Muscle Asymmetry

[sax]

Heys guys, weight training novice here. I've noticed that pretty much every muscle group is bigger and stronger on my right side (I am right handed) than my left. I know this is common and normal to an extent, but my legs are kinda noticable if I flex them. I can see a nice muscular bump on my right quad that is invisible on my left... So my question is how to best compensate for this? I did legs two days ago and they are both killing me, but my right side is more sore.

I'm trying to think about this logically, and I'm wondering is it best to do a couple sets of light weights with my dominant side to pre-fatigue it before lifting so when I lift, my left side has to work harder? Or is it best to do my workout first and do a couple sets on just my left side to fatigue it further?

This may sound dumb, but I only ask the former because I had read a weight-training article that said something to effect of pre-fatiguing certain muscle groups before compound lifts because doing so will allow other muscle groups to work harder to compensate for the other fatigued muscles.

Any insight is gladly appreciate. thanks!

 

[Nok]

now mind you i am still a noob as well, and dont really know wtf i am doing yet... lol but i think if you focus on compound movements it should all balance out.

you can't possibly be THAT lopsided unless like your whole left side of your body was in a cast or some shit for like 6 months you know what i'm saying??

there are always going to be muscle imbalances

 

[Powermaster]

^^^agree. Unless you have some serious issues things will balance out in time.

 

[_LG_]

Ive been fighting an imbalance on my arms forever. I completely fubared my left arm in a motorcycle accident and lost a ton of size. My strength is even but there is a noticable difference in tricep and brach size. I like to add in extra movements on the lagging side at the end, seems to be helping slowly.

 

[LAM]

now mind you i am still a noob as well, and dont really know wtf i am doing yet... lol but i think if you focus on compound movements it should all balance out.

you can't possibly be THAT lopsided unless like your whole left side of your body was in a cast or some shit for like 6 months you know what i'm saying??

there are always going to be muscle imbalances

the problem with compound movements using barbells is load sharing. the dominate side can compensate for the smaller and usually weaker side even though there is no direct correlation between muscle size and strength it comes down to how the muscles are being broken down/traumatized with resistance training.

try adding some more machines and doing less on the larger side also stretching and flexing and obtaining more muscle control on the smaller side will bring some benefit.

 

[Nok]

the problem with compound movements using barbells is load sharing. the dominate side can compensate for the smaller and usually weaker side even though there is no direct correlation between muscle size and strength it comes down to how the muscles are being broken down/traumatized with resistance training.

try adding some more machines and doing less on the larger side also stretching and flexing and obtaining more muscle control on the smaller side will bring some benefit.

That's why God put mirrors in the gym. So you can check your form

 

[LAM]

That's why God put mirrors in the gym. So you can check your form

proper form does not change the kinematics of load sharing when using barbells

 

[Bonesaw]

I got 2 issues like yours. My left leg feels like its compensation during squats on those last hard reps. And my left bicep is bigger, rounder but weaker. I've just been doing an extra set or two on the weak limb at the end of the workout.

 

[Powermaster]

If you are worried about load sharing, do more uni lateral than bi lateral movements - dumbells for upper body, single leg presses...etc for lower body. Most of the time, functionally you are only using one arm or one leg to move something anyway.

 

[CaptainNapalm]

No I would think that if you do extra sets with you right leg before your working (two-leg) sets you're actually gonna be counter productive and contribute to your problem more. You would have worked the stronger leg more and when it comes to squats later for example you're still gonna push more with your right leg but you're just not going to be able to do as much weight. First I would check if your legs are the same length. I had a buddy who had your problem with leg development and it turned out that his right leg was slightly shorter therefore carried more load during squatting. To correct this he just used an orthopedic insert in his right shoe and his leg development evened out and improved. Also, right after this correction his weights for squats went up considerably. Worth looking into but yeah I think up to an inch difference on the arms and legs is considered acceptable.