Hey guys,

 

Since around late June, I have been dealing with imbalances, both size and strength. I truly believe I have tried EVERYTHING. I only use dumbells and never use barbells. To be honest, the imbalances started when I began using dumbells more often, so now I am stuck only using them because that's how you supposedly fix imbalances - It just hasn't been working.

 

My imbalances are in my Lats, Traps, and Chest. My Arms and Legs are okay.

 

I am right handed and my right hand is clearly stronger than my left. Could it be uneven grip strength?

 

When I do pull ups and chin ups, the right side of my back always gets a better workout because I naturally pull more with my right side. I have tried focusing on my left when I do them but it doesn't work. My right side always gets a bigger pump than my left. This also happens in my chest. I get a bigger pump in my right pec than my left.

 

My left front deltoid is clearly smaller than my right, just like the whole upper left side of my body. Also, the upper portion of my left pec is a lot less full and less dense than my right. There's even like an indent in the upper left of my chest where is feels like there isn't any muscle tissue. My whole right pec is bigger than my left. My right pec always gets a better workout than my left even with forced repitions.

 

This is important: When I do incline dumbell press, I have some soreness in my left shoulder. It's nothing sharp, it's just noticably uncomfortable. I went in front of the mirror and did basic wieghtless movements with my arms, like arm circles and standing chest presses, to see how my arms naturally reacted to said movements. My right arm looked and felt a lot smoother than my left in both movements. When doing the standing chest press movement, my right arm looks proper and my right hand was in line with my nipple line. My left arm however, went higher and wider and my left hand was in line with my armpit. Maybe I am doing this same movement naturally when I do my dumbell presses?

 

I don't know what to do with my Traps. I am currently doing dumbell shrugs but my right ride always gets a better workout than my left.

 

This may seem dumb, but I hate when I put shirts on and my right side fits better than my left. It's just irritating and depletes my confidence in and out of the gym.

 

Advice is appreciated

Thanks

Ben

Ben,

 

Lifting and physique transformation is a marathon not a sprint. How long have you been lifting consistently? Sometimes it can take a couple of years for imbalances to correct themselves. Often times the perceived imbalances are in your head. I am right handed yet I am convinced the right side of my upper body (chest and arms) are smaller than my left side though nobody but me "sees" it.

 

As for strength, it takes time for the non-dominant side to learn to fire the same amount of neurons as the stronger side so strength is symmetrical. Your brain is cross-wired at the Corpus Collosum in the center of your brain. This means the left side of your brain controls the right side of your body and visa versa. When you are one-side dominant, it means the neural pathways are more efficient and activate more muscles fibers. The weaker side can reach the same level of neuron efficiency and activation with weight training. The amount of time it will take for full parity varies by individual.

 

Don't give up and be consistent. Before you know it all things will be equal. If you give up now, you will never reach this goal :-)

 

John

Ben,

 

 

John already covered you well. Most muscle imbalances can be seen in arms, traps, lats, quads and chest. You can do 2 things to make it right.

 

1.) You can use dumbbell equiptment. Dumbbell deserve for a better pair of muscles, it is the best and most effective way for isolation exercises.

 

2.) You can also use Barbell. In this case, try to maintain the weight that your weaker arms can handle. As time goes by, your strong arms won't grow any more but your weaker side will catch up.

 

And the most important is.. as what John said......."Don't give up and be consistent. Before you know it all things will be equal.

 

Body transformation is not a RACE, its a JOURNEY or ADVENTURE of what we called LIFE.

 

I would like to give my input, but I am waiting for you to respond to @jmboiardi and @mcmike

Thanks John!

 

Sorry for the late reply, I got caught up in school work and forgot that I posted this on the forums.

 

I started lifting about two years ago, but I have only been lifting consistently since May. I wish it was just something in my head, but I've noticed that a lot of times my right side is more sore than my left. But I use the same weights and I used forved repetitions on my left side on exercises like chest press. Really, the upper left of my chest hardly has any density.

 

I never really thought of the science behind it as you said about the neuron efficiency. That at least helps me understand my issue.

 

Ben

Ben,

 

The shape of muscles is pre-determined genetically and can't be changed. My left pec is fuller and thicker than my right. It is just the roll of the genetic dice for me. While you can't change muscle shape you can at least increase the size and strength of what you have. Your weaker side will be more sore and fatigue quicker than your stronger side. Again, neural efficiency and muscle fiber density come in to play. No one is 100% symmetrical. All we can do is work on what we have instead of wishing we had what we don't to build a great physique :-)

 

John

Thanks again John,

 

I have noticed that my clavicle isn't symmetrical. My left side had a curve while my right I straight across. Maybe that's a fault in my genetics. I appreciate the positive motivation!

 

What are your thoughts on one arm presses? I do all single arm movements in my arms and my weaker arm always gets a better workout since, and it's slowly catching up. Do you think it'd work the same for chest?

 

Ben

Hey Scott,

 

I responded. Sorry, I got caught up in school work at the end of the semester. I'm usually on top of these posts.

 

I'd appreciate your input!

No worries, looks like you got a lot of great input.

Have you thought about getting a spotter to help with forced reps on the weaker side??

Thanks for the reply!

 

I usually have a spotter helping me get forced reps, but it just hasn't been working. For some reason, my right stronger side always gets a better workout. I can easily get a better workout on my weaker left arm when I lift arms specifically. It's primarily my chest that forced repitions haven't been working for.

 

As I just told John, I'm considering trying to do a complete routine with one arm presses/flys. I went into the gym yesterday and tried the one arm incline dumbbell press with a lower weight and I really activated the upper part of my left pec more than I do when I have a dumbbell in each hand. I also didn't experience any soreness in my left shoulder when doing the exercise as I do with a dumbbell in each hand.

 

Do you have any thoughts on that technique Scott?

 

Ben