Muscle asymmetry: how to correct it
“I broke my leg and one has more muscle than the other”
One side of the body is more developed in the vast majority of people, and this is normal! In cases where someone has an accident and needs to wear a cast for some time, this becomes more evident, as the person tends to move that area very little or not at all.
Greater strength on one side
As a result, the muscles in that limb shrink or atrophy simply due to lack of use. This also happens because more force is applied to one side during training due to a lack of knowledge or poor guidance…
When one side is dominant, that side is conditioned to exert more force, mainly because it is more developed and can handle more weight.
Correcting the difference
To correct muscle asymmetry, most of the time, exercises that work each side individually (unilateral exercises) are chosen. The suggestion is to do unilateral workouts matched in volume (same weight and number of repetitions), starting with the less developed side.
The goal is for the relative intensity to be greater on the “weak” side, generating more adaptations. The use of dumbbells is recommended, especially for differences in the upper limbs.
How to fix asymmetry
One of the main concerns of women embarking on a bodybuilding journey is hypertrophy. And having a symmetrical body is one of their priorities.
Many people who do bodybuilding have the sweet illusion that gaining lean mass is a simple, short-term process…
The truth is that this is a lengthy process that depends on many variables, such as diet, exercise intensity, adequate rest, and even the use of supplements if necessary.
Muscle hypertrophy is characterized by an increase in volume. This is the body’s natural response to intense and properly applied exercise!
It is important to let your muscles rest so that the desired effect of hypertrophy can be achieved. Therefore, if the day’s workout is for the upper body, it is recommended that the following day’s workout be for the lower body, or that you take a complete rest day, so your muscles can recover, avoid injuries and overloading, and correct asymmetry.
