Arms Not Symetrical

[matheje]

I am right-handed and my right arm has always been smaller than my left. both my left bicep and left tricep are larger than the right arm...buit I don't notice any appreciable difference in strength.

Any ideas on why and how I can gain better balance?
I would have thought the dominant arm would be bigger...not the other way around!

[Brolic]

ur left is bigger, bc it gets to rest more

[Brolic]

use DBs

[matheje]

ur left is bigger, bc it gets to rest more

Ya know I always believed it was something like that...and possibly could be impacted to some degree by the fact that the dominant arm (the right) has been used so much more over the years that it didn't need to grow in order to be as strong as the left.

I do use DB's, in fact more than I use barbell.

[bb4life]

my right arm is somewhat shorter than my left... probably from playing baseball my entire life. it's not noticeable unless i'm flexing with my arms up. it looks goofy though bc it makes my right bicep look a lot bigger than my left. strength is the same in both arms.... just wish i could get my left arm to look as big as my right

[somewhatgifted]

ITs pretty common actually... Heres my theory.. Lets think about arm wrestling.. If you have better form you use your body weight to win not sheer strength so your donminant arm is usually waay better. In weight lifting its opposite you want to eliminate your body from helping ie. isolation. With your dominant arm you will have a more "intelligent" dexterity and therefore more cheating. Your left arm is "dumb" and just struggles to do the lift, not trying to cheat it up with complicated movements and in time gets bigger and stronger though involuntary great form. The body will always try to do things the easiest most efficient way. Im betting that you are not noticing it but using more of your right traps shoulder and back and as a result your right arm doesnt have to get as big as your less efficient left arm to accomplish its task. Attempt to use extremely strict form removing the shoulder from the lift by flexing your upper back constantly during the lift, setting your upper arm placement at the bottom of the lift then locking it there. keer your lats flexed to keep your shoulders down and traps out of the lift and incorporate a twist into your lifts as the bicep twists the radius and ulna as well as lifting them. damn just noticed i have it back wards but same idea, my left shoulder is bigger than my right and my left bicep is smaller becasue of the large shoulder muscle aiding involuntary. i have corrected this.

[Zero V]

My left arm is a little smaller. I have found single arm DB preacher curls really attack the biceps and cause growth....

[jonnyjames]

I got the same thing going on, my right bicep is bigger than my left. The best way i've found is to do preacher curls with the eazy-bar and when it starts to get tough REALLY push with which ever arm is smaller/weaker, i've found that the stronger arm really does most of the work in the beggining reps, so finish it out with as much effort from the weaker arm. Seriously in about 2 weeks my left bicep is starting to catch up.

Also, seated dumbbell curls are great, if your weaker/smaller arm can't do as many as your stronger arm, force it too. I usually use my right arm to assist my left with the last couple reps. Negatives are good as well.

[John Smeton]

.My peak (of what I have) is a bit higher on the right and attached lower.

also the bicep and triceps are separated on my right verses on my left they're not aren't . Tricep is shaped fuller on the right arm.

[matheje]

ITs pretty common actually... Heres my theory.. Lets think about arm wrestling.. If you have better form you use your body weight to win not sheer strength so your donminant arm is usually waay better. Im weight lifting its opposite you want to eliminate your body from helping ie. isolation. With your dominant arm you will have a more "intelligent" dexterity and therefore more cheating. Your left arm is "dumb" and just struggles to do the lift, not trying to cheat it up with complicated movements and in time gets bigger and stronger though involuntary great form. The body will always try to do things the easiest most efficient way. Im betting that you are not noticing it but using more of your right traps shoulder and back and as a result your right arm doesnt have to get as big as your less efficient left arm to accomplish its task. Attempt to use extremely strict form removing the shoulder from the lift by flexing your upper back constantly during the lift, setting your upper arm placement ar the bottom of the lift then locking it there. keer your lats flexed to keep your shoulders down and traps out of the lift and incorporate a twist into your lifts as the bicep twists the radius and ulna as well as lifting them. damn just noticed i have it back wards but same idea, my left shoulder is bigger than my right and my left bicep is smaller becasue of the large shoulder muscle aiding involuntary. i have corrected this.

I think these comments are very close to the heart of the matter. My right arm is smaller than the left. My right pec is smaller than my left. My right trap is smaller than the left. Being right side dominant, I'm likely using the dominance of one body part in the movement to train other body parts...and as you say, I'm intelligently (although not conscious of it) cheating. Meanwhile the dumb side grows.

I agree with the isolation theory.

Thanks for everyone's comments.

[somewhatgifted]

If your aware of the problem your halfway to fixing it. If your able to strengthen the mind muscle connection during training you will find this connection is defined by using only the muscle intended and not using the ones your body wants to use to help make it easier. Heres a tip for preacher curls tell me how it works for you, it can be tough but when you get it youll know. Most guys set up the preacher, adjust the seat and lay their upper arm on the pad with their armpits resting on the top portion. Try using the top of the rest like a fulcrum with the seat higher than usual, once again the key to bicep isolation is eliminating the back and shoulder, these strong muscles aid greatly with little percieved visible movement. Flex your upper back and lats constantly without give. have your shoulder locked back and down, this will keep constant tension during the top and bottom of the lift where as if your arm rests on the pad it will relax the bicep and pull in the shoulders when your shoulders are stretched out to rest your arm on the pad.

[motive]

try watching your shoulder position when doing your arm work outs. the slightest difference in that can alter the arms.

[matheje]

If your aware of the problem your halfway to fixing it. If your able to strengthen the mind muscle connection during training you will find this connection is defined by using only the muscle intended and not using the ones your body wants to use to help make it easier. Heres a tip for preacher curls tell me how it works for you, it can be tough but when you get it youll know. Most guys set up the preacher, adjust the seat and lay their upper arm on the pad with their armpits resting on the top portion. Try using the top of the rest like a fulcrum with the seat higher than usual, once again the key to bicep isolation is eliminating the back and shoulder, these strong muscles aid greatly with little percieved visible movement. Flex your upper back and lats constantly without give. have your shoulder locked back and down, this will keep constant tension during the top and bottom of the lift where as if your arm rests on the pad it will relax the bicep and pull in the shoulders when your shoulders are stretched out to rest your arm on the pad.

I did bis yesterday, and did db preacher curls. I didn't do exactly as you suggested, but I did have the seat fairly high and, doing on arm at a time, I concentrated as hard as I could on not using anything but the bicep...and the left arm was clearly stronger than the right, which I did not think was the case...this tells me all along I've been using other muscles on my right side to get the same reps I do on my left with just the left bicep.

So going forward I'm going to be super strict on bi's (and everything else) and do primarily or maybe solely, dumbells. My right tricep is also smaller than the left, so I'll apply this same principle to tri's and see how things go.

[Jayburned]

ITs pretty common actually... Heres my theory.. Lets think about arm wrestling.. If you have better form you use your body weight to win not sheer strength so your donminant arm is usually waay better. Im weight lifting its opposite you want to eliminate your body from helping ie. isolation. With your dominant arm you will have a more "intelligent" dexterity and therefore more cheating. Your left arm is "dumb" and just struggles to do the lift, not trying to cheat it up with complicated movements and in time gets bigger and stronger though involuntary great form. The body will always try to do things the easiest most efficient way. Im betting that you are not noticing it but using more of your right traps shoulder and back and as a result your right arm doesnt have to get as big as your less efficient left arm to accomplish its task. Attempt to use extremely strict form removing the shoulder from the lift by flexing your upper back constantly during the lift, setting your upper arm placement ar the bottom of the lift then locking it there. keer your lats flexed to keep your shoulders down and traps out of the lift and incorporate a twist into your lifts as the bicep twists the radius and ulna as well as lifting them. damn just noticed i have it back wards but same idea, my left shoulder is bigger than my right and my left bicep is smaller becasue of the large shoulder muscle aiding involuntary. i have corrected this.

great post!

[somewhatgifted]

I did bis yesterday, and did db preacher curls. I didn't do exactly as you suggested, but I did have the seat fairly high and, doing on arm at a time, I concentrated as hard as I could on not using anything but the bicep...and the left arm was clearly stronger than the right, which I did not think was the case...this tells me all along I've been using other muscles on my right side to get the same reps I do on my left with just the left bicep.

So going forward I'm going to be super strict on bi's (and everything else) and do primarily or maybe solely, dumbells. My right tricep is also smaller than the left, so I'll apply this same principle to tri's and see how things go.

well at this stage i recommend doing dumbell movements, using each arm independantly to bring them back into eqality. do your right arm first when done one at a timeand only match your numbers with your left to keep it from staying ahead, even if its easy.

[Rhys26]

Yeah I have the same problem. My left side is generally a bit smaller then my right. It's really hard though because when you are really pushing that last rep out your stronger side will take a bit more. Really frustrates me too when my right side is a bit more pumped or feels tighter then my left after a workout.

[somewhatgifted]

Do the weaker side first i meant, not sure now, lol.

[somewhatgifted]

Preacher Curls - Biceps

Found this site its actually pretty good visual reference, i do my preachers like this but with my upper back flexed becasue i have long arms and dont like resting my forarms on the pad at the bottom. Notice how the shoulder doesnt move at all this is imperative.

[Jayburned]

same problem here, very common. even ahnold had this issue.