Narrow or wide clavicles: how to read your frame

Before you ever touch a weight, your clavicles have already decided most of how wide you look. They are the single biggest factor in your frame.

Why clavicles matter so much

Your shoulder width is set by the length of your collarbones. Wide clavicles give a broad base that makes your whole upper body look bigger, even at lower body weight. Narrow clavicles make the same amount of muscle look more compact.

This is bone. No amount of training changes the length of your clavicles.

How to tell your clavicle width

Stand relaxed, facing a mirror:

• Compare shoulders to head width. Shoulders roughly 3x your head width or more is wide.
• Compare shoulders to hips. Shoulders clearly wider than your hips points to a wide, V-shaped frame.
• Narrow clavicles: shoulders sit close to head width and not much wider than the hips.

A photo and a quick ratio make this objective, which is exactly what a scan does.

What you can and cannot change

• Cannot change: the bone width itself.
• Can change: the muscle on top. Side delts add visible width to the very edge of your frame, and lats widen the taper. Together they make a narrow frame look far broader.

How to train for width

• Prioritize side delts (lateral raises, high volume). They sit at the widest point and pay off the most for the illusion of width.
• Build the lats for the V-taper.
• Keep the waist tight so the width reads stronger.

Read it from a photo

Phyziq measures your clavicle width and frame from a scan and turns it into a real “frame” score, so you know your base and how hard to push width.

FAQ

Can I make my clavicles wider? No, the bone length is fixed once you are grown. Side delts and lats build the look of width.

Do narrow clavicles mean I can’t build a good physique? Not at all. Many great physiques have average clavicles. You lean into delts, lats and a tight waist.

How is clavicle width measured? By the ratio of shoulder (bideltoid) width to head or hip width. A scan reads it automatically.