i have a fairly significant muscular imbalance from left to right on my upper body. i am right side dominant and i have also had a left shoulder injury. for the next few months i plan on training to correct this issue before it gets any more pronounced.
my plan is to use as many d-bell/single arm exercises as possible, as well as a change in volume. should i increase volume for the weak side or decrease volume for the strong side?
what good single arm triceps exercises are there? i cant think of too many. (this is going to be a humbling experience)
any other tips or ideas would be appreciated.
p.s. this sucks, no more pullups, barbell benches, or dips.
I hear you - I’ve got an imbalance of my own where my ‘shelf’ on my back is uneven from one scapula to the other. I’m using some of DA’s exercise/rep recommendations for correcting scapular winging, the ones from his Boomin Biceps article. I’m throwing it in as accessory work in the 2nd half of my workout. For me, the winging isn’t a huge priority - I know exactly where the imbalanced imbalance comes from and it doesn’t cause any pain, and i’m equally strong in both arms, but it looks silly and it can’t be good for the nerves in my neck. I’ll probably look into ART, but mainly need to work on my motor patterns in my ‘real life’ stuff.
“should i increase volume for the weak side or decrease volume for the strong side?”
I would do a combo of both. Some workouts increase volume on weak side, and some workouts decrease volume on strong side, depending on heavy your going. In fact, depending on how bad the imbalance, I’d consider doing slightly higher intensity AND volume on the weak side. (ie. heavier weight and a few more reps)
p.s. this sucks, no more pullups, barbell benches, or dips.
You can still do chinups/pullups. Do them with your weak side closer to your body, and palms toward you, and your strong side wide grip facing away. Try to use the strong side as little as possible. This is just shy of doing one arm chinups, since most people (myself included) can’t quite manage one armed chins/pulls.
Tate presses are pretty good plus the looks you get from people are fun. Theres a good link to an article explaining it in Steve Coppola’s thread in the dog pound.
what exactaly is this “scapular winging?” im going to check out the booming biceps article now.
the imbalance is basically my entire left side except my left pec which is bigger than the right. but my upper back, trap, shoulder, biceps. and triceps, on the right are bigger.
i do periodically, experience upper back pain on the left side in the trap area. this has been a problem since i was a teeneager before i even started serious training.
I wouldn’t change the load on either side. I have experianced this as well and found that isolateral movement will help quite a bit, but significantly changeing volume or load will not get you what you are looking for. Basically the already stronger side will no longer progress at a specific amount of work. You will then force the weaker side to match until it is easy enough for both sides. After that, you can increase the load/volume on both sides. Neglecting the stronger side will not make the weaker side catch up in a desirable manner. Though the stronger side may look visually bigger, neglecting it can actually make it the weaker side if you continue to do this for an extended period of time. One or two maximal weight movements once a week on the weaker side may help it catch up quicker. But do not try to even out the balance by tipping it in one direction or the other. Also, try to do more everyday movement on the weaker side. One of the reasons I have found that people have a weaker side is because motor development is much less pronounced. You may even notice that some people have just as much strength in the smaller side but less of the muscle is being activated because of thier particular motor development. Hell, if you can, write with that side! Every little thing counts as far as developing cordination in the weaker side. Of course you will be limited as developing motor function is at its best in early childhood. This doesn’t mean you can’t change it though.
good tips rs. your thoughts on motor development are definitely true. just think about it, it doesnt require strength to brush your teeth, but if you tried to do it with your off hand you would brush half your face. in this instance strength isnt the issue motor coordination is.
i guess ill have to start spanking with the left also, since i spank at such a high vloume that minor change alone should have a pronounced effect on fixing the imbalance.
From what you describe I would bet it’s some sort’ve postural misalignment. It’s hard to say what, but since your left pec is bigger than the right but everything else on the right side is bigger your body is probably trying to compensate somehow. I’d go to a chriropractor or other type of therapist to get the situation evaluated.
