How to Correct Body Part Imbalance?

[ajntorinj]

I had a back injury on my left side several months ago. Several months after I recovered, my left arm is noticeably smaller and weaker than the right. The difference in pulling movements is not as pronounced as the difference in pressing movements. That, plus the smaller tricep size suggests to me I should do more unilateral tricep work on the left side, but I am not sure what is best to do.

What would you recommend that I do to bring up the size and strength of the left arm without sacrificing the gains I am seeing on the right side? Thanks in advance.

 

[ErikR]

I had a back injury on my left side several months ago. Several months after I recovered, my left arm is noticeably smaller and weaker than the right. The difference in pulling movements is not as pronounced as the difference in pressing movements. That, plus the smaller tricep size suggests to me I should do more unilateral tricep work on the left side, but I am not sure what is best to do.

What would you recommend that I do to bring up the size and strength of the left arm without sacrificing the gains I am seeing on the right side? Thanks in advance.

I think you should keep training normally but use Dumbbells instead of barbells. If you use barbells your stronger side can take over. Or you can do maintainable work on one side and go all out on the other. Just my two cents.

 

[doubleaa]

When my left latt was smaller cause of my job i would use db and always start with the weak side first. Then just match the reps on the right

 

[Docd187123]

Hello AJ, I remember you from another forum

I think a morning head imbalance issues tend to correct themselves over time if the injury healed properly and your ROM isn't affected on the injured side.

If pressing movements is where you notice the difference then do your main pressing movements with dumbbells but don't completely eliminate barbell work IMO.

You can do DB bench press, DB incline press, DB OHP, DB floor presses, etc. Skull crushers or LTEs with DBs would also seem to be a good idea n

 

[ajntorinj]

Thank you, gentleman.

Doc, I am guessing it must be Ology? I am glad I found this board; all the Google links to the best answers to my questions went to this site!

I should have stated in the OP that I lift primarily with dumbbells. I only use barbells for squats and presses for strength. Benching with a barbell was just ridiculously lop-sided, so I have not tried for several months. I do pull-ups and chins in addition to dumbbell rows.

Do I just need to give it more time? Sometimes I think the right side is progressing faster than the left, so I wonder if my left arm can ever catch up. Should I do extra isolation work for the left arm? How would I program it?

Thanks again!

 

[Docd187123]

Thank you, gentleman.

Doc, I am guessing it must be Ology? I am glad I found this board; all the Google links to the best answers to my questions went to this site!

I should have stated in the OP that I lift primarily with dumbbells. I only use barbells for squats and presses for strength. Benching with a barbell was just ridiculously lop-sided, so I have not tried for several months. I do pull-ups and chins in addition to dumbbell rows.

Do I just need to give it more time? Sometimes I think the right side is progressing faster than the left, so I wonder if my left arm can ever catch up. Should I do extra isolation work for the left arm? How would I program it?

Thanks again!

Your guess would be correct! You gave me a prolactin study way back when.

Fixing imbalances can take time yes. You can do SOME extra work on the weaker side but I wouldn't do much. Maybe an extra set with DBs. If one side is truly weaker, then it will end up working harder with the same weight than the stronger side so it will eventually play catch up. It can take time again and it's not something I would try and rush.

 

[ajntorinj]

Your guess would be correct! You gave me a prolactin study way back when.

Fixing imbalances can take time yes. You can do SOME extra work on the weaker side but I wouldn't do much. Maybe an extra set with DBs. If one side is truly weaker, then it will end up working harder with the same weight than the stronger side so it will eventually play catch up. It can take time again and it's not something I would try and rush.

I remember that! Let me know if you are looking for any other studies.

Thanks for the advice, as well!

 

[Docd187123]

I remember that! Let me know if you are looking for any other studies.

Thanks for the advice, as well!

Please keep this updated. I'm interested in hearing how it turns out for you. Here's an article I found written by Lyle McDonald. Maybe you can use it to help your situation.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/correcting-a-strength-imbalance-qa.html/