The Power of Unilateral Leg Exercises

I've been singing the praises for many years now about my infatuation with unilateral (single) lower body exercises.

Back when barbell squats and conventional deadlifts ruled my training focus, I discovered that it was walking lunges (or, when space was limited, alternating reverse lunges) that had a profound impact on the muscular development of my quads and glutes. These lunges also seemed to make me feel great and supported my strength gains in the squats and deadlifts.

A few years later, when my hips became a jacked up mess from years of forcing myself to do exercises I wasn't well-suited for (barbell back squats, barbell deadlifts, cleans, and some snatches) and I had to accept that barbell squats and deadlifts were breaking me down more than building me up, I had to decide how to train my lower body.

What I found was that I could still train my lower body hard, but barbell squats and deadlifts – and overtraining these 2 exercises for years leading up to the point – caused major problems and pain in my hips. I could either get surgery on both hips and see if that would allow me to train barbell squats and deadlifts pain-free, or I could try adopting a different training approach.

Luckily, I went with the latter, and my hips began to feel better, my leg hypertrophy (muscle size) increased, and even my core became stronger.

The adaptation?

Unilateral leg exercises.

Single leg exercises are exceptional for me and my situation, but the longer I train, and the longer I train other people, I become more and more certain that prioritizing single leg exercises is ideal for almost everybody!

Benefits of single leg training:

1. More muscular stimulus. You can challenge the muscles more when focusing on one side at a time and making each leg do 100% of the work.

2. Better stimulus to fatigue ratio (SFR). This is important if you care about aesthetics and building muscle. Stimulus to fatigue ratio means an exercise stimulates a muscle to a high degree without unnecessary systematic fatigue. Barbell deadlifts, for example, create a ton of systematic fatigue throughout the body. This fatigue negatively effects our ability to train hard on other exercises after deadlifts and even effects how long we need to rest days after the workout, allowing us fewer opportunities to stimulate muscle growth in our legs or other parts or the body. On top of this, the targeted muscles during deadlift – glutes and hamstrings – are not stimulated to an optimal degree due to limited range of motion and efficient biomechanics (movement). Efficiency is great if lifting heavy weights is the goal. But, if building big muscles is the goal, we want to train the muscles in an Inefficient manner – that is, a manner that forces the targeted muscles to work harder! Single leg Romanian deadlifts, however, are less systematically fatiguing but stimulate the hamstrings and glutes to an overwhelming, painful degree. 

3. Better muscular balance (left and right side)

4. Trains the quality of general balance.

5. Improves core stabilization and midsection (core/abdominal) activation.

6. Builds strength and balance among the small, stabilizers of the lower body that are so often overlooked in hypertrophy and strength training. Think stabilizers and small supportive (but important for health, strength, and quality of life) muscles around the hips, knees, and ankles.

7. Requires less weight, less fancy equipment, and less space than bilateral leg exercises do, while allowing us to train the legs with great intensity, still. 

To tag along with that last benefit (7), if you train primarily at home or primarily with kettlebells, dumbbells, or bodyweight exercises, single leg exercises will allow you to challenge the body to a greater or similar degree as popular 2 legged exercises that require squat racks, barbells, platforms, or big, fancy, gym machines.

Some Examples of my Favorite Unilateral Leg Exercises

1. Bulgarian split squats 

2. Single leg RDLs

3. Knee over toes split squats

4. Single leg, foot elevated, glute bridges

5. Single leg (back elevated) hip thrusts 

6. Lateral (Cossack) squats

7. Single leg box squats (pistols to box)

8. Box step ups

9. Lunges

Pick a few of these exercises and really commit to building strength in the moderate rep range, and you will notice tremendous strength, hypertrophy, and longevity gains.

60 second YouTube summary: https://youtube.com/shorts/KFJ7W_2Ufc0?si=7l_fPbNg_Ku74CYs