Strong Side

Will my [insert non dominant hand] ever be as strong as my other side?

I don’t think so. I also don’t think it’s an issue of strength, rather, it’s an issue of coordination and control.

Consider all the daily tasks you can do with finesse. Whisking eggs and throwing a frisbee, smoothly dragging butter across your toast and the classic example, bushing your teeth. These are all skills that rely heavily on our dominant hand.

Through years of practice these skills feel easy. Our nervous system has these fine movements tightly wired for precision and accuracy.

Sure, getting stronger will help. Lifting teaches you how to create tension and stability, you need it to in order to move the weight. Simultaneously, the nerves engrain the movements and you become more skilled as your motor control improves.

So as we grease the groove and feed our bodies good movement stimulus in the gym, hopefully our non dominant side's reliance improves. If we’re going to keep living in our modern world though, it’ll be tough to balance out all the potential imbalances we encounter in daily life.

Through my experience in the gym, It’s better to understand it, accept it, and continue to focus on moving well and building strength, stability and control.

Your off side may always feel different when one arm pressing, but I’m not convinced that means it’s weaker.

Justin Miner

@justinminergain