Uneven strength

[sixx788]

Hi all,
I just started back to working out again. It's been awhile. But when I trained my biceps the other day, I noticed that my left side is considerable weaker than my right side. How do I go about balancing it out?

Thanks!

 

[kathryn]

There are several things you can try:
First, make sure to do all your upper body work with dumbbells instead of a barbell, as this will force your weaker side to work rather than "go along for the ride" while the strong side pulls more weight (literally and figuratively).

You can do your left side first, doing 1-arm moves, and only do as many with the right side as the left can do. Unfortunately, this may make the right side weaker, so it's not a good option.

Do one-arm curls, starting with the right side. Let's say you can do 10 reps at 12#. Do the same curls, same weight on the left, and when you've reached your limit (let's say 8 reps), you can either 1) do negative reps by using your right hand to help (but only as much as you need) the weight up on the positive part of the move, and lower slowly using just the left arm till you get the full number of reps or 2) take a short break, then do another rep or two, continuing until you hit the goal number of reps.

Another option is to do one more set of exercises for the left than for the right.

 

[NurseLRT]

I have the same problem, I always use dumbells, but my left bicep is weaker, not as defined as right. I try to make a point of holding my 30 pound 19 month old on my left side instead of right. I will try to use the tips in the last post.

Lori

 

[Runcrazy]

I have this problem also. S&H though has really helped me. They are still not quite even, but they're getting closer.

Jo