Why Does One Side of My Body Feel More Worked When I Exercise?

It is a fact that exercising daily is crucial for leading a healthy lifestyle and also for mental well being. There are many other benefits that one can achieve with regular exercises ranging from being physical and mental fit to reducing risk of several illnesses. However, some people who often complaint that after rigorously exercising at gym only one size of their body receives more of a workout than the other side. If you also feel that one side of your body is more worked after exercise, then it is the right time to make adjustment in your workout regime.

A feeling of one side of the body more worked is mainly a type of asymmetry, which occurs because one side of human body is stronger than the other side; termed as “side dominance”. This lack of symmetry can occur if one side of your body, either left or right, is stronger than other for using weights and machines in gym. It may also occur when you focus solely on pushing exercises and ignore the significance of balancing the exercises with pulling workout. So, it is very essential for you to follow a balanced workout regime after consulting your fitness trainer so as to prevent such type of asymmetry from occurring after workout.

Human beings usually have one side of the body more dominant than other. As a result, they often use the dominant side for performing all the day to day activities, even for workouts at gym. For day to day activities, most people usually use their right hand and are said to have right side dominance. However, for certain other activities like climbing down the stairs, you may predominantly use the left side. This is human nature.

Some causes of one side of the body being worked out more include

• Being comfortable with the dominant side – Your nature of using only one side of the body to perform day to day activities has been developed over the years because one side of the body is more comfortable doing those activities.
• Compensation for pain on the other side – Some people also make use of one side of their body to avoid the pain developed on the other side of the body. People commonly shift from one side to the other to perform certain activities, lift weight, etc. to avoid pain or discomfort on the side used otherwise. Compensation for pain or discomfort on one side of the body often leads to asymmetry in the body and causes one side of the body to feel more worked out.

These factors make one side of your body more dominant than other. This is also applicable while performing your workouts. If you continuously lift weight and use weight machines at gym using the dominant side of your body, it is likely to feel more worked out than other side after your exercises.

If one side of your body feels more worked after exercises, with proper balancing and adjustment you can overcome from such asymmetry. Here are some of the ways to overcome from such lack of symmetry.

• Free Weights – If one side of your body feels more worked out after exercise, you can overcome such asymmetry by changing the weight exercises. You can stop weight machines at gym and switch to free weights to bring back the symmetry into strength training. Sometimes, when using weight machines only the dominant side of your body takes up the majority of weight, thus making the dominant side feel more worked after exercises. So, in such situation, you must prefer free weight exercises mainly with dumbbells. When you do free weight exercises with dumbbells both sides of your body support equal amount of weight. Performing arm curl exercises with dumbbells in each hand, your both the arms will lift same amount of weight, thus balancing the weight equally on both the sides.
• Weight Machines – If free weight exercises are not suitable for you, then ensure to use weight machines by allowing both the sides of your body to support equal amount of weight. Till the time both the sides of your body develops strength equally, you must always focus on using the weaker side of your body to perform the workouts to gain strength. Moreover, decrease the weight of the dominant side of your body while using the weight machines to balance the weight of your weaker limb. These modifications can help you overcome the asymmetry and will not make one side of your body feel more worked after exercise.
• Push Pull Exercises – Some people often feel that their front side of body is working harder than the back, when making adjustment in the workout program can help. Try to include pulling exercises like seated rows, curls and back pull-downs. Shoulder presses, pushups, triceps dips and more can be included in your workout as these are the best pushing exercises. Performing one type of exercise more can make one side of your body feel more worked after exercise. Hence exercises should be planned with proper balance with both pushing and pulling exercises, bending and straightening exercises, etc. which makes equal use of opposite group of muscles.

For people who regularly exercise or workout in the gym, must plan appropriate exercises and a balanced exercise schedule such that both sides of the body and opposite muscle groups are equally worked out. For people who have injuries, pain or discomfort on any one side of the body, must plan an exercise regime that includes appropriate treatment along with strengthening for each side, based on the condition.