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I'm looking for some help with regards to my arm strength. My right arm is weaker than my left.

A couple of years ago I dislocated my right shoulder. I was given the all-clear from the Dr's when this had healed (after a few weeks or so) and attended my physio, who, after a few more weeks, also gave me the all-clear.

However, when i'm in the Gym, i notice that my right arm is weaker than my left. For example, if I try arm curls with my right arm using a 10kg weight, it is a lot harder than when on my left arm.

Is there a way that I can rectify this - get both arms to the same strength and ensure that I am working them out equally?

Thanks J

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    Keep working out and let time do it's job. When using dumbbells, work the right arm first, and then the left(same amount). Every one has a weak side, after a long time of working out, it will even out(not completely) Since you are using your dominant side more(Don't quote me on this tho, i have a friend whose dominant side is weaker).
    – s3v3ns
    Commented Mar 12, 2015 at 14:16
  • Some injuries are just are not going to come back 100%. I had a partial tear to a rota cuff and even after 6 years it is not even. 4 years before I could throw ball. You may have done some muscle damage that is going to take a while to heal.
    – paparazzo
    Commented Mar 17, 2015 at 17:54
  • I have a similar problem. I have double-jointed shoulders. about 6 months ago, my right shoulder popped out (much more than normal) while lifting some heavy weights straight above my head. It was painful for a long time, but it's fine now. The doctor didn't detect that anything was wrong from the xray. In years past, my left has ached from exercise. Now, depending on what and how I'm lifting, either side is weaker. If I lay on my chest, my right shoulder touches the ground, but the left doesnt. My left shoulder tends to stop "helping" at the benchpress long before the right
    – Premier Bromanov
    Commented Mar 17, 2015 at 18:39

2 Answers 2

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Sure you can, but it's going to take time.

One of the major things I've noticed is my dominant arm is stronger than my non-dominant. In this case I happen to be a lefty...sinister, I know...

Anyway, what I found worked for me is to start all my single arm movements with my weaker arm, and finish with it. Basically forcing my weaker arm to rep 1-2 more reps than my stronger arm. Keep doing this with all arm-isolated or shoulder-isolated movements. Depending on your frequency, in about a month you should be able to see noticeable improvements in the strength of your weaker muscle area.

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In my case my dominant side was weaker than the other side. I do not know if was the right approach but I used to stop at 2 reps lower than my limit of the weaker side. For example my left hand was stronger than my right(though I am right handed). For a single bicep curl, I used to do 8 reps with my left(even if I could do 12), and do 10 with my right(which was my limit). Over a period of a month or two I noticed that both my arms were of equal strength.

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