unilateral Movements as Accessories: If you love your heavy barbell lifts and don't want to swap them out, use unilateral exercises as secondary or accessory movements later in your workout. After your main squats or bench presses, add 2–3 sets of step-ups or single-arm dumbbell presses.

  
  

• Focus on Quality Over Load: Unilateral exercises place higher demands on your balance and stabilizing muscles. Start with lighter weights or bodyweight to ensure proper alignment and control before progressing to heavier loads.

  
  

Quick Unilateral Exercises to Try

• Lower Body:

  • Bulgarian Split Squats

  • Single-Leg or Kickstand Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs)

  • Step-Ups

  • Single-Leg Glute Bridges/Hip Thrusts

  • Walking Lunges

    
    

• Upper Body:

  • Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows

  • Single-Arm Overhead Dumbbell Press

  • Half-Kneeling Single-Arm Cable Pulldowns

  • Single-Arm Floor Press

    
    

Final Thoughts

Unilateral training isn't meant to replace your favorite bilateral lifts—it's meant to complement them. By dedicating space in your workouts to address individual limb strength, you'll build a more resilient body, improve your balance, and unlock new strength when you return to your double-limb lifts.

Give a few single-side movements a try during your next session and feel the difference!