Training one arm makes the other arm stronger and able to do more reps — but not proportionally better
Unilateral High-Load Resistance Training Increases Absolute but Not Relative Muscular Endurance in the Contralateral Untrained Limb
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When you lift weights with just one arm, your other arm gets stronger and can do more reps too — but its strength relative to its size doesn't improve.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 552 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When you lift weights with just one arm, your other arm gets stronger and can do more reps too — but its strength relative to its size doesn't improve.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 552 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Song JS, Kataoka R, Yamada Y, Hammert WB, Kang A, Wong V, Spitz RW, Seffrin A, Kassiano W, Loenneke JP
Related Content
Claims (4)
Training one limb with resistance exercises can result in increased strength in the opposite, untrained limb.
Training one arm with heavy weights three times a week for six weeks can improve the endurance of the opposite, untrained arm, allowing it to perform about 5 to 11 more repetitions in a strength test, possibly because the trained arm's increased strength influences the untrained arm.
Training one arm with heavy weights improves its overall strength and endurance, but does not improve how efficiently that arm can perform repeated movements relative to its body weight or starting capacity, even in the untrained arm.
During unilateral resistance training, gains in maximum strength influence absolute muscular endurance positively and relative muscular endurance negatively, suggesting that these two types of endurance are regulated by different biological mechanisms.