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What is Bodybuilding Symmetry?

Bodybuilding symmetry is one of the basic criteria used for judging a bodybuilding contest. What the judges are looking for is muscles that are equally developed on each side of the body.

That means that your left and right biceps should be equally developed and look as similar as possible. The same goes for legs, calves, chest, shoulders and everything else.

It is pretty obvious to me why that is important. I have heard some of the bigger guys complain that the smaller symmetrical guys should not win over larger more muscular guys. First of all, I hope they say that because they think bodybuilding symmetry means “pretty” instead of equal.

Personally, I don’t care if a bodybuilder has a 24 inch ripped right biceps, if his left biceps is 16 inches and undeveloped. Now, that is FREAKY, and not in the good way. So now you know that symmetry is not about being small, or having pleasing lines. It is about your left side looking the same as the right side and so on.

Most people will have pretty good symmetry with regular bodybuilding training, but for those who find one side growing faster or slower than its counterpart, you may need specialized bodybuilding training to even them out. For example, if your left arm is an inch bigger than your right one, you will need to do some extra work on your right arm to bring it up to par. You may need to back off on the left arm training as well, in order to make them match.

In the end, you will place much better in bodybuilding contests by paying attention to your symmetry. You will also be able to go out in public without little children pointing and laughing at your disfigured body.

Learn how to train for bodybuilding symmetry with my book, "50 tips for Bodybuilding Success"