Sage-Tips

Is it bad if one arm is stronger than the other?

If your right arm has ever confidently banged out a set of bicep curls or rows at the gym while your left arm has struggled to keep up (or vice versa), you know what it feels like when one side of your body is stronger than the other. Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with you—it happens to pretty much everyone.

Are muscle imbalances normal?

Muscle imbalances are an unfortunate part of the workout process and whilst everyone will have some small difference between their dominant and non-dominant side, it’s not out of the ordinary to develop larger muscle imbalances due to a variety of issues.

Is it normal for one arm to be bigger than the other?

One arm will always be slightly bigger than the other; nobody is perfectly symmetrical. That said, you can help even out the asymmetry a bit by consciously “leading” with that side on bilateral movements, and by allowing it to dictate the volume you do on unilateral movements. Why is my left bicep smaller than the right one?

Is one side of your body stronger than the other side?

If one side is stronger than the other, that stronger side will pretty much always take over during an exercise where both sides are being trained together. For example, a barbell curl. If your right bicep is stronger than your left bicep, your right arm will always do more work during those curls than your left arm will.

Is it normal to have a weak left arm?

It depends on the severity of the weakness in your arm. Most people have a dominant or stronger side which is totally normal and they will develop a small size difference on a muscle group like the pecs.

Should you work out your arms separately?

When you work your arms separately, you allow your body’s natural muscle-balancing system to kick in and reapportion nerve stimulation where it’s required. Once your dumbbell reps are equally challenging for both sides, add barbells back in.