SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1602586
Effects of Non-Dominant Side Training on Athletic Performance: A Systematic Review
Provisionally accepted
- 1Yuncheng University, Yuncheng, China
- 2Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
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Evidence suggests that non-dominant side training benefits athletic performance. However, there is a lack of systematic reviews on the effects of non-dominant side training on athletes' performance. This study aims to synthesize existing research on the impact of non-dominant side training on athletic performance. Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, a systematic search was conducted on June 16, 2024, across the VIP Database, PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, EBSCOhost, and CINAHL Plus. The search strategy adhered to the PICOS framework and included a combination of keywords related to non-dominant side training, athletic performance, and experimental studies. After screening 269 identified studies, nine studies were included in this systematic review. The included studies were evaluated using the PEDro scale, with a mean score of 4.22, indicating moderate methodological quality.Analysis of the selected studies revealed that a total of 359 athletes aged 12 to 24 years participated in non-dominant side training interventions. The intervention durations ranged from 8 weeks to 16 months, with training frequencies varying from once to four times per week. The findings demonstrated significant effects of non-dominant side training on athletic technique, strength, change-of-direction speed, jumping ability, balance, and mental rotation tasks. Furthermore, the results indicate that non-dominant side training has a significant impact across different sports disciplines and age groups. These findings provide evidence-based training strategies to optimize athletic performance in various sports.
Keywords: Athlete, Non-dominant side, specialized skills, speed, training effects
Received: 30 Mar 2025; Accepted: 15 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 ZHANG, JIN, SUN and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: CHENGYE JIN, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
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