When i started working out again almost 3 months ago i noticed i still had a big whole/shoulder imbalance on my left shoulder so i put extra attention to it. I switched my shoulder presses to db and even do more side lateral raises and rear delt raises on that side as well. Even though i did all of this i still haven’t seen any change(filling out) .I’m starting to think it’s more than just a shoulder a imbalance. Thats a pic of it 3 months ago. Any idea of what this may be?
And yes i understad im still a noob but im bound to have seen atleast some progress on the imbalance . It’s been 3 months…
It’s nothing serious. First, imbalances will happen. Also, depending on how you pose it may make things look worse than they are. I broke my collarbone when I was less than a year old, and it has resulted in a true imbalance. Also, you may actually have some slight scoliosis or something similar. Nothing drastic, but this does happen a lot.
That being said, keep focusing on working the weaker deltoid primarily. Stop pressing first (a la Meadows,) and let your weaker side dictate how many reps you will be performing. IMO, doing MORE with your delt isn’t a winning strategy, but again, allowing the weaker side to dictate # of reps, etc. Save all shoulder pressing for last, if it all, on shoulder days.
[quote]SSC wrote:
It’s nothing serious. First, imbalances will happen. Also, depending on how you pose it may make things look worse than they are. I broke my collarbone when I was less than a year old, and it has resulted in a true imbalance. Also, you may actually have some slight scoliosis or something similar. Nothing drastic, but this does happen a lot.
That being said, keep focusing on working the weaker deltoid primarily. Stop pressing first (a la Meadows,) and let your weaker side dictate how many reps you will be performing. IMO, doing MORE with your delt isn’t a winning strategy, but again, allowing the weaker side to dictate # of reps, etc. Save all shoulder pressing for last, if it all, on shoulder days.
.02[/quote]
I’m pretty sure its not the way im posing. You can see the imbalance even when i have my arms by my side. You may be right about the whole scoliosis thing , my left shoulder looks slightly long and higher up when i look at my self in the mirror.
As for my presses , i do all of the them handed standing up and do 1 or 2 reps less on my right because im way stronger. I may try doing them last in my workout but i really don’t want to get weaker on em lol. Been helping me bring up my bench a lot. Thanks .
Doesn’t look like you’ve gained much mass in the 3 months, with that being the case your left wouldn’t have gained enough to equal your right.
I’m not a fan of less reps for balancing. If you want that muscle to gain more add more frequency such as 3 days a week vs two for the left shoulder. Either way if I was you I wouldn’t worry about that too much yet. Just try to gain the total mass that I want for my body.
Do you (or have you) do any sports outside of the gym? Perhaps something upper body intensive like basketball, baseball, football (specifically quarterback), tennis, essentially anything where you tend to use your right shoulder/arm predominantly? I’m just going to assume that you are right handed, so realize that the added volume of work and neuromuscular connection you have on your right side. It’s probably going to take quite a lot longer than 3 months to even out that natural disparity. You can also of course make an effort to use your left arm/shoulder more often to add additional volume and improve neuromuscular coordination/connection.
x2 on the recommendation to increase frequency on that shoulder in the gym as well as focus on gaining overall mass.
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Do you (or have you) do any sports outside of the gym? Perhaps something upper body intensive like basketball, baseball, football (specifically quarterback), tennis, essentially anything where you tend to use your right shoulder/arm predominantly? I’m just going to assume that you are right handed, so realize that the added volume of work and neuromuscular connection you have on your right side. It’s probably going to take quite a lot longer than 3 months to even out that natural disparity. You can also of course make an effort to use your left arm/shoulder more often to add additional volume and improve neuromuscular coordination/connection.
x2 on the recommendation to increase frequency on that shoulder in the gym as well as focus on gaining overall mass.[/quote]
I used to play a lot of baseball when i was younger and i still play basketball but i have i never lay up with my left and left hand dribbles suck lol. Thanks for the advice. How does doing 3-4 sets of lateral raises on chest day and face pulls/rear delt rows on back day as well sound?
@IronDwarf i wouldn’t mind if you actually did that lol. I’m on a very tight budget.
