Evening Out Uneven Body Parts
It
is not that uncommon for people to have one arm larger than the other
or one leg bigger around than the other. I,
myself, had this problem with both my upper arms and my thighs. But after months of hard work I
was able to even everything out and now I am very symmetrical. So how
did I do it? And more importantly, how can you even out a side that
might lag behind on your physique? Read on to find out.
If
you have a symmetry issue across like body parts (i.e. arms, legs,
pecs, etc.), you are going to have to change your training plan.
Whatever you did to create this asymmetry, whether conscious of
unconscious is likely being exaggerated by by your current method of
training. Think about it. Most of your arm exercises probably require
both arms to contract at the same time. And most of your leg exercises
probably require both legs to contract at the same time. If you have one
side weaker than the other then guess which side is making up the
slack. Answer: the side that's already bigger and stronger.
The first step is to incorporate exercises that train each side independently
The
first step in overcoming asymmetry is to incorporate at least some
exercises that train each side independently. This might be common
sense, but if you want to bring up a lagging side then you are going to
have make sure you are doing something to specifically target that side.
I'm not talking about completely ditching barbell bench press for
dumbbell bench press or replacing squats with lunges. But at least
*some* of the work you do should involve training each side
independently. Throw in some Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral exercises or do
some dumbbell work. It doesn't have to be all or nothing, but you
should have some exercises that train each side independently.
Never lift more with one side over the other
This
should be a no-brainer, but I have to say it. Even if one side is
stronger than another, never do more reps with one side than the other.
And never ever lift with more weight on one side than the other! As
obvious as this sounds, more weight or more volume on one side vs. the
other will create or further exacerbate asymmetry.
Even
if you aren't asymmetrical in appearance on like body parts, it is not
uncommon for people to favor one side or to have one side stronger than
the other. But don't lift more with one side vs. the other! How can you
avoid it? Well, let's say your right arm is stronger than your left. If
you are doing alternating dumbbell curls than given some weight your
right arm may be able to do more reps than your left. The solution is
then to start the exercise with your left arm. That way, when your left
arm poops out, you know to stop lifting with your right arm.
Increase your volume
There
are two basic ways to achieve overload: increased intensity and
increased volume. If you have a body part one side that is smaller and
weaker than it's equivalent on the other side, chances are you are not
going to be lifting more with that weaker side. That makes greater
stimulation of the weaker side through increased intensity pretty much
impossible. So, what's the alternative? Increase the volume on the
weaker side.
I
know I just said never do more reps with one side vs. another. And I
still stand by that statement. You don't want to train unevenly.
However, that applies on a per set basis. Tossing in an extra set or two
only for the smaller weaker side is a great way to achieve greater
volume and thus greater overload in order to bring up a lagging side.
That's exactly what I did to even out my physique! It took several
months, but eventually everything evened out and I stopped having to
train one side with a bit more volume than the other.
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