Hey T-people. I noticed today that when I do pull-ups (palms facing towards me, is that supinated or pronated, I forget??) I tend to favor my left lat. This favoritism is illustrated in my later sets when my back is already very tight, pumped, and fatigued, and it appears that on the lowering portion of the pullup my left shoulder is higher than the right. In other words, it appears that my left lat due to weakness or whatever gets extra help from my left shoulder. It does not look that bizarre, but I definitely notice that my left side (i.e. lat, shoulder, etc) is contracted higher and harder than my right. In the early sets I have no problems, and thus this issue does not appear to be a problem of form.
Any ideas? I assume that since I am right-handed my right side is slighter stronger than my left, and during the final few sets (doing CW’s SOB program right now) my left side is trying to compensate.
The ultimate question is…is this discrepancy a bad thing? Should I try to fix it, or is it not that major? Also, if people are confused by my rambling post I can try to clarify. Thanks in advance.
Without knowing specifics (ie. exam) I cant say with any guarantee, but if you have abnormal spinal alignment, similar to what is called a scoliosis, can be a reason for asymetrical muscle development and strength. Hand dominance and profession are also possibilities that would be taken into consideration.
it could be that your support muscles are stronger on one side…for example biceps are commonly stronger on the dominant side, thus the biceps would help more on the dominant side, which would cause the non-dominant side to work harder…many variables…but the point is to make sure all sides are of equal strenght, then over time you will become symetrical…maybe try unilateral training w/ dumbells.
[quote]Slider wrote:
Thanks for all the replies. I am considering after SOB training some DB side specific lat training to bring up the weaker side. [/quote]
I have not done them, but one arm cable pulldowns emulate pullups and could be pretty damned effective. Stretch all the way at the top and contract completely.