Credit: Getty
Strong Women
How unilateral training can improve your workouts, according to a PT
By Chloe Gray
4 years ago
1 min read
Exercising one side of the body at a time has big benefits.
You’re used to doing upper and lower body workouts, but have you considered dividing your training into left and right? Working on one side at a time is called unilateral training, and it’s a great way to build strength and function.
“Bilateral training means working both sides at once, whereas unilateral means focusing on the left or the right side, one at a time,” says personal trainer Isa Maddocks.
What are the benefits of unilateral training?
The main purpose of unilateral exercise is to create equal strength in both sides of the body. “It’s normal to have one side that is stronger than the other,” Maddocks explains. “However, we can try to even out the imbalance with unilateral exercises.”
Training one side at a time means that your dominant muscles don’t take over the exercise by taking on most of the load. “When the stronger muscles overcompensate, it actually encourages the problem. We need the weaker side to be loaded in order for it to get stronger,” says Maddocks.
undefined
By signing up you agree to occasionally receive offers and promotions from Stylist. Newsletters may contain online ads and content funded by carefully selected partners. Don’t worry, we’ll never share or sell your data. You can opt-out at any time. For more information read Stylist’s Privacy Policy
Thank you!
You’re now subscribed to all our newsletters. You can manage your subscriptions at any time from an email or from a MyStylist account.