Need Advice - different size muscles on each side

OK...

So, since I already introduced myself in another thread let me get down to the nitty-gritty - if I may.

This is my first dilemma:

My triceps, biceps, front delts, chest and back muscles are a different size on my left than on my right. I know that it's normal and natural and that every person is asymmetrical but in my case the difference is too obvious (to me anyway).

Let me explain... I'm right-handed and that is my strong side yet my left triceps is fuller, especially the middle head but it's weaker. Same goes for my chest. My left chest is fuller but my right one is denser and stronger with more forceful contractions when I flex. My left front delt is larger then my right yet it's weaker and my left biceps is wider than my right but it's weaker.

I finally figured out that the reason for this is because in my daily life I compensate at various points with various muscles and through the years it just developed that way. I can see it in action when I do push ups and no matter how I try to re-balance the sides and try to force a particular muscle or muscle group to do more work it just doesn't seem to work.

So, my question is this: How can a muscle be larger but weaker? And how can I get my two sides to be equal in size and strength? They seem to be sitting a different way and therefore seem to work differently and contract differently from one side to the other. I hope I'm making sense and I'm sure I'm not the only person with this issue.

All replies are greatly appreciated.

Most people are asymmetrical to varying degrees. In terms of strength imbalances - concentrate on good form working to the strength/endurance levels of the weaker side, possibly dropping a set from the strong side. This means you will not feel like your strong side is working much, but that is the point.

Will that guarantee that you look more symmetrical? Maybe, maybe not. Your genes are your genes.

To answer your other question, a muscle can be larger but weaker depending on the type of hypertrophy it has undergone during it's development. Strength does not necessarily equal size, and vice versa.

George.

Thanks George - again.

A few years back I realized that some of my left muscles were bigger than my right, and someone told me that it's because I'm right handed and my left side was weaker, making it work harder than the right sided muscles during exercises, therefore growing bigger... Although I'm not sure how much truth is in that, I thought I'd share it... haha

Yeah, that is what I have been told. I don't know if it's true either but he question is... were you able to make them equal or relatively equal and how long did it take?

I think that I am more even now than I was before... I don't notice any major differences. The flaws you see when you look at yourself in the mirror aren't always so obvious to other people when they look at you, so I would just keep on training and maybe it will fix itself

Thanks Garre, I hope you're right.

The differences in strength between muscles has to do with the nervous system. A smaller muscle can be stronger if it has better intramuscular coordination. Basically the ability to fire more muscle fibers. When you do a sprint why do you start in a staggered stance? Because you have a strong leg and a fast leg. You start with the strong leg behind to drive off of and the fast leg wips forward after it. I wouldn't worry to much about it. I don't know if it relates to gymnastics but research has shown that when sprint coaches tried to correct asymetries between legs it made thier athletes slower. There is a reason the body adapts the way it does.