Upper chest/anterior delt Imbalance

[Jankauskas]

So here’s the deal, my right anterior delt is overdeveloped, therefore my upper right chest is underdeveloped, and on the left side the opposite happens.

I already started doing my chest exercises with an arched upper back to isolate the pecs, but as for the delts, should I switch military press with unilateral front delt raises to correct the imbalance?

 

[Ironlord]

So here’s the deal, my right anterior delt is overdeveloped, therefore my upper right chest is underdeveloped, and on the left side the opposite happens.

I already started doing my chest exercises with an arched upper back to isolate the pecs, but as for the delts, should I switch military press with unilateral front delt raises to correct the imbalance?

Is it really that way, or does it just look that way because either one or the other is over/underdeveloped?
Its really hard to have that kind of imbalance especially in those areas because the front delts are active on almost all chest movements,, and the upper chest still gets some stimulus from most overhead pressing.... So unless eveything you do in your training is dB, or you're really twisting a barbell to one side on your pressing movements... I could see the whole upper chest, or both front delts being off balance but not opposite like that ..
To fix it...
Try single arm dB chest presses on incline, maybe focusing on front dB raises will work-it depends on if you do a ton of pressing (chest or shoulder) in your program already. The front delts get a ton of indirect work from most pressing so they may need less training, and just bring up your upper chest, in order to strike balance again ..

 

[Jankauskas]

Is it really that way, or does it just look that way because either one or the other is over/underdeveloped?
Its really hard to have that kind of imbalance especially in those areas because the front delts are active on almost all chest movements,, and the upper chest still gets some stimulus from most overhead pressing.... So unless eveything you do in your training is dB, or you're really twisting a barbell to one side on your pressing movements... I could see the whole upper chest, or both front delts being off balance but not opposite like that ..
To fix it...
Try single arm dB chest presses on incline, maybe focusing on front dB raises will work-it depends on if you do a ton of pressing (chest or shoulder) in your program already. The front delts get a ton of indirect work from most pressing so they may need less training, and just bring up your upper chest, in order to strike balance again ..

 

[Ironlord]

I wouldn't say it's a huge difference. You seem to have one arm straighter than the other one, holding that phone. Makes your left trap look bigger too.. Lol.
Could just be the pose, grip on the phone, maybe if you see it in a non selfie most muscular in the mirror too, then you could just be better at flexing one side than the other... Maybe even just practice posing and flexing those areas to create a better neuro link?
Not really sure what to say bro.. I would not be bothered with that minor of an issue I was expecting a real big imbalance...

 

[Jankauskas]

I wouldn't say it's a huge difference. You seem to have one arm straighter than the other one, holding that phone. Makes your left trap look bigger too.. Lol.
Could just be the pose, grip on the phone, maybe if you see it in a non selfie most muscular in the mirror too, then you could just be better at flexing one side than the other... Maybe even just practice posing and flexing those areas to create a better neuro link?
Not really sure what to say bro.. I would not be bothered with that minor of an issue I was expecting a real big imbalance...

Thanks for your input man, just a bit worried it might become a problem in the future in terms of a potential injury.

I do feel like there is some kind of twisting going on with my shoulders in the last reps when I bench, I always had a more dominant right shoulder since I’m right handed, but I’m concerned it might impact my development. I already do flat and incline bench alongside with military press on my push day, that’s why I was thinking of switching it out for the unilateral front raise.

 

[weighted chinup]

Could just be the pose, grip on the phone, maybe if you see it in a
non selfie most muscular in the mirror too, then you could just be better at flexing one side than the other... Maybe even just practice posing and flexing those areas to create a better neuro link?

^^^ I'm leaning more towards this being the case.

 

[Jankauskas]

^^^ I'm leaning more towards this being the case.

What do you think of me switching the military press for the unilateral front raise?

I’m already doing incline and flat bench, is the military press really necessary?

 

[weighted chinup]

What do you think of me switching the military press for the unilateral front raise?

I’m already doing incline and flat bench, is the military press really necessary?

No, I don't want to generalize without knowing weekly volume of muscle groups for yourself but generally, that much direct pressing could lead to imbalances in the long term but I don't see it in the picture you posted.

I'm not a fan of long term direct overhead pressing for front delt development tbh, at least not with conventional strength movements, occasionally I will do movements like a cage press or over and back presses but I prefer addressing shoulder development in a more isolated way.

Front delt movements of choice for myself are db raises, bb raises (both sparingly), occasional db presses (banded), but a lot of band work for them as well too (spider crawls with bands).

I tend to throttle the weekly volume of front delt work as well, try to keep it within the minimum effective dose.

I like the idea of switching from OHP to a front raise variant for a little while though, if you have been pressing for a while without break then I absolutely would recommend it, just make sure your side and rear delts get enough direct volume and you won't notice an involution in size if you did.

I prefer them (front raises) performed seated on an incline with dumbbells but if the idea is to ease up on the direct front delt pressing you don't have to go overboard with it, just focus on getting a good connection to the muscles worked (bring them up as high as you can, hold it for a second at the peak of the concentric, control on the way down).

6-12 sets for front delts per week is my personal range for minimum effective dose to maximum effective dose (12 being max) and I never go beyond that. For yourself keep it in the 6-8 range.

That could look something like:

session 1
Banded Dumbbell Press
3x8 (1 second squeeze at the top)
(using a red mini band)

session 2 later in the week
Seated Incline DB Front Raise
3x12
(1 second hold at top, controlled eccentric).

To give you an example.

 

[Jankauskas]

No, I don't want to generalize without knowing weekly volume of muscle groups for yourself but generally, that much direct pressing could lead to imbalances in the long term but I don't see it in the picture you posted.

I'm not a fan of long term direct overhead pressing for front delt development tbh, at least not with conventional strength movements, occasionally I will do movements like a cage press or over and back presses but I prefer addressing shoulder development in a more isolated way.

Front delt movements of choice for myself are db raises, bb raises (both sparingly), occasional db presses (banded), but a lot of band work for them as well too (spider crawls with bands).

I tend to throttle the weekly volume of front delt work as well, try to keep it within the minimum effective dose.

I like the idea of switching from OHP to a front raise variant for a little while though, if you have been pressing for a while without break then I absolutely would recommend it, just make sure your side and rear delts get enough direct volume and you won't notice an involution in size if you did.

I prefer them (front raises) performed seated on an incline with dumbbells but if the idea is to ease up on the direct front delt pressing you don't have to go overboard with it, just focus on getting a good connection to the muscles worked (bring them up as high as you can, hold it for a second at the peak of the concentric, control on the way down).

Thanks for your extremely insightful response man.

I’m following Mike Israetel’s weekly volume guidelines.

I’m doing 8 total weekly sets of front delts, split in 2 days per week (pull/push/legs/repeat), and 20 sets for each of the medial and posterior delts, so the accessory work from the OHP isn’t really a need.

I started my new routine this week, and on the first push day my front delts were pretty much cooked when I got to the Shoulder press.

 

[weighted chinup]

Thanks for your extremely insightful response man.

I’m following Mike Israetel’s weekly volume guidelines.

I’m doing 8 total weekly sets of front delts, split in 2 days per week (pull/push/legs/repeat), and 20 sets for each of the medial and posterior delts, so the accessory work from the OHP isn’t really a need.

I started my new routine this week, and on the first push day my front delts were pretty much cooked when I got to the Shoulder press.

If you're following Dr. Mike Israetels approach you are already familiar with MEV, MRV, etc so you're already ahead of the game . I would just keep it at minimum effective volume moving forward then, although I believe with front delts for some minimum effective volume could honestly be 0 sets per week lol.

Front delt volume is controversial, the general consensus is you could in all but the most advanced BB drop it entirely and not notice a huge difference and the concern for the imbalance is real.

I've noticed a lot of guys handle it with care (looking back at all the John Meadows programs I've run, even he takes a very measured approach to it. Out of 6-7 programs ran from start to finish, I think I could count on 2 hands the number of times I did any "heavy" pressing).

General guidelines for myself as I outlined is use simple movements focused more on feel than weight/poundages, limit weekly volume to an as-needed basis, and incorporate movements that are conducive to shoulder health (spider cralws, over and backs, etc).

 

[Jankauskas]

If you're following Dr. Mike Israetels approach you are already familiar with MEV, MRV, etc so you're already ahead of the game . I would just keep it at minimum effective volume moving forward then, although I believe with front delts for some minimum effective volume could honestly be 0 sets per week lol.

Front delt volume is controversial, the general consensus is you could in all but the most advanced BB drop it entirely and not notice a huge difference and the concern for the imbalance is real.

I've noticed a lot of guys handle it with care (looking back at all the John Meadows programs I've run, even he takes a very measured approach to it. Out of 6-7 programs ran from start to finish, I think I could count on 2 hands the number of times I did any "heavy" pressing).

General guidelines for myself as I outlined is use simple movements focused more on feel than weight/poundages, limit weekly volume to an as-needed basis, and incorporate movements that are conducive to shoulder health (spider cralws, over and backs, etc).

John is always very conservative on both shoulders and arms department, and I have to say the time I ran gamma bomb I felt the best I ever did, and had 0 pain and injury.

Unfortunately, I cannot follow johns programs because I believe he makes his programs based on his personal needs, and even though they are great and can be done by Anyone with great success, I need to follow my own path and cater for my own needs.

For example, John doesn’t emphasize a lot on arms and shoulders in his programs, because his are huge, but to me those are things that I have to improve.

Also, you don’t see a lot of trap work, and even though I adapted his training philosophy for back thickness, I need to also emphasize the traps, which I need to work on a lot (also doing 20 sets on those per week).

In contrast, johns leg workouts are brutal with his split squats drop sets, and a lot of volume. I have massive legs compared to my upper body, I don’t need to put myself through that hell because of that, so I’m just doing a moderate amount of volume (12 for quads and 12 for hams)per week. I actually do more glute work than either quads or hams, because my thighs are so big that they make it look like I have no ass, and even a couple of girls commented on that when I was following johns gamma bomb, so I have to watch out for my weaknesses.