Until now, most exercise programs have ignored lateral or side-to-side movement, if for no other reason than the technology has been lacking in the training room.

A strong lateral motion training program does nothing less than increase athletic potential—improving balance on the field, working underutilized rotation muscles and reducing injury risk come game day. Thankfully, the technology is here to help athletes of all abilities realize those goals.

The award-winning Change of Direction (C.O.D.) Machine from BILT by Agassi & Reyes is designed for optimum lateral training. Developed and built for athletes who want to pursue sport-specific functional training, it provides variable resistance from a spring-enhanced weight stack. The C.O.D. is modeled after a similar machine made specifically for international tennis champion Andre Agassi by his trainer, Gil Reyes, who aptly saw—and met, with the C.O.D. machine—the need for athletes across all sports to laterally train their bodies for better performance.

Similarly, the Octane LateralX—named the industry’s best elliptical for 2012—offers an active side-to-side lateral motion for users, together with a more traditional stepping motion. By training in all directions, up and down, backwards and forwards, and from side to side, users build up muscle in a holistic way that helps them avoid any risk of injury when moving laterally on the sports field, tennis court, track or any other pursuit. Better still, the active lateral motion provided by the machine increases caloric expenditure by as much as 27%, burning more calories and increasing lower body activity by up to 30%.