How Can I Make My Non-dominant Side Stronger? 4 Exercises

1. Weight training

If you use free weights, simply switch from dumbbells to barbells to engage the muscles in your non-dominant side.

2. Bench press

Bench presses focus on both sets of pectorals, shoulders, and triceps and forces them to work together in unison, which can help strengthen your non-dominant side.

3. Unilateral exercises

Unilateral exercises deploy single arm or leg movements. These allow you to focus most of your attention on your non-dominant side to strengthen the muscles there.

Low-impact, unilateral lower-body exercises include:

• Side lunge
• Forward lunge
• Backward lunge
• Single-leg or "pistol" squat
• Box step-up

Unilateral upper-body exercises include:

• Single-arm dumbbell shoulder presses or lateral raises
• Single-arm rows or chest presses
• Single-arm standing dumbbell rows
• Single-arm triceps extensions and biceps curls

4. Plyometric exercises

Plyometric exercises can be incorporated into unilateral exercises. Start with low-intensity exercises and gradually move to high-intensity exercises.

Unilateral lower-body plyometric drills include:

• Single-leg push-off (low)
• Lateral push-off (low)
• Lateral box jump (medium)
• Jump split squat (medium)
• Single-leg vertical jump (high)
• Single-leg tuck jump (high)

Complete a set of repetitions with your non-dominant side initially and then move to your dominant side. For example, if your left side is non-dominant, do 3 sets using your left side and 2 sets using your right side.

Strengthening your non-dominant side increases your functional capacity and helps you correct imbalances that can cause aches and injuries. By making your non-dominant side stronger you lower your risk of:

• Injury
• Sore muscles
• Poor circulation
• Spinal misalignment
• Stretched muscles on one side and shortened muscles on the other side