Are you training your ‘bad’ side? Or are you only training your favourite side?
Don’t forget to train your bad side as well!
I love when I can fly through a super hard combo on my good side, but I couldn’t ever perfect it on my bad side like I can on my good side, so why bother right? Nooooo, let’s not think like this. It is so important to continue to train both sides and here is why.
Injuries occur When only working the same muscles, they can create friction on top of other muscles and structures, which can lead to inflammation, swelling, and sometimes muscle strains and tearing. Even the smallest of injuries hurt A LOT. Therefore, why would you want to be injured when you don’t have to? Solutions? Train both sides, then you’ll become strong on both sides and muscles will be actively working evenly rather than overworked resulting in less chance of injuries.
Muscles switch off This is when muscles no longer want to activate or work. When you don’t use a muscle for so long, the brain almost forgets how to use it. Imagine being in an amazing pole trick and then you go to use the other side of your body to either extend the trick or switch to the other side, and then all of a sudden, it just doesn’t go to plan and you fall! OUCH right! Lets stop this from happening by training both sides of your body so your brain and your muscles continue to work together to support you on the pole throughout all your tricks.
Uneven structures This is when you use one side of your body so much that you start to notice one arm has more muscle bulk than the other, one leg is more flexible than the other, or you may even be walking slightly different on one side. You start to notice you’ve gone all wonky and uneven. This is because your body starts to change in appearance and structure. This starts to affect practically anything in your daily living activities, because one day you may pick up a box on your bad side without realising how heavy it is and it creates an injury in your wrist. Your body just wasn’t prepared. We need to make sure our bodies are always prepared for the random things that happen in our lives. But, if we are uneven, this is not ideal and we cannot be prepared.
Key things to take away from this are ALWAYS TRAIN BOTH SIDES, and if you start to notice different things are happening with your body, whether its appearance, weakness, injury or why all of a sudden can’t I do this trick anymore? Come into the clinic and see us! Why have an injury when you can seek treatment and advice and then be able to smash out tricks on both sides!