Feeling like a square peg in a round hole on your team? Have you tried single leg training?
At the moment I am going through a process with several individuals I work with.
Conventional movements do not seem to suit them. Exercises such as the squat, deadlift, Romanian deadlift, or even barbell split squats cause problems.
We are seeing things such as back, hip or knee pain. There are many reasons why this could be the case. But finding a way to make sure these individuals are progressing is key.
I have been using exercises such as the skater squat, single-leg squat (pistol), and Bulgarian split squat. We are seeing great success, and here are some reasons why it may be worth using yourself.
Information on single-leg training vs double-leg training is out there. People often become tribal, saying you should do either one or the other. I am a firm believer that tools are tools and all can be used.
Mike Boyle is a big single leg advocate, from his books to articles, he talks about its uses and benefits. See here and here if you want more info or try his book: Advances in Functional Training: Training Techniques for Coaches, Personal Trainers and Athletes. You can see how he has pushed this fascist of training. Having people perform loads up to 50% BW for multiple reps on single leg exercises. He states that it is safer to lift in this format due to the setup and loading on the body.
From anecdotal and looking at the research, some people struggle with axial loading. Especially if individuals struggle with mobility within the hips, shoulders or ankles. Or they struggle with extension-based movements such as squatting or deadlifting. Suggesting that single-leg variations without a barbell may be a great soloution.
50% body weight loading on a single leg squat has been shown to be equal to 2x body weight squat by Alex Natera. See here for the paper. 2x body weight is suggested to be the goal for optimal strength for an individual. Decreasing injury risk and improving performance.
Finally, research shows that single-leg training improves power, speed and jump height (here). Specifically, single leg variations of these movements. As most sports occur on one leg it may have a greater transfer to performance and injury prevention.
So potential reasons why you should be using single leg exercises are as follows
Lack of axial loading may mean it is safer
You can get just as strong from single leg strength as bilateral
Speed and Power can be developed just as much, especially single leg speed and power.
