SYMMETRY!!! new to NZBB

[Genetics1992]

hey there, NZBB.

i started training in bodybuilding late last year. In 6months i put on 15 kgs. Trouble is i cant get symmetry. I know why, it's because cant do any movements properly ("properly") with the right hand side of my body. Left had side is completely fine, and the muscles develop spectacularly.

After this whole time of getting frustrated at not being able to lift in symmetrical way i've put Hypertrophy to one side and am now focused on making the movements perfect before going for mass again.

massage therapy has been helping a bit (turns out the whole right side was knotted up like crazy).

Seeing a sports doctor soon to see what he has to say.

There may be some spinal issues too.

Long story shot, i have trouble with symmetry and i'm making that a priority for now. Has anyone else had similar problems? How did you deal with them? Where are the good threads dealing with symmetry?

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

hey welcome and nice job so far.

you are off to a good start with focusing on good form first before loading more weights on.

what it sounds like you are experiencing is not too uncommon to people who are very new to physical activity, just most people don't notice/acknowledge it until ages later when they find one side of their chest or bicep is couple inches smaller than the other. it could be something a lot deeper than this but good to explore the easy options first anyway eh.

do you happen to be left handed by any chance? how is the flexibility on your right side compared with left side - it could be what's keeping you from working it the right way.

have you tried using dumbells (same weight on both sides) [upper body] and putting decent effort in to trying to make sure both sides are working evenly? if there is a big imbalance it may take a while until the right catches up to the left but it'll be worth it when it finally does so you can start training properly again

how about your legs? are they also part of this big imbalance?

[Genetics1992]

Hey Fellowshipoftheron,

There are definitely some flexibility issues with my right hand side. Standard stretching has help somewhat but only to a certain extent. For example my ankle mobility was pretty horrendous, which made squatting a nightmare. Stretching the calf out by itself did little to nothing to help but as soon as i started getting in there with my hands and thumbs and working the deep tissue with some oil i had huge improvements in mobility as well as an enhanced ability to perform standard stretches and actually feel the tension in the muscle. Similarly with my front delt and pec. Getting really stuck in with the fingers using some oil freed things up and enabled me to do normal stretching aswell. Hip mobility isn't the easiest to work on but i've done a lot of work there too, still not quite there though.

strangely enough i'm right handed, which makes my situation all the more puzzling.

i am by no means new to physcial activity. I rowed at school, club and university for about 6 years and did martial arts for roughly the same. It's only now though that i've started BB that i've really begun to notice how deep this issues are.

I have tried dumbbell work with some success but not huge amounts. I still can't move the weight in quite the same way.

i hoping this just a soft tissue thing and that by loosening it up with stretching and massage i'll better engage the right muscles in the right ways and see more symmetry in my movements.

cheers for the reply, Dude.

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Hey Fellowshipoftheron,

There are definitely some flexibility issues with my right hand side. Standard stretching has help somewhat but only to a certain extent. For example my ankle mobility was pretty horrendous, which made squatting a nightmare. Stretching the calf out by itself did little to nothing to help but as soon as i started getting in there with my hands and thumbs and working the deep tissue with some oil i had huge improvements in mobility as well as an enhanced ability to perform standard stretches and actually feel the tension in the muscle. Similarly with my front delt and pec. Getting really stuck in with the fingers using some oil freed things up and enabled me to do normal stretching aswell. Hip mobility isn't the easiest to work on but i've done a lot of work there too, still not quite there though.

strangely enough i'm right handed, which makes my situation all the more puzzling.

i am by no means new to physcial activity. I rowed at school, club and university for about 6 years and did martial arts for roughly the same. It's only now though that i've started BB that i've really begun to notice how deep this issues are.

I have tried dumbbell work with some success but not huge amounts. I still can't move the weight in quite the same way.

i hoping this just a soft tissue thing and that by loosening it up with stretching and massage i'll better engage the right muscles in the right ways and see more symmetry in my movements.

cheers for the reply, Dude.

This is really wierd man.

You rowed for 6 years at Uni + did practiced martial arts, I guess you definitely did not have the same issues back then right?

How long ago was that? What happened in between then and now? eg. you stopped doing physical activity for few years or had any kind of injury during this time?

[Mcmass]

I had something similar with my back years ago.

Not long after starting to lift I found it very hard to contract or feel back exercises.

I went and saw a chiropractor and he found that there was nerve impingement in my spine, this was sending signals to the muscles in my mid back to tighten and caused all my early training to not stimulate the muscles I was trying to hit.

After seeing him for a couple of months and doing the rehab exercises he had given me things started coming right.

Might be worth seeing someone that can test nerve function, its a common reaction for the miss-firing of nerves to tighten the surrounding muscles.

All the best :wink:

[greemah]

After seeing him for a couple of months and doing the rehab exercises he had given me things started coming right.

What were the rehab exercises?

[Genetics1992]

@Fellowshipoftheron,

Looking back at my years of physical activity i can see that these problems have more or less always been present, i couldnt tell you were it started really. I've been training almost everyday for the past 7 years.

@Mcmass,

Interesting, i had trouble feeling back exercises too and started seeing a chiropractor. Its helped a bit with mobility and tightness, and i can definitely feel the exercise a bit more. What were the exercises? A point was made by someone on another forum that if the specialist isnt giving you "homework" your not getting your money's worth. My guy just does the old "click, clack, crack" and sends me on my way. I'm not too sure what to ask him, or if he even has anything else to offer.

[Mcmass]

@Mcmass,

Interesting, i had trouble feeling back exercises too and started seeing a chiropractor. Its helped a bit with mobility and tightness, and i can definitely feel the exercise a bit more. What were the exercises? A point was made by someone on another forum that if the specialist isnt giving you "homework" your not getting your money's worth. My guy just does the old "click, clack, crack" and sends me on my way. I'm not too sure what to ask him, or if he even has anything else to offer.

I would say that was a fair generalization of rehab specialists, if its ongoing treatment and you find they don't offer homework for you to do then its a good idea to maybe ask them why and based on the answer look at moving on to another therapist. 9/10 times there is no good reason why there wouldn't be something you can do to help recovery.

It took me at least 4 different changes in who I was seeing to find someone that "clicked", in the first visit I had a feeling I hadn't had from the others.

Was really good at explaining what and why he was doing what he was, every session would ask how my sport and lifting was effecting my pain. And every session would ask how my homework exercises were going, would make adjustments based on how easy or hard I found them.

In most weeks I would also notice some form of improvement not always pain reduction but tightness in my back or feeling I was able to lift with the correct muscles more often, still having good and bad days but the good days became more often over time.

As far as the exercises, they would be pretty hard to detail on here but I will do my best

-lots of hanging from chin bar drills, using gentle cross turning of legs, then back and forward movements.

-most mid back exercises where either passive or varying degrees of forced Thoracic mobility.

Things like wall or floor angels, lying over foam rollers or balls with or without using some kind of locking through the arms to intensify the exercise.

After this type of stuff, the pain from memory was 30-50% less, and general discomfort had eased.

Then the exercises moved to some rotational mobility drills such as

- on all fours, locking hips slightly back from 90degree to lock lower back and forced thoracic isolation best you can. Then kinda like a twisting crunch one hand behind head, other hand supporting on floor twist elbow to supporting arm.

Bout 30secs into this video she does the one on all fours, the reachbacks or Ive always known them to be called Bowmans was also something in my program.

Heaps of good vids and things to read online about mobility. All us lifters love to lift heavy and I think it would be safe to say most of us will have either or both tight shoulder/thoracic mobility. Whether there is pain or not doing all these kinds of exercises help us lift heavier, and more importantly lengthen the time we can lift heavy without some nigglely injury or overuse injury. Im sure it would also increase the length of time we can lift how we want later in life.

They may not be as fun as just heading into the gym and doing some nice heavy deads or squats, but if you can force yourself to do some of this inbetween sets or just a few mins after your workout as a cooldown and you notice benefit then the motivation to include them into sessions will increase.

On a side note for people that do bodybuilding, this stuff can help getting into poses, esp twisting side shots too :wink:

So try another therapist ask around at the gym for someone you respects opinion on someone they may have seen. Osteopaths and Chiropractors have been more helpful to me personally than any physio has been.

All the best

[Genetics1992]

@McMass,

truly a fantastic response, i'll definitely take you're advice and seek other therapists. Those excercise look like they could be very helpful too. One thing you've identified that i think too few lifters think about is longevity. I'm in this for the long run as i'm sure you are. Anything i can learn to increase the span of my lifting career is pure gold in my eyes.

cheers Mate!