Q: I have a mostly symmetrical physique and pride myself on looking very balanced, but my chest is asymmetrical and it’s a real source of worry. I am going to be competing in the spring and I want to bring up my left pec, which is noticeably different in shape and size. It wasn’t as noticeable a year ago, but has become more so. What can I do?

A: First off, you didn’t say why it occurred. Was it just not noticeable when you were undeveloped, or was it more a case of something like an injury creating an imbalance? I’d personally go check with a kinesiologist to see if you have torn a muscle - slow tear - that has gradually deteriorated the architecture of your pec. Imbalances are normal, but not as you describe as totally “different in shape and size” - and particularly if it has grown more glaring in its difference. Apart from that, changing the manner in which you train and paying attention to how you may create imbalances through greater strength or emphasis on one side vs. the other, is crucial to alter this problem. I suggest if you are training with barbells, doing bench press and incline press with a straight bar, you should change this immediately to dumbbells. Range of motion may be the problem here and you may, unwittingly, be pushing harder with your right pec than your left in big lifts. That is my next recommendation - change from “big lifts” for right now, to concentric and hard-squeezing repetitions that are executed slowly. That is important in isolating tissue that is lagging. Have someone take photos of your pecs in all flexed and unflexed states, and take more every four weeks as you change things. Also, work one-armed and two-armed (but mostly one) with cables to really stretch and flex those insertion points. Insertions are what wind up and make a muscle looking fuller and bigger. Ignoring that sort of training, in addition to the regular size-inspiring moves, is a mistake.

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