What Should I Do If One Arm is Bigger Than The Other?

You might have noticed a size difference in the muscle of your arms due to working out at a stretch. While looking in a mirror, you can observe that one arm is bigger than the other. It is not just a difference in size but in strength also which usually happens while lifting weights.

It is indeed a normal situation, there is nothing to worry about. Even some people have a degree of an imbalance when it comes to their arms. This generally happens because one arm is more dominant than the other. People who are right handed can easily notice that their right arm is slightly stronger or may be bigger than their left arm.

Why Is the Right Arm Bigger Than the Other?

The prime reason why the right arm is bigger than the other is because one simply uses the right arm more throughout the day to perform regular tasks like carrying things. If you are facing this situation, it simply means that you are using your dominant side more while performing muscle-building exercises. So, if you feel a huge difference between the size of your arms, you can easily fix this. However, first it is imperative to know some preventable factors that might influence the amount of asymmetry in your arms.

Some of the Preventable Factors

There are a number of preventable factors that may be the reasons why one of your arms is developing rapidly and looking larger than the other arm. Well, the three major preventable factors are improper training form, natural dominance and the presence of underlying injuries. Let’s discuss how it will improve chances of recovering in case if one arm is bigger than other.

1. Improper Training Form

While doing weight training, it is crucial to use proper training form. It is not a wise decision to allow your body parts to take on more weight to finish your set quickly. Don’t commit a mistake to ‘cheat’ with your movements when you are at the end of the last tough set. By cheating with your movements to complete the set also known as  compensation, you will push your muscles fully to fatigue.

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For instance, if you get tired while doing barbell curls. It might seem appealing to allow your shoulders and traps to help you out. However, it will not have as much of the desired effect.

The same effect applies when your one arm is stronger than the other. Your strong arm (right arm) will recompense for the left arm’s weakness and bear the impact of the weight. Thus, your strong arm will continue getting stronger and make the asymmetric difference much more notable.

2. Natural Dominance

One of the prominent reasons behind the difference in your arms is related to your dominant hand. You mostly tend to use your dominant hand for more tasks than your non-dominant hand for the entire day. All the tasks such as picking things up off the floor or carrying groceries tend to add up over the course of the day. This leads to muscles in your dominant hand naturally getting more exercise, causing the size difference.

3. Underlying Injuries

The other reason why one of your arms is bigger than the other might be an underlying injury. For instance, if you ever have a tendon or muscular issue that hasn’t healed properly, it can impact the look of your arm while flexing.

These muscular injuries are quite common and can happen during your daily routine. Carrying something in an incorrect manner can snap a bicep tendon quite easily. Moreover, overtraining can also cause various types of torn bicep tendons which is another reason to allow yourself enough rest and recovery. When your arm injury heals without corrective surgery, it can sometimes reattach at the wrong place. This leads to a bunched appearance which no longer lets your muscle extend from shoulder to the elbow. As a result, your arm looks significantly smaller than the other one.

Ideas to Prevent One Arm Bigger that Other Issue

Here are some simple things you can do on a daily basis to reduce the difference between your arms. Make sure to keep in mind these simple training factors while following your workout program.

1. Slow Down Your Movement

Always remember that physics plays a subtle but imperative role in training. Doing a bench press of a 40 pound weight rapidly will feel quite different than lifting the same weight slowly. Although there are numerous factors that contribute to these differences. Still, the biggest factor is momentum. If you slow down the movement and add a lot more torque, you can ensure that the muscle is doing work rather than relying on momentum.

2. Know Your Compensations

It is crucial to get in tune with your body and keep a close check on your compensations. If you are aware that you cheat the movement and let your back take over during bicep curls, you can lean against the wall for equilibrium. This will help you prevent your body from making swinging motions that transfer the movement from the biceps to the traps.

To identify your imbalances and make improvements, you can take videos of yourself or work with a coach. Well, you can also train in front of the mirror during bicep exercises.

3. Use Unilateral Exercises

To can easily even out biceps by using unilateral exercises. In simple terms, it means to work with one arm at a time to isolate biceps on each side. It is better to swap out your barbell curls for dumbbell curls and use more single-arm bicep exercises. This can help you prevent your strong arm from picking up the slack of your weak arm.

You can also experiment with training and do a few reps with a weaker arm. Doing so will help you build a lot more strength and muscle mass over time.

4. Use Resistance Bands

Instead of weights, using resistance bands for some exercising can help you balance out your biceps. While curling with a dumbbell, you may notice the weight seems much lighter at the top of movement. The more you stretch it with a resistance band, the greater the resistance.

You will experience more resistance with a band at the top of the concentric part of the movement. Thus, eccentric movement will become easier. This is called inverting or flipping the strength and can help you balance out your arms.

Exercises to do If Your One Arm is Bigger than Other

Apart from simple training factors mentioned above, here are some really good exercises you can do to reduce the difference between your arms:

1. Concentration Curls

Concentration curls eliminate the momentum from your motion and prevent any of the movement from shifting to shoulders. This isolation allows you to focus on each arm separately and correct any arm/bicep imbalances that you have developed.

Procedure to do Concentration curls

1. Sit properly on a beneck with your feet firmly planted on the ground.
2. With your elbow, hold a dumbbell on your inner thigh in a supinated hold.
3. Steadily curl the weight up toward your bicep.
4. Make sure your upper arm is stable and only your forearm should be moving.
5. Pause and compress your bicep at the top of the movement.
6. Lower your back slowly to the original starting position.
7. Have patience and move through this exercise slowly for better outcomes.

2. Incline Dumbbell Curl

Incline dumbbell curl is really a helpful exercise to target the long head of the bicep muscle. The enhanced range of movement in this exercise sets it apart from many of other curl variations that you might have tried before.

Procedure to do Incline dumbbell curl

1. First, adjust your bench to a 45 degree angle.
2. With an underhand grip, hold two dumbbells and sit back on the bench.
3. Allowing only the forearm to move, slowly curl one dumbbell.
4. Pause and compress the biceps at the top of the movement.
5. Lower your back slowly to the original starting position.
6. Repeat the same movement on the other side as well.
7. Make sure to do this exercise in a slow and controlled way.

3. Single-arm Preacher Curl

Just like concentration curls, these types of preacher curls can help you prevent any type of shoulder shift while curling. Single-arm preacher curl is the best isolation way to target uneven arms.

Procedure to do Single-arm preacher curl

1. Sit at a preacher bench or incline over a bench tuned to armpit height.
2. With an underhand grip, hold a dumbbell and rest your arm on the bench, stopping just under the armpit.
3. While keeping your upper arm fixed on the bench, curl the weight up slowly.
4. Pause and compress your forearm when it is perpendicular to the ceiling.
5. Lower your back slowly to the original starting position.

4. Lying Cable Curl

It might seem a strange idea to lay down the table, but it can really be a great way of preventing motion transfer and effectively targeting the biceps. If you have one arm bigger than the other, make sure to perform this exercise unilaterally for effective results.

Procedure to do lying cable exercise

1. Fix a straight bar or EZ bar to the low pulley cable machine.
2. You can also make use of ropes or a D grip for unilateral motions.
3. Lay on your back with your feet toward the cable pulley. Afterward, grip the bar with an underhand grip, keeping your arms broadened.
4. Curl the bar upward toward your chest while keeping your arms stuffed to your sides and still.
5. Lower your back slowly to the original starting position.
6. If you can’t find a cable machine, you can try this movement with a resistance band secured to a rack.

5. Single-arm Reverse Cable Curl

The single-arm reverse cable curl is an effective exercise but often overlooked and underrated by people. It is a wise decision to start with a light weight for this movement, which can be surprisingly deceptive in terms of its complication.

Procedure to do Single-arm reverse cable curl

1. Fix a D grip to the low pulley cable machine.
2. While facing the machine, grab the handle with an overhand grip.
3. Assure an athletic stance with feet at hip-width and keep your knees slightly bent.
4. While keeping your elbows tucked and the upper arm stable, curl the weight up toward your shoulder.
5. Pause and compress your bicep at the top of the movement.
6. Lower your back slowly to the original starting position.
7. Brace your core and keep your chest up for this workout session.
8. If you want to stay firm and stable, try resting your inactive hand on your abdomen.

Final Words

It is completely normal for gym freaks or bodybuilders to have one arm develop faster than the other due to lifting weights. However, there are a myriad of people who want to know how to balance out their arms for an even appearance. So, first identify the issue that is causing the imbalance. Afterward, use unilateral exercises with a proper form to fix muscle imbalance. With constant effort and devoting enough time, you will find your arm muscles starting to even out. I hope this article will help people with one arm bigger than the other one.