body assymetry

[efanhowz]

i came to the conclusion my left arm and leg are longer than my right. after doing cleans for about 2 months my left trap became bigger, probably due to my left arm taking on more of the load from the barbell. so i had to axe the cleans. i also have been keeping my left foot higher on the platform for legpress, helps to even out the load. anyone else have an issue like this??? any tips for modifying training for symmetry? (obviously stick with db's for the majority of lifts)

[webcake]

I too have been wondering this. I have a noticeable (well to me anyway) size imbalance in my quads. I too am convinced that my right leg is slightly longer than my left. So right now i'm experimenting with various foot positions.

And i suffered a knee injury to my left knee a few years ago which resulted in a bit of muscle wastage during the recovery phase. So my left leg has kind of been playing "catch up" to my right leg for a while now...

[AVBG]

unilateral training 

[MB_722]

glad I found this.
was about to make a similar thread.

I too have been wondering this. I have a noticeable (well to me anyway) size imbalance in my quads. I too am convinced that my right leg is slightly longer than my left. So right now i'm experimenting with various foot positions.

I have the exact same issue. No injuries, want to know what I can do about it before any injuries happen.

PITA

[Bluto]

you can train your arms and legs longer now ?

[wes]

unilateral training 

Good advice Alex! 

Most people have size differences on each side of their bodies............not a big issue unless it is a dramatic difference.

Some guys freak if one arm is 16" and the other is 16 + 1/8". 

[_bruce_]

Left leg is longer than the right one...  my dreams of being an Uebermensch have been shattered  long ago

[leonp1981]

I noticed my right side was slightly bigger than my left about 18 months ago.  First thing I did was start using dumbells more, which is probably the first thing you should be doing.

Also, when I thought about it for a bit, I realised that:
a) I always started any one-arm exercises with my right side first.
b) Whenever I was adding/removing plate's/db's, I was using my right hand to pick them up, move them, etc.

So I also switched it around so I always trained my left side first and I made sure that I was using my left hand to pick up and move stuff.

I'm sure some people will say that little things like that don't make any difference, but I felt it did, and at the end of the day, it doesn't hurt to try.

[ripitupbaby]

unilateral training 

Exactly! 

Stick with dumbells and hammer strength machines.  Keep each side of your body working independently as much as possible.  Do some exercises one arm/leg at a time, and start with the weaker side.

That will help to address some of the size differences.  If one leg/arm is longer than the other, you may want to consider seeing a chiropractor as well.

[Redwingenator]

Every wonder why a guy that has his arm in a cast for 6 weeks doesn't have a one huge arm and one skinny one?  The CNS will not allow for it.  Even if you train one side harder then the other both will increase proportionally.  I'm not saying both sides will be exactly the same size, but they will be pretty damn close.  The muscle imbalances sound more like a combination of several different issues.  Tone/Density asymmetry in the traps could be due to a small (but normal) curvature of the spine.  Pelvic imbalance and leg length discrepancy could account for minor differences in the legs.  Significant leg asymmetry and weakness however is a more serious issue.

[tbombz]

Every wonder why a guy that has his arm in a cast for 6 weeks doesn't have a one huge arm and one skinny one?  The CNS will not allow for it.  Even if you train one side harder then the other both will increase proportionally.  I'm not saying both sides will be exactly the same size, but they will be pretty damn close.  The muscle imbalances sound more like a combination of several different issues.  Tone/Density asymmetry in the traps could be due to a small (but normal) curvature of the spine.  Pelvic imbalance and leg length discrepancy could account for minor differences in the legs.  Significant leg asymmetry and weakness however is a more serious issue.

thats not true. imbalances can happen very easily if your not paying attention.

[ripitupbaby]

Every wonder why a guy that has his arm in a cast for 6 weeks doesn't have a one huge arm and one skinny one?  The CNS will not allow for it.  Even if you train one side harder then the other both will increase proportionally.  I'm not saying both sides will be exactly the same size, but they will be pretty damn close.  The muscle imbalances sound more like a combination of several different issues.  Tone/Density asymmetry in the traps could be due to a small (but normal) curvature of the spine.  Pelvic imbalance and leg length discrepancy could account for minor differences in the legs.  Significant leg asymmetry and weakness however is a more serious issue.

Hmmmm....most people I have seen with a cast on DO have one limb come out of the cast noticably smaller than the other. 

I had a bad achilles tendon injury on my left foot several years ago, and dealing with the injury and compensating with my right leg caused me to have a pretty noticable imbalance in my calves, which took about 2 years to correct.

[pumpster]

Every wonder why a guy that has his arm in a cast for 6 weeks doesn't have a one huge arm and one skinny one?  The CNS will not allow for it.

Fail. There are size differences.

Ya independent work for each arm. Also consider training the weaker side differently than the other in terms of sets, reps, intensity, etc. for a while to see if it helps.

Leon had some good ideas about trying to shift one's natural preference from one arm to the other, i have no doubt that the existing preference is a good part of why the imbalances happen in the first place.

[Redwingenator]

Fail. There are size differences.

Ya independent work for each arm. Also consider training the weaker side differently than the other in terms of sets, reps, intensity, etc. for a while to see if it helps.

Leon had some good ideas about trying to shift one's natural preference from one arm to the other, i have no doubt that the existing preference is a good part of why the imbalances happen in the first place.

Arthur Guyton says differently, he has published his work in a little physiology textbook not many people have heard of.  Subtle differences can occur between limbs just as people have facial asymmetries. 

Why don't pitchers, tennis players, etc. have one massive arm and one small arm?  According to what you guys are saying that is exactly what should happen.

[leonp1981]

Rafael Nadal plays left handed and his left arm is clearly bigger than his right.

[pumpster]

Why don't pitchers, tennis players, etc. have one massive arm and one small arm?  According to what you guys are saying that is exactly what should happen.

Rod Laver was known for his forearm, the one he hit with.

As far as pitchers, they're throwing low resistance many many times. That's not gonna result in huge size differences but you will see some difference in particular in definition from one arm to the other.

[efanhowz]

most tennis players have one huge arm/forearm. and if i was making as much as rafael nadal i wouldnt care if one of my testicles was a pea and the other was a bowling ball! (as far as symmetry goes ). i sometimes freak when i look in the mirror and see that my left side is a TAD bigger, but then realize, there aint shit i can do about it and nobody is perfect.