Help With Curls..

[Swift.Birdman.Joe]

I do 1x12 (25lbs.) 1x10 (30lbs.) and 1x8 (35lbs.) curls. I can do all of them with my right arm but with my left arm I can't get the last set. Plus, somedays I'll be able to do 7 of the 8 and other days I can only get 5 out of 8. How can I fix this inconsistency? Also, should I do anything different with my left arm because I can't do 8 on the last set?

[VeganEssentials]

I've always gone with two ways of working around an imbalance -

 

1. Some people swear by avoiding working the strong side for a few weeks while focusing on the weak side. So, they'd lay off doing curls with the stronger arm while paying more attention to working the weaker side for a bit to let one rest up and have the other side catch up a bit.

 

2. If you're only able to get, say, 5 of the reps on your last set of DB curls with one arm and 8 with the other, work that weak side a bit extra afterward. Perhaps add in another few sets for it with the weight you want to get the full 8 reps on (maybe 2 more sets of 4 reps or something), or, drop the weight on that arm and up the reps a bit to do something different. Different people report different results, but usually, when one side lags a bit, work to bring it up with some extra work to try and balance things over time.

 

3. Do barbell work so that when one side gives out, you're done for and cut it at that. Not always what everyone wants to do, but it prevented me from getting much stronger on one side than the other when focusing on the weak side didn't yield results (overhead pressing is where this happens to me). I find that I'm more balanced with barbell pressing now and both shoulders seem to fail simultaneously, but when it comes to DBs, my left side ALWAYS gives out first, no matter what.

 

Just some ideas for you!