This article pays attention to a mistake made by many of the younger bodybuilders carried away by the desire to develop their bodies harmoniously.
Most training people know that when performing exercises for arms with alternation of left and right arm – like alternating dumbbell curls for biceps, alternating hammer curls – the exercise should begin with the weaker limb. This is the so-called principle for priority of the weaker limb. Naturally, the aim is to achieve a harmonious and equipollent development of the muscles.


The mistake that I’d like to draw your attention to is made when this principle is mechanically applied, even to exercises which demand performing a whole series with one limb and then another series with the other. I have in mind an exercise like concentrated curls for biceps, One Arm Triceps Extension, some exercises for development and shaping the calves and for back thigh muscles.
What happens in reality?
If the principle for giving priority to the weaker limb is applied wrongly, the second limb (the stronger) in fact is the one that gets priority. Why? Take for example the exercise concentrated curls for biceps.  If your pulse is 110 per minute in the beginning of the series, it will reach 160-165 at the end of it. The cardiovascular system will get activated gradually during the series and when you begin work with the second hand, what happens is maximum activity of the blood-circulation system and wholly preserved muscle energy potential. It is clear that the second limb gets the advantage due to the stronger blood flow, which allows better hypertrophy of the muscles.
Consequently, in such kinds of exercise you must begin with the stronger limb and finish with the weaker.
In case there is a great difference in the development and strength of the two limbs (which is not so rare), it is necessary to work out a program for the number of repetitions to be done with each limb. It is quite natural that the number of repetitions for the weaker limb be optimum number and those for the better developed be decreased. Otherwise the asymmetry might deepen.
If you have not paid attention to the symmetry in developing your limbs until now, it is advisable that you measure them and assess their development, which every advanced sportsman is aware of and controls.