Purpose Performing resistance exercises unilaterally, athletes must activate stabilizing muscles to maintain balance position, and for the same relative load, compressive forces on the spine are reduced providing more safety. Our aim was to compare the effects of resistance training when bilateral and unilateral exercises were used. Methods Twenty-six young handball players first participated in a 6-week control phase consisting of handball training only, and were later divided into a unilateral and a bilateral group in the experimental phase. Before and after the control and experimental phases, tests of horizontal and vertical jumping, lateral running with change of direction, standing and jump shots with the dominant and nondominant arms were performed. Results Simultaneous performance of handball and resistance training resulted in greater progress in power and agility compared to handball training alone. The average progress of the unilateral group was greater on all measured variables. However, the differences reached statistical significance only in triple jump and throwing with the non-dominant arm (p < 0.05). Conclusion Young handball players achieved similar or greater power and agility with unilateral resistance exercises than with bilateral resistance exercises. Considering the benefits unilateral resistance exercises bring, this type of training is highly recommended.
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