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My left pec is noticeably bigger than my right pec. Before I even started lifting I had this problem, but probably back then no one else could notice besides myself. When I first started lifting I was too gung-ho and stupid about getting every last rep on my bench and I was relying too much on my stronger side to get the last rep or two up(resulting in uneven lifts with the left side of the barbell going up faster than the right) and this exacerbated the problem. But I stopped being so stupid long ago, however I still cannot get parity between my pecs. I have tried everything, dropping barbell bench and doing dumbell bench, doing decline bench work, throwing in tricep work, dumbell flys, etc., recently I have dropped benching and am doing dips instead as pec excercise. But no matter what, I am making little progress in reaching parity. Since my left pec is bigger it is much easier to "hit" then my smaller right pec, my right tricep, right deltoids take up the missing slack it seems. I have no idea what to do, this is really demoralizing and frustating me. No matter what I try my left pec is always more sore it seems after every chest workout, especially the outer portion of the pec.

I′ve got the same problem: my left pec has always been slightly bigger and, thus, stronger than my right pec. As a result, my right lat, shoulder and triceps are a bit stronger than my left it seems.

Interestingly, Ellington Darden wrote about lack of symmetry between bodyparts (the arms in this case) in his book ′The New High Intensity Training (p. 49). And I quote:

"If you watch closely at a major bodybuilding championship, you′ll notice something interesting: Almost every right-handed bodybuilder will have a left arm that′s larger than his right. This is because the left arm of a right-handed person must work harder to perform its share of an equally divided workload. The left arm doesn′t work more, and it doesn′t work differently. It simply works with greater intensity. And it responds by growing larger than the right arm.

Let′s say that you′re right-handed. You right arm, obviously, is better coordinated than your left. So your balance and muscular control are less efficient in your left arm. Therefore, your left arm works harder, and its response to this increased intensity is to grow larger.

In fact, in tests of strenght that don′t involve balance or muscular coordination, the left arm is almost always stronger than the right, as well as larger.

When this interesting fact is brought to the attention of most bodybuilders, their response usually is "Well, in that case, I′ll do an extra set of curls and extensions with my right arm. Then it′ll grow larger, too."

Which, of course, brings us back to the point of this book: To achieve growth, you need HARDER exercise, not more exercise."

What helped me mostly is when I switched from Flat Bench Barbell Presses to Parallel Bar Dips (make sure the bars are equally placed and symmetrical!). I suggest you do the same: concentrate on Dips for a while and see if that helps. Dumbbells seem to aggravate the problem, so don′t use them unless absolutely necessary (for Dumbbell Flyes and Dumbbell Lateral Raises, only). Use (Olympic) Barbells instead, or, preferably, a good Smith Machine or other good device.

Last but not least: use SUPERSTRICT form in ALL of your exercises (the 4-2-4 cadence is a helping guideline, but slightly slower is O.K.).

Hope this will help you. Good luck!

Hey B-WINE, I have a slightly larger left pec than my right as well. Like you, my right arm, delt and lat are bigger/stronger than my left. I will try your suggestion of doing Dips for chest instead of Bench Press for a while and monitor my progress.

Thanks for the tip!

Cheers mate

This is interesting. I′m right handed, and slightly stronger on the right side, except for a slightly stronger left pec! What′s going on?! I know of someone else who has this exact same situation also.

As for the original post, I have a suggestion: Do one pre-exhaust set on the pec-deck, followed immediately by one set of incline dumbell presses on the right side only. This way you can focus on that right pec without overtraining the right side triceps and shoulders which can be worked seperately.

Sorry I should have made myself clearer: The pec-deck is on both sides, the dumbbell press on the right side only.