[Roosh]

All masturbation jokes aside, my right arm is bulkier than my left. It's been like this for as long as I can remember. I carry things with my right arm, chop vegetables with my right arm, and so on. For a while I tried to switch it up and do everything with my left, but after a few months of this I didn't notice much of a difference so I gave up.

In the gym, I have done bicep curls and tricep extensions on my left side only, and this actually worked, but when I stopped doing it, my left arm would shrink back again relative to the right.

Has anyone else had this problem? I'm guessing there is no easy fix for it besides using the left side more.

[WestCoast]

The best easy fix (long term) is to work out starting with your left arm first going forward when you are at the gym.

Most people start with their right, you have slightly more energy when you start any excercises so over time it will balance.

Also avoid lifting lopsided on any sort of curl with both hands.

[Thomas the Rhymer]

I have the same problem, which is why I've moved away from barbell exercises and instead focus on dumbbell work: I first workout the left arm with dumbbells to wherever it fails in a 5x5 setup and then only work out the right arm for as many reps as the left arm did (even though I often feel that I can do more with the right arm).

My body looks a bit more even now, though my right is still a bit bigger than the left.

Using a barbell, for some reason my right arm responds better than my left, which leads to uneven growth. It's probably because when I'm near to failure my right arm can't help but take over from the left.

I don't think there is any easy fix, as such. Even if the muscles started out identical, your dominant arm is always going to have better nerve supply and its that nerve supply activity that partly is responsible for muscle growth, which gives it an unfair advantage over the other arm.

[Atlantic]

(08-23-2013 08:30 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

All masturbation jokes aside...

Damn. Only reason I clicked on the link and I get shot down first sentance.

[Nascimento]

Maybe make a habit of whenever you put weights away you only carry and drop with your left.

I like the idea of starting with the left for exercises too.

[Cr33pin]

My right arm and is bigger then my left to. When I was in 6th grade i crashed a 4 wheeler an it pined me down out in the woods for like 4 hours resting on my left arm. It made the muscle deteriorate and gave me what the doctor said was a pinched nerve. I was supposed to do therapy to correct it but I was a kid an couldn't be bothered with such things. They gave me some kind of tazer thing with pad that made your muscle contract with electricity I was supposed to use..... I used it alright, my friends would come over an we would put it on our face an it would make your mouth open or eye brows raise.... shocked my balls with it to but it didn't make anything move or cool happen.

Now its not a crazy big difference looking at it. I feel however like my left arm is the red headed step child of my body. My right arm just feels so much stronger and like I have better control over it. I looked up ways to counter it years ago but I dont think it will ever catch up to old faithful a.k.a righty.

(I use my left hand for whacking it in the tool shed but it hasn't evened me out yet)

Some of the things I read to counter it is when in the gym after you do your normal sets of something go with a lighter weight (dumbells) an do more reps with your left arm. Anytime you have to carry something heavy like take the trash out, groceries whatever use your left arm. Do push ups and pull up while leaning your body to the left side... Those are the only ones I recall.

[Remington]

Playing baseball since I was 5 really made a difference in both my arm sizes. After seeing a noticeable difference in size in my left arm, I made sure that I would start getting my right arm more active. Whenever I have to carry heavy objects, I always put the heavier of the two in my right hand. In the gym, I try to put more emphasis on my right arm when doing things such as bicep curls or bent over rows.

I think the concentration on my right arm is working because my arms are beginning to look more even.

[Virtus]

Prostaglandin 2a http://thinksteroids.com/steroid-profiles/pgf2a/

[Therapsid]

The answer is to add another arm day specifically for your weaker arm.

So if you normally train your biceps and triceps once a week, add another day where you do these exercises with only your weaker arm. Of course that means you'll be using either dumbbells or cables with the weaker arm instead of barbells on that second arm day.

I've had this issue, and adding another arm day fixed it.

If instead you just train your weaker arm more on your regular arm day, you won't be able to use the same amount of weight and volume that you would if you devoted another day to it. But give yourself a couple days between your two arm days to recover.

[Aliblahba]

(08-23-2013 09:30 AM)Irishman Wrote:  

(08-23-2013 08:30 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

All masturbation jokes aside...

Damn. Only reason I clicked on the link and I get shot down first sentance.

Roosh knows us.

[RexRenner]

Another thing is that if a man has spent considerable time playing a one side dominant sport like baseball or tennis during his growing years, his dominant arm may actually have larger and thicker bones because of all the repetitive extra stress to that arm while developing.

[Roadrunner]

Try doing two-handed exercises, like pushups, pull-ups or handstands. I don't know the iron equivalents but I am sure some of you do. The weaker arm will become overloaded faster than the stronger arm causing it to have a faster rate of growth. Eventually if you stick to two-handed exercises they will become equally muscular. I had this problem with my legs before and doing squats and close squats helped deal with that issue.

[Big Nilla]

Are the biceps muscle bellies longer on your right arm?

[Albertron]

tl;dr - Keep using your weaker arm for daily tasks, deadlifts (no straps, both palms facing you) are also a good start to equalize muscular imbalance.

I used to have this problem. I employed the same solution you used: doing everything with your left arm. Been doing it for so long, that sometimes I feel like I use my left arm more than my right arm. Basically any sort of menial tasks, I become conscious of my arm use and automatically switch to my weaker arm.

Ever tried brushing your teeth, or even using a razor with your weaker hand? Feels awkward, but I switch hands anyway. Building dexterity in your weaker arm will also help build those micro-muscles used for coordination. From my experience, this translated to better performance with my weaker arm in the gym. Because I used my weaker arm more often, it became more 'comfortable' to use due to the increased dexterity.

For example, when doing deadlifts, I avoid using straps or the alternate grip method. Deadlifts are not only an excellent full body exercise, but when done properly (both palms facing you), it can drastically improve your grip strength, one of the more undervalued feats of strength in the fitness world. In the beginning, I noticed the grip on my left arm would tire faster than my right arm. Makes sense, I thought, since I naturally used my right arm more, so from a functional standpoint, it had more endurance.

As I continued to increase the weight week after week, and doing more day-to-day tasks with my left arm, I began to notice not only that my previous wrist issues have gone away due to great improvements to my grip, but that I could carry weight with my weak arm for the same duration as my right arm before tiring. I noticed this during my job, where I have to carry equipment with an average weight of 50 lbs. Most of the equipment I could carry with one hand, and I always used my weaker arm. Tasks like setting up equipment, using the hammer, carrying tools, and any task in the shop where I could use one arm, I used the weaker one.

Thus, dexterity increased with my weaker arm, resulting in more 'confident' use of it. And for those that go to the gym, having a positive, confident mindset can mean the difference between failure at rep 8 and failure at rep 10, and those two reps can have a huge impact on your gains.

However, it did take me a couple of years to get to this point. The dexterity and strength in your stronger arm was built after years of favoured usage, which means that you'll have to be patient with building your weaker arm to the point where it is 'competitive' with your stronger arm.

[Giovonny]

(08-23-2013 08:30 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

there is no easy fix for it besides using the left side more.

Yes, I can't imagine anything else working as effectively as that.

I like the little tips that guys have provided..

Start with your left arm.
Pick up, put away, and carry weights with your left arm.
Do an extra few sets with the left.
Etc.

[Virtus]

http://thinksteroids.com/steroid-profiles/pgf2a/

[fkexpat]

Only use dumbbells for all of your exercises. Cut out machines and barbell. Over time, it should balance itself out. I noticed that if I used barbells or machines a lot, I'd rely on my right arm to pick up some of the slack since it's my dominant side. DON'T do extra work for your left arm - that can lead to serious muscle imbalances as well, which can translate into back or shoulder injuries.

[MikeCF]

Lots of guys have this problem. Two quick fixes:

1. Start with the left arm, end with the left arm.

Let's say you're doing alternating dumb bell curls and you do 10 reps each arm. Your first rep should be with your left arm, as should your left. So you'll do 11 reps with your left arm and 10 with your right (or 10 and 9, you get the drift).

2. No more flexing the right arm in the mirror.

Arnold had a major imbalance between arms and he said to fix he stopped flexing his right arm. He flexed his left arm instead. Eventually the imbalance was corrected and then he went back to flexing both arms.

3. Do one set of concentration curls on your left arm only, every workout.

Don't listen to nerds talk about overtraining. The bicep is a small muscle group that heals quickly. The extra volume will bring up a weakness without "overtraining."

[dog24]

Training the other arm more is just a quick fix, how about you go to a physio/chiro and find out if there is a problem causing the imbalance?

[Roosh]

I'm doing four things now:

1. No more flexing right arm.

2. Brushing teeth and cooking with left arm (chopping, etc)

3. One extra arm exercise for left arm every workout

4. Carrying weights in the gym with left hand

I already see an improvement. Their shape is slightly different, but I think I can get the size equal within 2 months.

[coolkid]

Had the same problem last year. Nofap solved it.

Jokes aside, stick with the same weights for a week or 2. Don't increase or decrease them (the point is to get both your arms accustomed to the exact same weight). Soon enough, your left arm will be as big as your right arm.
Source: Gym physiotherapist (and it worked)

(09-02-2013 05:05 PM)Roosh Wrote:  

I'm doing four things now:

1. No more flexing right arm.

2. Brushing teeth and cooking with left arm (chopping, etc)

3. One extra arm exercise for left arm every workout

4. Carrying weights in the gym with left hand

I already see an improvement. Their shape is slightly different, but I think I can get the size equal within 2 months.

Bad ideas, except for 1. (which won't help that much). You don't want your left arm bigger than your right. WRT 4., use different dumbbells, same weight for both arms. Carrying them increases your strength.

Also guessing you're right-handed. Don't stop cutting veggies and brushing your teeth with your right; unless you're a chef, this will only help your left arm very very marginally. And will give you bad breath and cuts on your fingers.

Hope that was helpful!

[MidniteSpecial]

Dips and pull ups might help even things out. Hard to compensate using those moves.

[Soma]

Elliott Hulse has a video on this:

Takeaway: your first vertebrae may be out of position interfering with your nervous system energy distribution.

[SeanBateman]

Any results to report?

I'm right handed but my left arm is bigger, which seems strange. I'll give the single arm exercises a try.

[Doc_J]

I don't remember the source, but I read somewhere that is is normal to have your left arm stronger and bigger (higher muscle mass) if you are right handed and vice versa.
This is because you right arm (primary) has more technique performing day to day operations than your left (secondary) and there fore optimizes the consumption of your strength requiring less to do the same.

When your primary is bigger than your secondary, then its because of unbalance in exercise. Common with tennis players, etc.