Inbalance

[Phill.C]

Hey guys,

Ive got a problem thats been worrying me and i want to fix it sooner rather than later. My left Peck seems to be quite alot smaller than my right and this is bugging me, I cant seem to tense it as hard as my right it only tenses slightly. Also my left nipple also seems to be sagging a bit compared to my right.

Ive not been working out long about 2 months since i got back into it, My chest is quite small but i can definatly see growth, hardness and roundess appearing in my right peck but not my left. When i tense as much as i can on the left side the peck seems empty like there is nothing there which has me confused, but my right side is quite hard and thick.....

The gym i go to is quite a small gym and the people in there are not exactly the gym form perfectionist so i cant get any help with my form apart from what i read or watch online, ive not been able to feel any pump in my chest when working out either. Im not sure why all this is but my right has always been slightly bigger is this just because there isnt a big enough muscle mass across my chest yet or is there a problem that needs sorting.

I appreciate that this has come up in other threads but as you all probably know everyone is diffrent and has diffrent complications and problems. I feel that im comfortable lifting dbs evenly normally around 20kg each side. Around 50kg on barbell and smith.

Chest Workout.
Flat smth bench
Flat DB press
Incline DB press
Decline DB press
Decline Barbell press
Flat DB fly's
Cable fly's
some days i put in smith incline and decline also, this is on the routine printed out by the guy who owns the gym who i assumed knew whats what.

Regards
Phill

[HawaiianPride.]

"J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Mar;24(3):779-84.
A comparison of muscle activation between a Smith machine and free weight bench press.
Schick EE, Coburn JW, Brown LE, Judelson DA, Khamoui AV, Tran TT, Uribe BP.

Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Fullerton, California, USA.
Abstract
The bench press exercise exists in multiple forms including the machine and free weight bench press. It is not clear though how each mode differs in its effect on muscle activation. The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activation of the anterior deltoid, medial deltoid, and pectoralis major during a Smith machine and free weight bench press at lower (70% 1 repetition maximum [1RM]) and higher (90% 1RM) intensities. Normalized electromyography amplitude values were used during the concentric phase of the bench press to compare muscle activity between a free weight and Smith machine bench press. Participants were classified as either experienced or inexperienced bench pressers. Two testing sessions were used, each of which entailed either all free weight or all Smith machine testing. In each testing session, each participant's 1RM was established followed by 2 repetitions at 70% of 1RM and 2 repetitions at 90% of 1RM. Results indicated greater activation of the medial deltoid on the free weight bench press than on the Smith machine bench press. Also, there was greater muscle activation at the 90% 1RM load than at the 70% 1RM load. The results of this study suggest that strength coaches should consider choosing the free weight bench press over the Smith machine bench press because of its potential for greater upper-body muscular development.

PMID: 20093960 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]"

Your chest session seems like overkill to me. Cut out the Smith, stick with 3 pressing and 2 movements, at the very most.

[HawaiianPride.]

Also......

"Effects of Variations of the Bench Press Exercise on the EMG Activity of Five Shoulder Muscles
Barnett, Chris; Kippers, Vaughan; Turner, Peter
The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research November 1995 - Volume 9 - Issue 4

Abstract
This experiment investigated the effects of varying bench inclination and hand spacing on the EMG activity of five muscles acting at the shoulder joint. Six male weight trainers performed presses under four conditions of trunk inclination and two of hand spacing at 80% of their predetermined max. Preamplified surface EMG electrodes were placed over the five muscles in question. The EMG signals during the 2-sec lift indicated some significant effects of trunk inclination and hand spacing. The sternocostal head of the pectoralis major was more active during the press from a horizontal bench than from a decline bench. Also, the clavicular head of the pectoralis major was no more active during the incline bench press than during the horizontal one, but it was less active during the decline bench press. The clavicular head of the pectoralis major was more active with a narrow hand spacing. Anterior deltoid activity tended to increase as trunk inclination increased. The long head of the triceps brachii was more active during the decline and flat bench presses than the other two conditions, and was also more active with a narrow hand spacing. Latissimus dorsi exhibited low activity in all conditions.
Link: http://www.usp.br/eef/efb/efb222/jcserrao/peito.pdf"

I personally feel Decline is a waste. Flat & Incline fall superior.

[heyyallsup]

Those are both interesting articles, but I don't think they address the whole issue of right pec vs. left pec.
And WOW! that's a lot of chest exercises to do in one time span! It does seem a bit much.

As for the right/left problem, if you have had no injuries that would or have caused tendon injury in the shoulder or pec area, make sure that when you do your chest workout you don't use your right pec to make up for the lack of strength in your left. That is to say focus on forcing your left to move it's fair share of the weight. So when you finish a rep has your left mirrored your right, or is your left slower and lower when your right has reached the top of the rep?

Good luck either way!

[baseline_9]

Your chest workout is way over the top

3 movements is plenty

Incline press
Flat/ decline press
Concentrated movement

4 sets of each maximum

Just my opinion

[GEM_69]

I'm actually having the same problem. my right pec comes lower and is wider then my left. The advice I've been given is to use dumbells. use isolation excerises and I would definetly stick to incline/flat. Decline didn't help me at all. I ended up building too much mass on the bottom of my pecs and now I'm trying to get the top of my pecs to keep up. but if you search my post there is a thread called muscle imbalance by me and I was given advice there. you should take a look at it, it might help. Good luck. Dont let it discourage you and incorporate dumbells more than anything to make sure each pec is lefting the same weight.