Regain balance with unilateral exercises

What are unilateral exercises, and how do they help you?

- Shrenik Avlani

To keep one's fitness journey interesting, and in order to get the most gains from working out, the body needs to be taken outside the comfort zone. One way to do so is to perform unilateral exercises, a fresh twist on familiar exercises. Think of squats and do it on one leg, take the Arnold press and do it with one hand at a time while kneeling down, or attempt a single arm lat pull down. Unilateral workouts are exercises that target one side of the body at a time.

Human bodies have imbalances. All of us have a stronger side, or a stronger arm, or a more dominant foot. By turning to unilateral exercises, we take out the compensating act of the stronger side of our body. These exercises help correct muscle imbalances by focusing on each side independently. This leads to improved muscle balance and symmetry.