[Podcast] Are Unilateral Exercises Superior to Bilateral?

Which is better for muscle growth and strength gains: unilateral exercises, where you work one side at a time, allowing for more focus on that particular muscle, or bilateral exercises, which lets you use heavier weights?

Today, we’re breaking down a new meta-analysis looking into this, and give you our practical takeaways.

We also answer a few listener questions, see the timestamps below.

One final thing: We have a Reddit community now! Join us at r/strengthlog/.

Timestamps:

  • 03:45 – Unilateral vs bilateral exercises for strength and hypertrophy
  • 20:40 – Listener question 1: Which unilateral exercises would you have as the foundation in a program during a period when bilateral exercises don’t work for me because of a cranky back?
  • 22:30 – Listener question 2: I mostly do kettlebell training at home. Do you think it’s better to do the exercises with one or two kettlebells simultaneously?
  • 27:00 – Listener question 3: Do you notice a big difference in making the podcast in English vs in Swedish? Is there a difference in the questions you get?

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This is episode 41 of the podcast. Check out the five previous episodes below:

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Philip Wildenstam

Philip used to be a powerlifter (his best lift was a 275 kg raw squat), but now he mostly eats, drinks, and sleeps. He's also a certified nutrition coach and a co-founder of StrengthLog, and he's always trying to make the app better and more user-friendly. If you ask Philip nicely, he might share his recipe for Swedish meatballs with you.