Unilateral movements. Why are these movements necessary to integrate within your training program? 

These unilateral movements involve loading/moving one side of the body @ a time. Focused on concentration & isolation of one side of the body! 

What are the benefits of integrating unilateral movements into your training program?

• Muscle imbalances: The ability to address overactive & under active musculature is phenomenal. Such a great tool to address size & strength differences between muscle groups & differences between specific limbs. Integration of bilateral compound movements without integration of unilateral movements has the tendency to continually feed into imbalances, making them worse, as well as the gradual development of bad movement pattern habits. 
• Neglected musculature: This leads into musculature that is neglected during bilateral compound movements. This is why the use of unilateral movements is ideal to ensure proper progression, muscular activation, & program execution. This will translate better to strength in compound movements as well. Equilibrium!
• Boosted core stabilization, balance development: The unilateral movements require greater core engagement. The higher demand on the musculature requires the body & core to maintain balance.
• The ability to mimic real life, functional movements: A lot of every day activity requires the use of one side of the body @ a time. So, these movements are great in translation to functional movement patterns, development, & strength, making everyday activity easier (as well as exercise). 
• Neglecting these movements will boost injury risk. Unilateral movements have the ability to strengthen weaker areas of the body that may have been neglected prior, reducing the risk of injury as well as overuse injury. 

Movement demands:

• Isolating/ concentrating on one side. 
• Lighter loads, emphasizing boosted control & tempo manipulation.
• ISO/static holds.
• Increased core activation + high balance demand.
• Highly effective @ imbalance correction.
• Increased functional training translation, mimicking natural movements. 

Examples of unilateral movements include: 

• Bulgarian split squats
• Split lunges/squat variations 
• Single leg squats
• Single leg press 
• Single leg RDL 
• Single arm press or row
• MOST EXERCISES CAN TURN INTO A LATERAL MOVEMENT, THESE ARE JUST SIMPLE EXAMPLES.

Incorporating both unilateral and bilateral movements into your training program provides a balanced approach. Bilateral exercises build foundational strength and power, while unilateral exercises address asymmetries, enhance stability, and improve functional performance. The best way to approach true growth in your program.

Peer reviewed articles sharing the benefits of integrating unilateral training:

This study shows that unilateral training significantly improves unilateral jump performance compared to bilateral training. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Training one limb can lead to strength gains in the untrained contralateral limb. Taylor & Francis Online

Unilateral exercises can increase muscle activation and efficiently engage core muscles, enhancing overall energy expenditure. acefitness.org

Unilateral exercises are more functional and adhere better to the principle of specificity than bilateral exercises, making them particularly effective in sports training. ResearchGate

Unilateral strength training can increase voluntary strength in the contralateral limb, an effect known for over a century. Physiology Journals

This article talks about how although bilateral and unilateral exercises of similar nature (double versus single leg squats) both require movement patterns in a sagittal plane, unilateral exercises demand muscles to perform a stabilizing function in both the frontal and transverse plane beyond that of double leg exercises. Therefore, including single leg exercises may allow an athlete to increase their capacity to resist multi-planar forces. The integration of unilateral strength training for the lower extremity within an athletic performance programme

This article discusses the bilateral deficit. Discusses the advantages of unilateral integration & pairing it with bilateral training. Discussed how to involve in program design. https://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/fulltext/2018/05000/resistance_training_is_medicine__effects_of.6.aspx

This article discusses the importance of emphasizing both unilateral/bilateral single joint & multi joint exercises to maximize overall muscular strength development in novice, intermediate, & advanced lifting individuals.

https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2009/03000/progression_models_in_resistance_training_for.26.aspx