Another one of those binary debates people love to get up in arms...
Fred Duncan@Fred__Duncan
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Sep 21, 2025
~1 min read
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Another one of those binary debates people love to get up in arms about - unilateral vs bilateral training.
Ironically, my own lower back favors unilateral work, but I often find myself defending bilateral training. Why? Because I’ve seen plenty of athletes who didn’t
Ironically, my own lower back favors unilateral work, but I often find myself defending bilateral training. Why? Because I’ve seen plenty of athletes who didn’t
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tolerate rear foot elevated split squats but had zero issues with bilateral back squats.
Just because one option doesn’t work well for me (or you) doesn’t mean it won’t work for someone else.
That’s where coaches get into trouble, letting dogmatic views influence their
Just because one option doesn’t work well for me (or you) doesn’t mean it won’t work for someone else.
That’s where coaches get into trouble, letting dogmatic views influence their
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programming. Any good program should use both bilateral and unilateral training across different rep ranges and intensities.
Each has pros and cons. Both have been successfully used in every program I’ve written for athletes. The goal isn’t to win an argument, it’s to get
Each has pros and cons. Both have been successfully used in every program I’ve written for athletes. The goal isn’t to win an argument, it’s to get
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results.
If you want to see how I actually structure all of this, check out Speed Kills. It’s my most detailed breakdown of speed training, from warm-ups, sprint progressions, and plyometric progressions, to resisted sprinting, overspeed, and even how to manage hamstring
If you want to see how I actually structure all of this, check out Speed Kills. It’s my most detailed breakdown of speed training, from warm-ups, sprint progressions, and plyometric progressions, to resisted sprinting, overspeed, and even how to manage hamstring
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injuries.
Or grab the Project Speed Bundle, which combines Speed Kills with The Art and Science of Sport Preparation, giving you the full system from general prep through advanced speed work. That’s everything I use with athletes of all levels, all in one package.
Or grab the Project Speed Bundle, which combines Speed Kills with The Art and Science of Sport Preparation, giving you the full system from general prep through advanced speed work. That’s everything I use with athletes of all levels, all in one package.