uneven development of left and right side of body

[jbobni]

Hello.
I've a question. It's regarding my body composition. I've been going to the gym for almost a year now and have recently notice that my left side of body is noticeably more developed than my right side of the body.
For example my left breast muscle is bigger and shaped more perfectly than the right counterpart. It's the same with my shoulders, arms and legs.
Now I know that human body is not 100% symetric, but this is too visible.

And before you suggest me to use dumbbells instead of barbell when doing exercise - I AM doing that.

Any advice? Thank you.

[Stefan 93]

Work towards one-armed (one-legged) push-ups (and maybe one-legged squats for the future).
If your breasts are so different then maybe you are doing pec exercises too much.
You don't need big breasts for anything and they don't look nice. Martial artists have nice ones. Everyone laughs at big boobs on men, even when they are big because of the muscles. They look nice only if you have big back, yoke...

[Crow]

...And before you suggest me to use dumbbells instead of barbell when doing exercise - I AM doing that.

That doesn`t matter, if you happen to do it the wrong way...

Any advice? Thank you.

Concentrate on proper form (doesn`t matter which version: barbells or dumbbells) and stop when the movements gets uneven. Perhaps you need a training partner to monitor it for you. ...

http://www.exrx.net/Questions/ExerciseGeneral.html

[jbobni]

Thanks for the tips.

But why should I stop doing the exercise when movement gets uneven?
A friend told me to do exercise with dumbbells and use heavier dumbbell for that side that is weaker... I'm skeptical about that.

My aim is not to have huge chest. I'm doing all exercises for all parts of my body. I am not focused on my chest alone. But the chest is most visible as it is un-even...

[Crow]

...But why should I stop doing the exercise when movement gets uneven?

Because at that moment the stronger side takes over and helps the weaker side (with barbells). Or with dumbells you want to train the weaker side and just maintain the stronger side, so you stop when form breaks on the weaker side.

A friend told me to do exercise with dumbbells and use heavier dumbbell for that side that is weaker... I'm skeptical about that. ...

At the same time? Or when doing one-armed DB Bench Press? I haven`t heard about that but that doesn`t mean anything... What did he say about sets/reps when using these different dumbbells? Something like doing 8 reps on the weaker side for example and then doing only 8 reps with the lighter dumbbell on the stronger side? This would be a similar way to what I suggested.

[Crow]

Another source on how to adress "the problem":
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/traini ... e-qa.html/

[poptart]

Hi jbobni,
Since previous posters have touched upon unilateral exercises, I will address the part about bilateral exercises.

IMO bilateral exercises (exercises that work both sides of the body) can also be used to address muscle imbalance.

When doing bilateral exercise (such as bench press), focus on consciously trying to activate the weaker side of your chest by paying more attention to the right side of your chest throughout the whole movement. Whether it's going up or down, make sure that the bar is even on both sides. Never let the dominant side take over the weaker side. Also, make sure to squeeze the chest when it reaches the top.

[jbobni]

Hi. Sorry for not replying back sooner. Thanks for all your input. I will try to focus more on my "weaker side".

My chest workout routine is usually the following:
warming up
bench press
1 set of light weights (40kg to start with), 8 times
1 set 60kg, 8 times
1 set of 80kg, 6 times
1 set of 90kg, 4 times
1 set of 100kg 2 times (at this weight I can feel that my weaker side is failing)
1 set of 60kg 8 times

then i switch to incline bench press with dumbbells
1 set 40kg total, 8 times
1 set 50kg total, 6 times
1 set 60kg total, 6 times
1 set 68kg total, 4 times (at this weight I can feel that my weaker side is failing)
1 set 40kg total, to failure

And this is basically it.

I usually do some push-ups at the end of my session (when stretching..).

Should I change that?

[Kenny Croxdale]

Hello.
I've a question. It's regarding my body composition. I've been going to the gym for almost a year now and have recently notice that my left side of body is noticeably more developed than my right side of the body.
For example my left breast muscle is bigger and shaped more perfectly than the right counterpart. It's the same with my shoulders, arms and legs.
Now I know that human body is not 100% symetric, but this is too visible.

And before you suggest me to use dumbbells instead of barbell when doing exercise - I AM doing that.

Any advice? Thank you.

Noticeably More Developed

I suspect that while there many be some degree of difference, I doubt that it is "Noticeably" different.

In working with individuals, those who believe there is a "Noticeably" difference in one side of the body being larger/smaller than the other are seeing things that no one else can see.

Analogy

It similar to thin women who look in the mirror and see themselves as being fat.

Ask Others

Before you make yourself crazy over nothing, consider asking other to give you some feed back.

With that said, you cannot preface the question was...

"The left side of body is noticeably more developed than my right side of the body, doesn't it."

You need to ask a more general question such as, "Do you see areas that I need to work on?"

If you get feed back supporting your believe, your right.

If no on see it, it all in your head.

Kenny Croxdale