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Why Is My Physique Asymmetrical Despite Balanced Training

How Neural Drive Asymmetry Creates Muscle Imbalance That Volume Cannot Fix

Bodybuilding's entire goal is visual symmetry. And yet bodybuilders are among the most asymmetrical athletes in any gym. One lat is thicker. One pec has a better lower shelf. One delt caps more roundly. These asymmetries persist through years of training because this is not a volume problem. It is a neural drive problem.

Why Volume Cannot Fix Neural Drive Asymmetry

The standard approach is to add volume to the weak side. Extra sets for the smaller lat. Dumbbell-only pressing. This assumes the weak side is undertrained. It is not. It is under-recruited. More volume to an under-recruited muscle creates more compensation, not more growth.

How Pelvic Rotation Affects Lat Development

When your pelvis is rotated in the Left AIC pattern, your left lat has reduced neural drive. If your brain is sending a 60 percent contraction signal, that muscle receives 60 percent of its potential stimulus regardless of exercise selection or volume. Your right lat grows faster because it receives a full signal.

How Rib Position Affects Chest Development

When ribs flare on the left and compress on the right (Right BC pattern), pec attachment points are in different positions on each side. The left pec works from a lengthened, disadvantaged position. Same exercise, same weight, different stimulus to each side of the chest.

How Shoulder Position Affects Delt Development

The Right BC pattern drops the right shoulder forward, placing the right anterior deltoid in mechanical advantage during pressing and the right lateral deltoid at a disadvantage. Many bodybuilders have dominant front delts on one side and dominant side delts on the other.

How Restoring Position Creates Symmetrical Growth

When the pelvis is neutral, both lats receive equal neural drive. When ribs are symmetrical, both pecs work from equivalent positions. When shoulders are balanced, both deltoid heads have equal mechanical advantage. MOVECHECK gives bodybuilders objective measurement of the positional asymmetries driving their aesthetic asymmetries, then addresses the position so the physique responds symmetrically to symmetrical training.

See This In Your Own Body

Every concept in this article is tested in the MOVECHECK assessment. Find out which patterns apply to you.

Take The Free Assessment →

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