Fix Your Uneven Chest with these 3 Exercises

Subj: The best exercises to fix uneven chest muscles.

In this post we cover the 3 best exercises to fix uneven chest muscles. These are the best I’ve found and have had success with. You’ll notice that the setup and execution on each exercise is quite similar. However they are different enough to provide a well-rounded approach for developing even pectorals.

Use very light weight with these exercises. It doesn’t take a lot of weight if you do it right. Focus on racking up reps before even thinking about adding weight. When you do add weight, do it slowly, little by little. Strict form, time under tension and body mechanics are superior here. Those factors provide most of the value for each of these exercises.

Guillotine Press

No surprise here. I’ve been singing praises about the Guillotine Press for a long time. Guillotine Press can feel awkward at first. Especially if you lack shoulder flexibly. So be prepared to do some stretches and give yourself time to get used to it. And of course – Take. It. Slow. No sense in rushing into it as a newbie and shredding your shoulder ligaments.

How to perform the guillotine press to fix your uneven chest

First you need a Smith Machine. (I highly recommend using a Smith Machine rather than a regular bench and barbell to perform Guillotine Press. It’s much easier to focus on isolating your chest muscles with the Smith Machine.)

Grip: The heel of your palm should be in firm contact with the bar. Another way to look at it is that the heel of your palm should be feeling all the pressure of the weight.

Grip width: Grip should be medium-wide. Your grip needs to be wide enough so that your elbows stay under your wrists the entire time (while also having your elbows in the correct position too of course.)

Foot placement: Lift your legs up so your shins are parallel with the ceiling. Almost like you tuck your knees up to your chest.

Torso position: Back is flat against the bench. Press as much of your back’s surface area should be in contact with the bench as possible. Your legs are lifted up throughout the entire set which will roll your hips toward your torso and allow your lower back to stay in contact with the bench.

Shoulders: Pull your shoulders back as possible.

Arm position: Bring elbows directly out to your sides. Imagine pressing your elbow straight up and try to bring them together. Your upper arm should stay at 90-degree angle from your torso the whole time.

Bar Path: Bring the bar down to your clavicle. Get a good stretch at the bottom of the rep. You should feel a deep stretch in and throughout your pectoral muscles.

Training cues: Squeeze your chest muscle as hard as you can at the top. Go smooth and go slow.

Vince GiRonda Dumbbell Bench Press

This is a modified press I learned from Vince Gironda (Not directly from him. I wish…) It’s one of the best exercisers that I’ve found for isolating the pectoral muscles.

How to Do Palms-Facing Dumbbell Press to Fix an Uneven Chest

Grip: Grab a dumbbell in each hand. Keep your palms facing each other the entire set.

Foot placement: Can plant feet on ground like normal dumbbell bench press. Or lift legs up so your shins are parallel with the ceiling. This forces you to focus more on each rep to maintain balance. IN turn your reps are methodical and helps isolate/keep tension on your pectorals.

Shoulders: Pull your shoulders back as far as possible. Especially at the bottom of the movement. Something what happens is that the front deltoid muscle overpowers the chest muscles when performing presses. I notice when I consciously reach my elbows toward the floor and try to stretch my chest as much as possible, my front deltoid relaxes. This is important as it allows the chest to handle the load. oFten times the front delt is conditioned to engage when doing presses. (Either through injury, bad form or bad training habits.) You need to consciously override this when training in order to fix your uneven chest.

Arm position: Bring elbows directly out to your sides. Bring your elbows back toward the floor as far as you can. You should feel a deep stretch in your chest muscles. Imagine pressing your elbow straight up and try to bring them together. Your upper arm should stay at 90-degree angle from your torso the whole time.

Movement Path: Bring the the dumbbells down as far as you can. Get a good stretch at the bottom of the rep. You should feel a deep stretch in and throughout your pectoral muscles. Push the dumbbells straight up, keep your elbows straight to your sides and directly under the weights. Palms facing each other the whole time. Touch the dumbbells together at the top of the movement. All 4 bells need to make contact. Hold it there for a second or two. Steady yourself and slowly lower the weight for another rep.

Head position: Don’t arch your neck. Sometimes people roll their head back a bit. This simulates a mini wrestlers bridge and puts tension on your neck/trapezius muscles and shifts tension away from your shoulders. Tuck your chin into your chest. It should look like you have a double chin. (Not aesthetically pleasing, but effective. Make sure your gym crush isn’t around to see it.)

Training cues: Squeeze your chest muscle as hard as you can at the top. Go smooth and go slow.

Single-Arm Dumbbell Press

This exercises is just what it sounds like. It’s a great exercises to even out your pecs. learn how to execute it below.

How to do the Single-Arm Dumbbell Press to Fix Uneven Pecs

Grip: Grab a dumbbell of equal weight in each hand and lay back on a bench.

Foot placement: You can plant your feet on ground like normal dumbbell bench press, or lift legs up so your shins are parallel with the ceiling. Having your legs in this up position forces you to focus more on each rep in order to maintain balance. In turn your reps are more methodical and this helps isolate/keep tension on your pectorals. Try both ways and see what works best for you.

Shoulders: Pull your shoulders back as far as possible. Especially at the bottom of the movement. Something what happens is that the front deltoid muscle overpowers the chest muscles when performing presses. I notice when I consciously reach my elbows toward the floor and try to stretch my chest as much as possible, my front deltoid relaxes. This is important as it allows the chest to handle the load. Often times the front deltoid is conditioned to engage when doing presses. (Either through injury, bad form or bad training habits.) You need to consciously override this when training in order to fix your uneven chest.

Movement Path: Elbows should trace a semi-circle type motion. As you bend your elbow to lower the weight you keep them straight out from your sides. This keeps tension on your pectorals. Get a good stretch at the bottom of the rep. You should feel a deep stretch in and throughout your pectoral muscles. Push the dumbbells straight up, keep your elbows straight to your sides and directly under the weights. Palms facing each other the whole time. Touch the dumbbells together at the top of the movement. All 4 bells need to make contact. Hold it there for a second or two. Steady yourself and slowly lower the weight for another rep. You’ll notice it gets harder to touch the dumbbells on pinkie side together. This is due to fatigue. You really need to grit your teeth and fight through it. That’s how you get maximum benefit from this exercise. Make sure you touch all 4 bells together at the top of the movement.

Training cues: Squeeze your chest muscle as hard as you can at the top. Go smooth and go slow.

Workout to Fix Your Uneven Chest Muscles

Here’s a workout I’ve been doing to successfully improve the evenness of my pecs. It includes the 3 exercises above an how I execute it matters. Here we go:

This workout is one I use to fix my uneven chest. I’ll break it down by exercise, set, reps, and weight used. Okay, let’s party.

Workout Warm Up: I do a workout warm up consisting of foam rolling and stretching. I foam roll my entire upper back with extra focus on upper trapezius muscles and the muscles around my scapula. I typically spend more time on my right side because it is chronically tight and the muscles are overactive.

Stretches: Some combination of front deltoid, upper back, and bicep stretching.

Trigger point release: I’ll then dig a lacrosse ball into my upper trap and front deltoid to get the muscle to release. After that I begin my workout.

Check out the video below for a demonstration on how to do the trigger point release.

Trigger Point Release Therapy to Help Fix Your Uneven Chest (Video)

Often times tight back muscles cause a chest imbalance. This video shows you a self-message technique to make tight muscles relax. Tight back muscle need to relax in order for your chest muscles to activate fully.

Guillotine Press

I use a Smith Machine for Guillotine Press. We’ll say the bar is 25 pounds of resistance.

(Set: reps x weight format.)

Warm up set: Just the bar for 20-30 reps

Warm up set 2: Add 10 pounds to each side and do 15-20 reps

Set 1: 12-15 reps x 65lbs

Set 2: 10-12 reps x 85lbs

Set 3: 8-10 reps x 105lbs

Set 4: 6-8 reps x 125lbs

Set 5 – BURN SET: Maximum reps x 125lbs then immediately reduce weight by 20 pounds and perform another set to failure. Keep repeating this until you can no longer lift the bar.

Maximum reps x 105lbs IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY Maximum reps x 85lbs IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY Maximum reps x 65lbs IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY Maximum reps x 45lbs IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BYMaximum reps x 25lbs

Then if I’m feeling ambitious I’ll catch my breath for a second and then do Single-Arm Presses on the Smith Machine with my smaller chest side.

Alright, now I hydrate and move on to the next exercise.

Vince Gironda Dumbbell Press

This is a very good exercise for fixing an uneven chest. I wish I would have known about it sooner.

Pick a lighter weight than you think you need. The objective is pick a weight to perform 6-12 reps with. Start light and get used to the from first. Once you’re comfortable with the movement then add weight as you see fit.

I’m pretty much warmed up after the first exercise so I get right into my first working set. If you are new to the exercise I recommend going very light for a few sets before cranking up the weight/intensity.

Set 1: 8-12 reps x 30-35lbs

Set 2: 8-12 reps x 30-35lbs

Set 3: 8-12 reps x 30-35lbs

I try to keep rest under a minute between sets.

Single-Arm Dumbbell Press

Depending on how much gas left in my tank I pick a light-moderate weights. I grab a dumbbell in each hand even though I’m only training one side with this exercise. The weight in my off-hand is a counterweight to stay balanced.

Many of the same principles apply here as with the other exercises.

Set 1: 8-12 reps x 30-50lbs

Set 2: 8-12 reps x 30-50lbs

Set 3: 8-12 reps x 30-50lbs

That’s it. That’s the workout. By the end of it your chest muscles should be thoroughly cooked. Get yourself a big meal with lots of protein to make sure you grow. You need to eat in a surplus if you want to make those gains.

I probably do this workout once every 5-7 days. It is the only direct chest training I do now.

Go to a masseuse, chiropractor and/or a body alignment specialists and get looked at. I had a masseuse and chiropractor work on me and it opened my eyes to a lot of problems. They told me what muscle were tight, where they are tight, etc. Useful data for sure.

DISCLAIMER: Remember, I’m not a doctor. I don’t claim to be. I’m just a guy who like to lift weights and talk about it. Consult a medical doctor you trust before starting or making changes to a workout routine, diet or anything else that could impact your health. Good luck and God bless.

Foam rolling for me isn’t strong enough. I use a PVC pipe. It needs to be firm. Get a massage gun and have your lady friend work your knots out.

See ya.

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How to build mind-muscle connection
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How to perform exercises in order to build a symmetrical chest
What exercises to perform
Training methods to enhance your results
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And much, much more

The book will contain training tips and techniques to create a balanced chest. It will provide exercises and stretches necessary to fix the issue. The table of contents is as follows: