Even muscle building?

NASAwife13

How do you even out muscle growth? I measure myself once a month and after this second measurement I lost inches around one arm and gained inches around the other....I am unsure if this is the trainer not measuring the exact spot each time or because I am left handed and therefor weaker on the left side. Same instance with my thighs and calves.

usmcmp

It's most likely inconsistent measuring. The best way to ensure your arms or legs get worked evenly is to include work that is single sided. Like lunges or one arm exercise. Just make sure to use the same weight for both sides.

smilezishere

I've had to deal with that after a severe left ankle sprain. My left calf didn't get use since I had to keep weight off of it so it lost a lot of muscle mass. To even it out I had to do calf raises on individual legs to not prevent a bias on my one (the stronger) side. I think that typically happens when you use barbells or any other dual-arm or leg workouts. Unless you're very mindful of pushing off evenly, most likely the stronger side will do more of the work. Using dumbbells for example is a good start so you'll be certain on getting equal amount of reps on both sides (or doing more reps on the weaker/smaller side).

So my advice is to do more exercises that isolates the sides like using the leg press machine on each leg at a time or using dumbbells. You can do this in addition to your normal routine. And/or you can just be more mindful of evenly pushing off on both sides.

Or even still, maybe the trainer didn't measure correctly.

NASAwife13

smilezishere wrote: »

I've had to deal with that after a severe left ankle sprain. My left calf didn't get use since I had to keep weight off of it so it lost a lot of muscle mass. To even it out I had to do calf raises on individual legs to not prevent a bias on my one (the stronger) side. I think that typically happens when you use barbells or any other dual-arm or leg workouts. Unless you're very mindful of pushing off evenly, most likely the stronger side will do more of the work. Using dumbbells for example is a good start so you'll be certain on getting equal amount of reps on both sides (or doing more reps on the weaker/smaller side).

So my advice is to do more exercises that isolates the sides like using the leg press machine on each leg at a time or using dumbbells. You can do this in addition to your normal routine. And/or you can just be more mindful of evenly pushing off on both sides.

Or even still, maybe the trainer didn't measure correctly.

Hey thanks yea I guess I will see what the next set of measurements say. It is all progress I suppose, just doesnt happen like I want it to haha.

NASAwife13

usmcmp wrote: »

It's most likely inconsistent measuring. The best way to ensure your arms or legs get worked evenly is to include work that is single sided. Like lunges or one arm exercise. Just make sure to use the same weight for both sides.

Yea everything I do is even reps and with the same workout and weight on both sides.

GiddyupTim

It's pretty common that people worry about being uneven. But I think it is unfounded.
Yes, it is true that most people have one side that is appreciably stronger than the other side. (Even soccer players, who run and sprint, one leg after the other, for miles every game, and therefore should be very even, tend to have a dominant leg that can be as much as 30 percent stronger than the other.) And, yes, it is true, that if you cast someone's arm, the arm muscles underneath atrophy from lack of use.
But, it is also true that, when you take the cast off, the muscle tone and size returns pretty quickly, even without concentrated work. And, when was the last time you saw someone else and said to yourself: "Oh my GOD. That person is SO uneven. One [arm/leg] is so much bigger than the other."
Even professional tennis players don't get notably uneven and they use one hand almost exclusively! (Back in the days of wooden rackets, some actually did get slightly bigger forearms on their dominant side. But, even then, the difference was not huge.)
So, I think that as long as you are rational about balancing your workouts -- and not intentionally isolating one side or the other -- you'll end up even in size and appearance. We naturally do enough stuff with each side.
Usmcmp is probably right about your case. Measuring was wrong.

NASAwife13

tufel wrote: »

It's pretty common that people worry about being uneven. But I think it is unfounded.
Yes, it is true that most people have one side that is appreciably stronger than the other side. (Even soccer players, who run and sprint, one leg after the other, for miles every game, and therefore should be very even, tend to have a dominant leg that can be as much as 30 percent stronger than the other.) And, yes, it is true, that if you cast someone's arm, the arm muscles underneath atrophy from lack of use.
But, it is also true that, when you take the cast off, the muscle tone and size returns pretty quickly, even without concentrated work. And, when was the last time you saw someone else and said to yourself: "Oh my GOD. That person is SO uneven. One [arm/leg] is so much bigger than the other."
Even professional tennis players don't get notably uneven and they use one hand almost exclusively! (Back in the days of wooden rackets, some actually did get slightly bigger forearms on their dominant side. But, even then, the difference was not huge.)
So, I think that as long as you are rational about balancing your workouts -- and not intentionally isolating one side or the other -- you'll end up even in size and appearance. We naturally do enough stuff with each side.
Usmcmp is probably right about your case. Measuring was wrong.

Hey thanks for the input. Yea I was reading on several forums that it is a common thing. I am just pretty new to this trying to gain muscle thing. I have always just been focused on loosing the weight.