20057134 Adam Slater

Unilateral Training in Football

Football training programmes regularly involve both bilateral and unilateral

training exercises, examples of these would be squats and lunges. Both these
exercises can be found in the governing bodies own warm up/training exercises
(Dvorak, 2015). The difference between bilateral and unilateral exercises are that
bilateral exercises use both sides of the body to apply force against resistance,
so the weight is therefore shared equally between both sides of the body.
Unilateral exercises focus on a particular side of the body and only train a single
side of the body at any one time, in theory.
Football can be measured in both a unilateral and bilateral sense. During training
and games players are required to run and turn using both sides of their bodies.
The higher the level of the player the greater the need to be able to play with
both feet. As with the majority of the population most players will always have a
preference to a more dominant side. This has been shown in a recent study
(Daneshjoo, 2013) which measured the leg strength and flexibility of 36 football
players using an isokinetic dynamometer. It showed a bilateral imbalance of 10%
or greater between both legs of the players measured. The findings suggest
football can have a negative effect on performance and movement patterns in
young male players creating an imbalance between dominant and non -dominant
legs. These results would suggest a possible need for unilateral training in
football to re adjust the muscular imbalance.
As a requirement of the game, players need to be able to shift their
weight/balance to change direction as quickly as possible. Newtons third law
states for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Footballers
utilise this law and the effect they can have on ground reaction force to change
direction. In biomechanics ground reaction force is commonly recognised as the
force exerted by the ground upon a body in contact with it. In laymans terms
this equates to players applying force through their legs in one direction against
the ground to propel them in the opposite direction. In order to do this, players
need to have strong legs and the ability to apply force through either leg
independently. Players are also required to have a strong core to change
direction. The core is comprised of a group of centralised muscles (located
around the trunk region) which consist mainly of transverse abdominis and the
multifidus. These muscles assist in shifting of a players centre of gravity around
a central point. Behm (2005) conducted a study entitled Trunk muscle
electromyographic activity with unstable and unilateral exercises. In this study,
using electromyography sensors, he found that when performing unilateral lifts
(chest press and shoulder press) there was an increase on average between
37%-54% of trunk stabilisation muscle activation. This would suggest that
resistance unilateral training will not only benefit the agonist muscles targeted
but also the stabilising core muscles. These overall benefits will in theory
enhance a players performance in terms of muscular strength and stability.

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Understanding these training effects on the body and the biomechanical
equations involved in the game allow coaches and trainers to better understand
the importance of muscular balance and the need to train effectively to regain
this. This knowledge will further improve performance based on the requirements
previously mentioned for the game.
There have been studies performed to measure the benefits of unilateral
training. Munn et al, (2005), examined the benefits of strength on the
contralateral (opposite) side when training unilaterally. This effect is termed the
contralateral training effect. In this study 115 subjects were given a unilateral
training programme and strength gains were measured on both sides of the
subject. It also found small strength gains on the contralateral side, however it
did state that the results werent conclusive and it was unclear whether the
strength gains were functional. The strength gains would be negligible in
comparison to specifically training the contralateral side. It is suggested that the
muscles are recruited solely as fixator muscles which would require them to
contract in conjunction with the agonists.
The study by Munn et al was built upon by Carroll et al, (2006). Carroll
investigated the potential mechanisms and reasoning behind why subjects may
have contralateral strength gains. It was found that subjects gained on average
8% strength in the contralateral side. They found it was from a combination of
various factors and that it was subjective depending on the study participant.
These factors included weight, muscle tone and core strength. They also again
touched on the functionality of contralateral strength gains. They highlight that
there would be few, if any situations clinically, where the marginal gains in
strength gained by training the contralateral side would be of greater benefit to
training the ipsilateral (same) side.
In support of this, Hubal et al, (2005) also looked at strength gains on the trained
side of the body and found that these were viable and significant in comparison
to bilateral training. 1RM Strength gains ranged from 0 -250%. This was based
over a 12 week period of unilateral resistance strength training. Size gains were
also recorded and this was shown in both males and females. Size gains varied
from -2 59%. This study highlights the resistance training benefits of unilateral
training.
From a sports performance point of view unilateral training can be used as a
diagnostic tool to highlight any potential dysfunction/weakness or in the worst
case scenario pain which can be masked in bilateral training. An example would
be where a player could fully perform a squat movement weight loaded
bilaterally. The player would then be required to perform a single leg squat. This
movement could potentially show a number of issues. Boyle (2010) discusses
these in his book Advances in functional training. He states issues can range
from strength differences and mobility issues to dysfunction and mal-tracking of
the knee. All of these issues can be masked by bilateral training, however they
can all also be treated and corrected by unilateral training. Correcting these

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movements in the affected side will yield greater results of the overall
performance.
From these studies and research it has been shown that unilateral training is
beneficial for building strength and core stability. It can be used as a diagnostic
tool as well as a treatment method for dysfunctional movement patterns. This
knowledge and information can be used by coaches to prevent injury and
improve performance.

References
Behm, D., Leonard, A., Young, W., Bonsey, A. and Mackinnon, S. (2005)
Trunk Muscle Electromyographic Activity with Unstable and Unilateral
Exercises. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Vol. 19, No. 1:
24-36.
Boyle, M. (Ed.) (2010) Advances in Functional Training. (1st ed.)
Chichester: Lotus.
Carroll, T., Herbert, R., Munn, J., Lee, M. and Gandevia, S. (2006) Contralateral
effects of unilateral strength training: evidence and possible
mechanisms. Journal of applied physiology. Vol. 101, No. 5: 1514-1522.
Daneshjoo, A., Rahnama, N. and Mokhtar, A. (2013) Bilateral and Unilateral
Asymmetries of Isokinetic Strength and Flexibility in Male Young Professional
Soccer Players. Journal of Human Kinetics. Vol. 36, No. 1: 45-53.
Dvorak, J. (2015) Fifa 11+: a complete warm up programme. [Online] Available
from: http://f-marc.com/11plus/home/ [accessed 10 August 2015].
Hubal, M., Gordish-dressman, H., Thompson, P., Price, T., Hoffman, E.,
Angelopoulos, T., Gordon, P., Moyna, N., Pescatello, L., Visich, P., Zoeller, R., Seip,
R. and Clarkson, P. (2005) Variability in Muscle Size and Strength Gain after
unilateral resistance training. Journal of the American college of sports
medicine. Vol. 37, No. 6: 964-972.
Munn, J., Herbert, R., Hancock, M. and Gandevia, S. (2005) Training with
unilateral resistance exercise increases contralateral strength. Journal of applied
physiology. Vol. 99, No. 5: 1880-1884.
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