Body Symmetry

[NoExcuses]

So I guess the whole purpose of this thread is to share my issue with people that strive for the same thing and maybe get some input at the same time. I have a little OCD in me and if any of you know what thats like then you will understand my issue here.

I snowboard and when I was 15 I broke my right side collar bone, no big deal at the time just a little pain and an early end to my season. Recovered fine and no issues since..... I started lifting that its..

Since I started lifting (which has been 1.5 yrs) and started to develop muscle for the first time I notice the extent of my injury. My right pec is noticably smaller and it drives me MAD!!! Like its an obsession and I freakin hate it! I have tried so hard tho get it to catch up and it wont. The left side just grows at a rapid pace versus the right.

It has actually made me think numerous times about throwing in the towel because I will never be able to obtain my goal of a big symmetrical chest. Never and the crazy part is its just looks. My pecs are both just as strong as the other it just wont grow and especially at the clavical area. I have tried doing lots of incline bench but the left just gets massive and the right side dents in at parts. I am a bit of a perfectionsist also and thats a blessing and a curse at the same time. On the positive side it keeps me motivated to strive for my fitness goals to an extent otherwise unheard of, but the negative is that nothing is perfect...

I honestly dont know if there is anything i can do to fix it? Any ideas? Am I alone on this or does everyone have symmetry issues of sorts? My wife is sick and tired of hearing about it and to be honest I am sick and tired of talking about it. Any ideas of how I might be able to get over it? I'm lost on the matter.....

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

I dont think your issue has ANYTHING to do with the broken clavicle as I have broken mine before too and it was the left side that I broke and
It just so happens that my left pec is bigger than the right one.

Many, many, many people have these issues and are mostly noticable to only themselves. My pecs have evened out quite a bit, but 2 years ago my left pec was ridiculously larger than the right. Also, 2 years ago my left arm happened to be 3/4 of an inch smaller than my right arm, but since then my left has caught up and is a 1/8 bigger now than my right.

It all evens out eventually. I think alot of it is the "mind muscle connection".
When I started evening out my right pec was when I virtually concentrated on pushing and contracting harder with that pec...
Well, I also put 2.5 lb plates under the right sides of the bench which causes it to slant more and puts more focus on the right side a tad bit.
I dont know which one caused more success, but the problem has evened out to a great degree.

If you have problems with upper chest, I'd seriously focus solely on incline bench and military and shoulder presses and drop flat bench all together.

[NoExcuses]

I feel as though because I was young and my muscles were still devolping (In the midst of puberty) that I have a lower number of muscle cells there. Trust me I do focus on trying to contract ONLY that pec when I press and the result there is a larger right lat.. The reason why I think this is because if someone breaks a leg for instance and has a cast right. Whats the leg look like after the cast comes off?? Smaller, by a big amount. By all means I am not trying to debate you over this just trying to figure it out...

So you think it will catch up eventually?? My wife says she can feel the scare tissue there and she is a massage therapist.

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by NoExcuses

I feel as though because I was young and my muscles were still devolping (In the midst of puberty) that I have a lower number of muscle cells there. Trust me I do focus on trying to contract ONLY that pec when I press and the result there is a larger right lat.. The reason why I think this is because if someone breaks a leg for instance and has a cast right. Whats the leg look like after the cast comes off?? Smaller, by a big amount. By all means I am not trying to debate you over this just trying to figure it out...

So you think it will catch up eventually?? My wife says she can feel the scare tissue there and she is a massage therapist.

No worries bro, the site here is for working stuff like this out.

Regards to the broken limb scenario you brought up.
Well that is atrophy and applies to any muscle that isnt worked or used for a given time. Sure your arm would atrophy and shrink, but after the cast comes off and some rehab is done, the muscles will come right back in a few weeks or months with no long term effects in muscle loss.

You definitely may have some bone issues if the break was not set properly and healed in a wrong formation, but not likely as the doc's are good about lining stuff back up usually. I myself have a stiffness in that area, but nothing so far as strength loss or muscle loss.

And did you tear any muscles or anything else? Because there would be no scar tissue from a simple bone break...You will have definitely have a calcium deposit where the break is reparied and reformed making it stronger than before the break...maybe thats what she feels???

Yes, all in all, I'd not worry about it other than doing some small things to counter act it..You should start doing dumbbell presses alot too.

It will definitely even out sooner or later

[NoExcuses]

I get the atrophy part, that makes sense, but what about when a child is devolping??? Regardless, there were torn muscles as well. When I feel my chest and where the scar tissue is, starts at my sternum and raises up at about a 45 degree angle out to my shoulder. Its not like there is no muscle there, but it is definatly noticable.. Anyways its just a vanity thing I guess it just drives me mad...

[Lifter101]

I don't think anybody is born perfectly symmetrical. You should be happy your spine isn't curved. I think if you keep adding more mass to it, it'll be less noticeable. Also, your "flaw" is just more noticeable to you because you look for them. Other people won't see it if you don't tell them.

[joemomma]

Agreed. Even some of the top BB pros aren't symmetrical. That's just genetics. You keep adding mass to your frame, and you will notice it even less. The human body is an amazing thing, it won't let itself get too much out of whack. It grows as a whole, and it will work itself out in time.