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This happened last year that when I used to do pushups, I realized my chest got uneven, and its more than just a bit but still only noticeable to me.

I do wrist pushups properly but don't understand how my chest got uneven. Is it because I might be doing more work with my right hand unknowingly like my right hand is doing more work in pushing myself up?

How can I make sure it doesn't get worse than this? And how can I make it approximately even?

P.S. It can also be the case that my chest was uneven before and I just realized the unevenness after it got more noticeable after pushups.

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    What do you mean by uneven?
    – Baarn
    Dec 28, 2012 at 12:14
  • @Informaficker Right part of my chest is more developed and more convex in shape.
    – Ashfame
    Dec 28, 2012 at 18:54
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    How have you diagnosed this "development" difference? Did you measure it? Since you say that you are the only one that notices it, you should question whether or not the difference actually exists. It could be something simple like the direction of lighting.
    – user4644
    Jan 1, 2013 at 21:35
  • There is also a possibility that that is just how your chest is shaped. As @Kate mentions, I would have some independent corroboration (And I don't mean your buddy that will take the chance to heckle you :) )
    – JohnP ♦
    Jan 3, 2013 at 15:15

2 Answers 2

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There are a few different things that can cause this:

1. Uneven rib cage. It's possible that the right side of your rib cage could poke out slightly more than the other side, pushing those muscles out further than the other side. I have this issue with my ribs under my upper abdominal muscles, causing a slight bulge (virtually unnoticeable to anyone but me).

2. You're right-handed. If you are more coordinated with the right side of your body, the muscles on that side of your body will generally be slightly larger. For me, no matter how big my muscles have been over the last 12 years of weightlifting, my right arm, right thigh, and right calf muscle have been a half inch larger than the same muscles on the left side. I imagine it's the same for my chest but I don't have a good way to measure the difference.

3. You could be pushing unevenly. If you are right-dominant, it's very easy to push more of your body weight with your right-sided muscles because they are stronger, and the movement is easier to perform that way. If you go to a gym, you can often see people bench pressing unevenly in such a way that more of the weight is applied to the stronger arm.

The cure: Be conscious of your body and how you're pushing your body weight. Try to engage both sides evenly. If that still isn't enough, shift your body weight closer to your left hand to increase the load on your left pectoral muscle. When the left pectoral has reached complete failure, stop, even if you could still push out another rep or two if you shifted your weight toward your right hand.

Also, don't just do one pushup variation. Do your research or do some experimenting and find 10-20 pushup variations if you want to build a full, strong and even chest.

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  • Or, start adding weight by switching to bench press and overhead press. Your current differences will be masked by larger strength gains. No need for 10-20 variations...
    – user4644
    Jan 1, 2013 at 21:33
  • My answer was assuming gym access wasn't available or the person was intentionally performing body weight strength training. I did body weight strength training exclusively for 2 years and built a very solid chest through approximately 30 pushup variations and training to failure (though it obviously doesn't compare to my chest now that I'm training with weights). But Kate is right, weight training will mask that difference if you ensure you're pressing evenly.
    – Shane
    Jan 1, 2013 at 21:41
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The obvious "cure" is to try to exercise both sides evenly.

You can try:

a) Instead of doing push ups you can do bench presses with dumbbells.

b) You can do push ups with your feet on a swiss ball a wobble cushion.

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