chest symmetry

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posted by pbrandonvirg

Hi, I have been working out for almost 2 years, and I have noticed that my right side(chest) is slightly smaller than the other. Now common sense says that I work the right side a little more than the other, but would that cause back problems for me down the line? I thought maybe somwhere out there someone else has a similar issue and could enlighten me. I just think it would look silly working out just one side in the gym........lol
Any feedback would be great.

posted by cosmic-dust

Not sure if it will cause back problems later on but is there any reason why your right side is smaller? Are you left handed? Try working all muscle fibers on both sides of the chest through even exercises like benchpress with barbell and pushups. But with 2 years training experience i'm not sure how this would have happened.

posted by pbrandonvirg

It's not that it is painfully obvious,like I am a freak to look at, it's just something that I have noticed as of late. My chest exercises are as follows:-
pin loaded chest press(flat and incline), dumbell presses, dips, cable crossovers(from above and pulling upwards from below), and pec-dec. I don't do ALL these exercises in one session, I vary them every week. When I have been doing certain chest exercises, I have been trying to put a slight focus on my right side, thinking that this would make a difference in the long run. Bench press you say? well I don't do them becuase I just don't feel it in my chest when I do it, so I don't.

posted by Protein

throw a few more reps and an extra set in for the other side.Doing 1 side at a time on the pec dec and 1 armed dumbell press in all forms.You should see it come out real fast within 3 weeks depending on your training and diet.I had the same problem with my left bicep and shoulder, then started just throwing in more reps and an extra set for that specific part.Boom its all gravy now.You gotta work each body part out with equal form.Your only as strong as your weakest link.

posted by lil bit

If you weren't feeling the bench press in your chest, you might have been going too low...you should stop shy of hitting your chest, otherwise it transfers the work to your shoulders and your chest misses the benes. Your probably never going to be exactly symmetric, our bodies just aren't built like that, but a little extra work should even out most of the difference.

posted by pbrandonvirg

thanks for the input guys, not sure about the single dumbell raises, To me that would put a fair bit of strain on the back when trying the counter-balance. I'll try the pec-dec scenario, putting in the extra reps per set on the right side, and the same for cable exercises. I'm even stretching the right side at home when I am doing nothing(how pathetic is that....lol). I lknow that I can never be symmetrically perfect, but it something that I have noticed, and just can't avoid noticing the difference.

Thanks again guys

posted by A.B

make sure you use proper form and ignore it.... dont do extra sets to even things out... you will lose proper form that way when you have one body part stronger then the other... it will be worse in the long run if you add more sets or heavier weight to your lagging bodypart

posted by pbrandonvirg

O.K..... A.B ,if what you say is true, and I ignore it and use proper form, then will it correct itself? I understand that 1 side could be stronger than the other, but if I do as you say, then I am doing what I have always doing, and nothing changes........ or maybe I have missed what you are really trying to say...........

posted by Big A

i have the same issue its not freakish its just the way it is, the real kicker is im right handed and my right side is smaller by just a little bit, even around my biceps/triceps for some reason that side is just a little bit smaller.

definately if you arent feeling it in your chest during bench press you arent doing it right, concentrate hard on the center squeeze at the top and as mentioned above stop when you arms are parallel with the floor maybe a little past that point but not much as mentioned above the shock goes from your chest to your shoulders if you go to low.

posted by son_of_jorel135

for sure just a little bit more on the smaller side each time

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