Strong vs Weak side reps

trochanter
trochanter Posts: 76 Member
edited November 25 in Fitness and Exercise
Most of us have a dominant side, myself more so since a C5-C6 disc prolapse.

On single side weight exercises I always start with my weak side first. Let's say I'm doing a set of 10 reps and max out on 8. Would you do 8 or 10 on your stronger side. I have a fear on overdeveloping my already dominant side.

Replies

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    I would do 8 on the weak side, 10 on the strong, then go back to the weak side and do 2-4 more.
  • Katzedernacht
    Katzedernacht Posts: 266 Member
    I always do my weak side first, I make the same number of reps, I could do more with the stronger side but I don't.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    edited April 2018
    Just a PS to add that although it's a good thing to work on you imbalances, you may never completely equalize your sides, it's just part of the body. The body isn't always perfectly symmetrical. Sometimes the sides are aligned differently, different sizes, shapes, and other things we have no control over. Look at your face! My eyebrows are placed and shaped slightly differently, my smile is a little crooked, my jaw isn't perfectly uniform, some people's eyes are not exactly the same. This continues throughout my body. One leg is longer, my hips are aligned differently, etc. So we just do the best we can! That's the important thing.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    I start with my weak side and then repeat that amount on my strong side and leave it at that. I also use the amount of weight my weak side can handle.

    You should see the difference in the size of my biceps, it's quite noticeable.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    I do the same amount of reps on both sides, even if I have to take a quick break with the weak side.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    I always just do the same on both sides, and never pay attention to which side i'm doing first. i dont think any of it even matters.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    I start with my left side (right band dominant.) Do my prescribed reps then make sure to do the same for my right side. I personally never so more or less reps on either side in order to keep everything in balance.
  • ap1972
    ap1972 Posts: 214 Member
    I struggle with my weaker side on certain exercises, I always do same weight and reps but find form an issue if I use a weight big enough for my dominant side.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    edited April 2018
    I have grown more and more dissatisfied with the term "weak side"

    Preferred options

    Dominant/non-dominant
    Stronger/Strong

    I'm not training to be weak.

    But, to the point, yes, don't train your Dominant/Stronger side harder than your non-dominant/strong side, as that will just exaggerate and exacerbate the discrepancy.

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  • trochanter
    trochanter Posts: 76 Member
    If you train both sides to failure but respective reps to reach failure are 8/10 non-dominant/dominant have both sides not been trained as hard as each other?

    Food for thought!!
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    trochanter wrote: »
    If you train both sides to failure but respective reps to reach failure are 8/10 non-dominant/dominant have both sides not been trained as hard as each other?

    Food for thought!!

    If you train both sides to failure and you use 50 lb dumbells on one side and 15 lb on the other, have both sides been trained as hard?

    Same answer.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited April 2018
    trochanter wrote: »
    If you train both sides to failure but respective reps to reach failure are 8/10 non-dominant/dominant have both sides not been trained as hard as each other?

    Food for thought!!

    No - the volume lifted matters too, not just the degree of "failure".

    To answer the original question - I train my non-dominant and not so strong side (is that OK @stanmann571 :) ) first and that sets the mark for my stronger and dominant side.

    I had an extreme leg strength difference after serious knee injuries and it really messed with my back. I even had to reprogram everyday tasks such as standing, stair climbing etc. to stop me favouring the stronger leg.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    I'd have to know your goal before I could answer correctly.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    I don't know what it is like for you with a cervical spine disk injury.
    But I have a meniscus tear that led me to really favor my non-injured knee for about a year. Long enough that the atrophy in the injured leg was visibly apparent.
    Now that I am trying to even out, I just do single-side exercises, like box step-ups with weight, and do the same number of reps for each side. I figure the weaker side will be working harder because it is weaker.
    It is working out well and it seems to be working pretty fast.
    I think it is actually pretty hard to be uneven. The real issue for me is to retrain my body not to favor the non-injured side now that the pain is gone. It has taken some months. But bilateral is the natural, instinctive pattern of movement and it comes.
    Strength is an awful lot about neural adaptation and muscle activation. The amount of muscle tissue one has can be an issue, but it is usually less of one.
    Studies have shown that people have a dominant side and that dominant side often is significantly stronger -- as much as 30 percent, for the quad, even for soccer players, who, with all the running they do, would even out. Still, weight lifters tend to have less of that lopsided strength than other athletes -- even when they predominantly use barbells, which, tends to just naturally equalize your sides.
  • KarenSmith2018
    KarenSmith2018 Posts: 302 Member
    My PT recommends 2 reps less on my stronger side compared to my weaker side to try and minimise the imbalance (ie get the weaker side stronger and maintain the strength in the stronger side). Seems to be working. Hopefully with the imbalances lessened out my bilateral lifts will increase as both sides will be working in unison not one side doing most of the work.
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