Single leg work definitely has a ton of benefits – Just like Cosgrove says – most of life occurs on one leg.

My opinion is that technique has a lot to do with it. There’s a really noticeable transfer from quad power to hamstring/glute/stabiliser power as you descend which I think is tricky. So perhaps it is not that the hamstrings are tight but that they are not getting ‘cued’ properly?

I suspect that ankle flexion also comes into play and people with tight ankles might have problems.

The above is speculation though, I don’t know for sure.

After discovering the unilateral movements I wondered why aren’t they more widely promoted. Eventually, and after some experience with them I think that these movements are more humbling, and more challenging…They do not allow one to lift a really heavy weight, and they do not promote the myopic one muscle isolation work.

Beyond the benefits which are anlysed in the article, for my understanding the one leg lifts are more effective. The balance requirements are huge…I am not refering only to the ability you need to stand on one leg which developes the ankle knee hip musculator like nothting else, but also the effort required for the lifting of the other unsupported part of the body, which supercharges all your core muscles.

One leg squat is not “1/2 squat”. It is a totally different, better(my view) exercise. The way that it loads the ankle, the knee, and especially the hip has NO relationship to what the normal squat does. All the glutei muscles and the all important rotators come into play big way.
On the other hand the bipodal squat overworks the back extensors, hence the usal problems of most heavy squaters with their lower back.

If you watch Gubernatrix or Ross Enamait performing the one leg squat, you may think it is easy! Doing it on a bench increases the instability. Keeping a dumbell with the other hand makes the lift even more unbalanced (which is good if done both sides!).

Be strong, be healthy!