Left pec bigger than Right

Aces

Okay, to start, I'm 19, 6'2, and about 188. I'd say I have a muscular build.

What I want to do: my left pec is much more defined and aesthetically pleasing than my right; the right pec is flabby and kinda bitch-titish. I want to make the right pec more like my left, that is, muscular.

How did this happen: Well obviously I'm not entirely sure, but I think it has to do with when I didn't work out or for that matter do very much exercise at all. Back around, oh let's say 15 or 16, I was very out of shape, sedentary, and spent most of my free time on the computer. Eventually I got it together and I'm pretty trim, but I'd like to tighten it up more. Could this just still be a remnant of those previous years?

In addition: when I did not exercise, I still did the one thing most young men do, only with my right arm. This led to me still being out of shape, but my right arm being pretty strong, even defined, while the left stayed the same.

So I'm guessing that when i began to work out around 17, my right arm had the head start, and this affected possibly the entirety of my left upper body. Did my left pec compensate for the left arm not being able to pull its share?

more info: while I've almost always been able to lift relative to my size, in pec workouts i've fallen short. This is odd, as I'm a big guy, and most people assume I can lift alot, and I can in most regards, but in things like benching, or even pushups, I struggle. When I was benching alot I was benching about 140, now after a semester of school concentrating on more cardio than lifting (thinking losing weight would make my pecs look normal), I can barely do about 90, and less pushups.

any help, suggestions, or the like is appreciated, but if was TL + u DR, don't bother.

Thanatos

I masturbate a lot, always with the right hand, and it hasn't noticeably affected the development of my muscles at all. I don't think that would cause the sort of asymmetry you're describing.

Pheezer

I'm no expert, but I'd say focus on excercises that place an equal demand on both pecs. They'd pretty much have to even out over time, right? I mean, I know it'll probably be pretty frustrating and slow going, but I'd wager that's how to do it.

Thanatos

pheezer FD wrote:

I'm no expert, but I'd say focus on excercises that place an equal demand on both pecs. They'd pretty much have to even out over time, right? I mean, I know it'll probably be pretty frustrating and slow going, but I'd wager that's how to do it.

I would think so, too, but it sounds like this is what he's been doing so far.

To the OP: do you have a spotter? Or do you just work out in your own home/by yourself or something? Have you had anyone else look at your pecs, to see if they're uneven?

Pheezer

Thanatos wrote:

pheezer FD wrote:

I'm no expert, but I'd say focus on excercises that place an equal demand on both pecs. They'd pretty much have to even out over time, right? I mean, I know it'll probably be pretty frustrating and slow going, but I'd wager that's how to do it.

I would think so, too, but it sounds like this is what he's been doing so far.

To the OP: do you have a spotter? Or do you just work out in your own home/by yourself or something? Have you had anyone else look at your pecs, to see if they're uneven?

Well, he did say he's been focusing on cardio a lot lately, and I don't know how long he was pushing himself with regards to chest excercises prior.

Getting into some shape from zero is a lot easier than sculpting muscles once you're in shape, I know that much for a fact. Aces, have you noticed any muscle reduction in the left pec? Have you considered trying creatine and a chest focused routine for a while? I know, I know, creatine isn't really the way to do things, especially when you're starting out, but I'm just saying, it might get things kick started.

LondonBridge

When you move the free weights between the rack and the bench be sure to use your left arm. Takes time but it'll even some.

Munacra

What exercises have you been doing that would work out just one pec?

If you work out the chest (benching, push-ups, butteflies, incline press) it should be working out your whole chest, not just pec at a time.

I've heard of a dominant hand before, but never a dominant pec. :roll:

khain

Munacra wrote:

What exercises have you been doing that would work out just one pec?

If you work out the chest (benching, push-ups, butteflies, incline press) it should be working out your whole chest, not just pec at a time.

I've heard of a dominant hand before, but never a dominant pec. :roll:

If their imbalanced though one side will end up doing more work than the other which can maintain the current balance especially from what it sounds like where they are pretty different. I'd recommend doing chest exercises that work each arm individually. For instance, instead of using a bench press use free weights keep the weight equal for both hands and do an amount where you can go through the whole work out equally.

Munacra

oh yeah, to space it out when you're doing your bench press, and make sure that the weight is balanced on both sides, use the "thumb measure"

Put your hands on the part in the middle, where it goes from rough to smooth, and extend your thumbs to space out. Grab there.

Always take a spotter too, apart from it being safe it helps to have a second pair of eyes to determine whether it's balanced on both sides or not.

The Cat

Thanatos wrote:

I masturbate a lot, always with the right hand, and it hasn't noticeably affected the development of my muscles at all. I don't think that would cause the sort of asymmetry you're describing.

Wanking won't do it, but spending a lot of time on the computer will. The... I don't know what the name is, but the muscle running from my neck to the top of my shoulder right above the collarbone is noticeably bigger on the right than the left, just because of constant mouse-use since I was like 8 or 9. The boobage gets in the way of checking whether computer use has altered my pecs visibly or not :P, but that whole upper-right torso group of muscles are involved in moving the arm, so its not a totally crazy thought. Still, the OP may just have an anatomical quirk where that region is underdeveloped, or doesn't recieve quite enough blood flow, or whatever. We all have quirks like that.

Chake99

Same sort of thing here except on the opposite side of the spectrum. I´m skinny and while my left pectoral muscle is virtually non-existent, I have one on the right. I can sort of do right-handed push-ups but not left handed ones.

I´ve just attributed it to the fact that in regular use my right arm ends up carrying more things, throwing more balls, etc... which could be the case here.

Although computer usage could be possible as well.