djl

I've been training for about a month now--mainly weight loss, but to also gain a good core set of muscles for future expansion.

I recently noticed that my right bicep is noticeably larger than my left (not cartoonishly different, but noticeable nonetheless). I'm not sure if this is because I use my right arm as the primary lifting arm for my daughter.

Anyway, anyone have any hints about how to continue improving my right arm, while letting my left catch up?

My wife also says that when I bench heavy, it's obvious that my right side has more strength than my left.

Thanks!

EME

This is actually pretty normal for a person who has just begun training.

When you aren't specifically weight training, your body adapts to it's needs. Often your dominant arm, even your dominant side, is more developed than the lesser used side.

One of the best ways to even things out is to do compound exercises that force both sides to work together to complete a lift.

For instance, for arms, doing an exercise like a straight bar curl, or a preacher curl is going to force the less developed ( and often weaker ) arm to do more to complete the lift in tandum with the stronger arm.

The KEY to this working properly and evening out your development is that you use perfect form on the exercises. You CANNOT let one side of the bar rise more quickly, or otherwise cheat in some way that allows additional muscles to compensate for the lack of strength on the weak side.

For instance, when you do a bench press, you have to absolutely certain that you are pushing up the bar evenly. The same applies to your form when doing a barbell curl. This means you may have to do slightly less weight than your strong side is capable of until your weaker arm catches up.

By focusing on compound exercises, you will force the weaker and smaller muscle to "keep up" with the stronger muscle and this will slowly even out your overall development.

Good luck with your training, and please let me know if you have any additional questions.

- EME

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djl

Thanks, EME, I appreciate the advice.

PROD1GY

After you do like 4 sets of curls per arm, do a 5th one on the other arm

A_N_91

Like EME said, use good form and don't let one arm go faster/slower than the other. But if the imbalance is really bad, I would suggest using dumbells and do 1 or 2 extra sets on the weak side.

powerman2000

What is the actual size difference?

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SoMdHunter

That was exactly what got me to using DB instead of the BB. I am an archery hunter and right handed. My right arm was vastly superior to my left. It took some hell of a doing, but I have finally gotten my left as strong as my right. Although, when I do DB curls, I can still tell my left weakens faster then my right.

Use lower weights, perfect form and keep at it. The weaker side will be forced to catch up. It just takes time.

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DJSTARER

switch hands doing u know what.....

But seriously, EME is right. Just give it time. It will even out. Make sure you are using both ams equaly.

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TheRock

Use Dumbbells.

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EME

I actually disagree strongly with the advice to use dumbbells for the reasons I mentioned above.

It's not that dumbbells are bad, but using a barbell will force the less developed arm to adapt to keep up with the more developed arm.

When you isolate the weeker and smaller arm, you take away the "need" for the weaker arm to keep pace with the stronger arm.

- EME

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skelooth

if it's any consolation, no one is perfectly symmetrical (except for perhaps arnie in his prime ) my left arm is up to a full quarter inch bigger than my right depending on time of day / if i'm pumped or not. My left leg is also a pinch longer than the right, and the foot is just a pinch bigger. On top of that, I was born with 6 fingers on my right hand and had the 6th surgically removed.

It's just how it works. Everyone has two eyes and two ears, but no one's eyes and ears are perfectly symmetrical.

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TheRock

Not necessarily. What happens when you increase the weight? :boink:

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John Gargani

EME has given some sound advice and then one by one, people are either ignoring it or trying to undermine it......

DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OF THE WEIGHT!!!!

for example: if you do choose to use dumbbells and do , say, 8 reps: you can then turn around and say: why not dumbbells to correct my "problem", because I was still able to do the same amount of reps with each arm, including, obviously, the arm that appears smaller....

here is where you go wrong!

DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF REPS YOU DO!!!

second axiom here:

let me quote Shakespeare: "the play is the thing".....

bodybuilding is all about HOW you do things: numbers, weights, etc are all foolers and misleaders.....

what I am saying is this: it may SEEM like you are doing the same number of reps with the dumbbells, but your form, your contraction, your Range of motion and many other subtle factors may NOT be the same!

when you are using a long bar motion and you are visually lifting it even, there is more likelihood that you are distributing the work load more evenly between the two arms.

even with that, there is a built in discrepancy, and you may be overcompensating with the stronger side, but if the bar is moving in a very controlled fashion , and SEEMS to be even and flowing machine like, then you are the doing the very best possible to achieve the effect that you are looking for.

I agree that the original poster needs time, as this is a common problem with many new lifters, and with time, he will get even out his whole physique better........

bodybuilding is a long haul affair: anyone looking for quick fixes should find another sport.

SoMdHunter

Really? I thought using DB's would be the best way to get the weaker caught up with the stonger. I see guys all the time bench pressing and one side of the bar is always lower than the other. One guy's "tilt" was so bad he didn't use the retainer rings on the bar and the plates slid off on one end, and naturally the other. Real scary.

When doing DB's, seems the weaker arm will be forced to try to keep up with the weights and reps. Curious how it all comes together though.

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SoMdHunter

I wouldn't say everyone is ignoring it, nor are they underminding it. But I would say reps and weights have everything to do with it, assuming perfect form is used on every single rep, which is alot like chicken lips......damn hard to find. Rarely do I see anyone (myself included) use perfect form on every rep with every routine.

It is obvious there are different views on the original question, which, by the way still stands.

Given the varying answers, I would then have to suggest to the original poster, try using both in the same movement, then switch to single arm movements, and judge for yourself. That is where the real answer lies.

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EME

Man... did anyone actually ready what I wrote above?


"One of the best ways to even things out is to do compound exercises that force both sides to work together to complete a lift."


"The KEY to this working properly and evening out your development is that you use perfect form on the exercises. You CANNOT let one side of the bar rise more quickly, or otherwise cheat in some way that allows additional muscles to compensate for the lack of strength on the weak side."

"By focusing on compound exercises, you will force the weaker and smaller muscle to "keep up" with the stronger muscle and this will slowly even out your overall development."

"When you isolate the weeker and smaller arm, you take away the "need" for the weaker arm to keep pace with the stronger arm."


When you work each arm independantly, the arm becomes it's own entity. It is no longer forced to work as a pair to complete the lift.

When you force the weaker arm to work as a pair, the laws of physics require that it exert the same amount of force to complete the lift as it's pair. This forces the muscle fibers in the arm to adapt to be able to handle the load that's being required. Bodybuilding is about forcing your body to adapt.

Simply doing more sets with the weaker arm is not the most effective or efficient way to force it to adapt to the size and strength of the stronger arm.

The best way to bring the weaker arm up to the level of it's stronger partner is to force it work with it and adapt.

This concept is applied to with to our armed forces in basic training. We don't take weaker bodies off to the side and train them on their own. We put them in as part of a team and truly force them to keep pace with the stonger bodies. This truly forces them to adapt much quicker than if we took them off and trained them by themselves. In the short term, this type of training may slow down the development of the strongest of the group, BUT, when everyone is brought to the same level, the entire group can progress faster from that point forward.

When you have a weaker or smaller member of a pair of bodyparts, the worst thing you can do is continue to train it seperately. In fact, the most common reason that condition resulted in the first place, is that both arms have not been doing the same thing over the years.

I am in a similar situation due to my recent injury. My left arm has atrophied and lost over 2 1/2 inches at one point due to the immobilization required after the injury.

I have recently been cleared to begin some training again, and was able to choose between several arm exercises to start back with. The exercise I chose to use was hammer strength preacher curls.

After each arm workout, my left ( atrophied ) arm is noticeabley more sore than my right arm. This is because its' being forced to work harder to complete the reps in tandum with my right arm. However, this is according to plan.

Over the coarse of the three arm workouts I have done since being allowed to return to training, my left arm has grown three times faster than my right arm, and now the difference between the two arms is less than 1 inch.

The speed at which my arms will even out will be quicker than yours will, due to the nature of the discrepency in size. However, the fastest, most effective way to bring up the symmetry in your arms, is to force them to work together... just like I am doing with mine during recovery.

- EME

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A_N_91

A lot of good posts in this thread...But what EME is saying is true and I'll be definately trying to fix my problems with that way.

A quick question, my triceps are the same size, but the strength is a big difference. When I do exercises like CGBP or pushdowns, my left tricep gets a HUGE pump/burn at 8-12 reps while my right tricep hasn't felt a thing at all. I mean, the right one is basically warming up while my left tricep is getting a hard workout.

With a problem like this would you still prefer what you're saying or dumbells in this case?

djl

Looks like about 1/4 to 1/2" difference.