Muscle imbalance?

[precision response]

Hey there,

I'm 20 and just getting into a bit of lifting, nothing terribly serious at the moment, just looking to add a little bit of bulk to my chest and shoulders - not looking to get 'big' by any means.

I'm about 6 foot, about 145 pounds - so naturally quite lean.

Anyway, onto topic, I've noticed that as hard as I try not to, my right arm/pec has a great tendency to take on a greater workload than my left (presumably because I've played so much right-handed tennis throughout my adolescence, hence it is stronger) when I do compound exercises.

For example, straightforward bench press, as much as I consciously attempt to lift equally with both sides, I always feel my right side pushing that little bit harder, and stretching that little bit further. Now, after about 6 weeks of lifting, I am beginning to notice more mass in my right pec than in my left (particularly noticeable on the lower part of my pec).

Are there any ways to counter the affects I'm suffering? I've been told to start benching with dumbbells, and I have tried, but as my left pec is inherently weaker than my right, I feel like I unintendedly use a different technique (more arm/tri? I can't quite pinpoint it other than I feel more 'strain' on my right pec) to my right side whilst lifting, despite trying my hardest to lift equally.


Any input would be appreciated.

Happy hitting!

 

[Rickson]

It's good that you're using free weights instead of nautilus equipment because you'd definitely cheat by using more right arm than left. Stay away from chest press machines and that includes the Smith machine, and focus on barbells and dumbbells. Try some dips as these are a great upper body developer and one of the best exercises ever for awesome chest development.

 

[Andy Hewitt]

After lifting for over a year and a half my right arm is still stronger than my left. It used to bother me at first but with some advice and a little help I learned to keep my barbell curls/presses as even as possible.

You should stick to dumbell presses for a few months though. That's what I did when I started.

 

[circusmouse]

I'd also recommend using your left hand for "self abuse". Every little bit helps.

 

[OrangeOne]

just looking to add a little bit of bulk to my chest and shoulders

Speaking of muscle imbalances.... i seriously hope you've read enough about lifting to not just focus your work on chest and shoulders. If you haven't, google "opposing muscle groups" / "agonists & antagonist muscles", etc etc.

Basically, pretty much every pushing muscle in the body is pair with a pulling muscle on the other side of the body (chest / back, tricep / bicep, quadricep / hamstring, etc etc). If you're working one side, it's important
that you work the other to keep the body in rough balance.

Most males - esp. those new to lifting - have a tendency to work the muscles they can see in a mirror, and focus on chest, biceps, maybe shoulders. Each muscle gets stronger and tighter, and can then pull the body around into a 'monkey' style look of rounded shoulders - it's really unattractive, and worse, it's horrid for your long-term body-health, it increases the risk of injury. The irony is that working the back actually pulls the shoulders back and opens up the chest imho, making the chest & arms look bigger anyways!

Is summary: read about lifting a little. Even if you go buy 'weights for dummies' or similar, or search on here, or whatever - if you understand what you're doing you'll be safer in the long run.

 

[Midlife crisis]

Just a couple of things. First, size does not have to equal strength (which is really force generating capability in the case of lifting). But more on this in a moment.

As others have said, try and use equipment when doing upper body resistance movements in which the two sides are not rigidly connected. There are machine-type bench presses in which both sides act independently or have some degree of freedom of movement so that you can tell if you aren't pressing equally. Using barbells or freeweights would be ideal, because as a person training for an athletic event, you want to be able to not only generate a lot of force but also to be able to train your body to be balanced in resisting the force. The act of trying to balance a freeweight bench press is what makes it as useful as it is. A secondary benefit is that you won't be able to lift as much as if you were pressing against a rigid bench press machine, possibly saving you from injury in your wrist or elbow from body contortions in just trying to lift the weight.

When you do any type of press movement, try to be aware of your elbow position. You want those to be symmetrical from side to side. Most people with a strength imbalance will hold their elbows in different positions when doing a press type movement, and this can also result in the muscle size imbalance you see.

Back to the original point, which is that size does not always mean strength. If you play a one-handed sport, the muscles on the side you use are going to be much more vascularlized than the side you don't use. When you're at rest, these smaller blood vessels are mostly constricted and size differences won't appear as large as when you are actively exercising the muscles and these blood vessels relax to allow maximum blood flow.

 

[cncretecwbo]

when I first started lifting, there was a huge difference between my right and left arms, like my right arm never got tired but the left would be dying. Eventually with just making sure to push myself as hard as possible, they evened out. So i would say just make sure to do the exact same thing with each arm, and maybe bring some one to lift with you so they can spot you and keep your form right.

 

[cncretecwbo]

also, something I noticed about myself is that my abs developed differently, and I was thinking that since I hit a majority of forehands, maybe that trained one side more than the other or something, just an observation, probably not very helpful for you though haha.

 

[Afterhours]

Hi. I think one exercise you have to be careful about is the deadlift. Some people like to use an alternating grip (underhand/overhand). I've heard that it can lead to imbalance trap development. If you happen to use an alternating grip I think you should switch grips everytime you complete a set. Good luck!