Ambidextrous athleticism & functional strength go hand in hand. It is impossible to achieve maximum body strength without ambidexterity.
If the hips & back are a mess, then nothing significant can be done in athletics. Pain sources must be diagnosed, then released for any muscular rebuilding to occur. The epidemic problem of hip injuries has been discussed at length in earlier articles , as well as its rehabilitation protocol . Applying ambidextrous sports training can help in this discovery and rehabilitation process, as the athlete is now opening up their entire body by using both sides repetitively & vigorously.
This article will speak in terms of right-handed being the ‘dominant & preferred’ side, and the left as being the ‘weak & off’ side, in order to maintain continuity. Lefties– reverse it.
Long-term statistical analysis of MLB records which go back over 100 years, prove conclusively that athletic peak is age 27. By the time a human has reached 30, he/she is well past that prime. Therefore any individual’s focus should shift from peak athletic achievement, towards maintaining health for life.
Most recreational athletes cease competitive activity by age 30, and have fallen apart by age 50. This is mostly because they never learned to be great athletes, and therefore have poor mechanics, even when it comes to their favorite sports. This leads to injuries which get progressively worse, then the breakdown of the dominant side of their body. Meanwhile, there is an unused left side which is neglecting into atrophy, yet in much healthier condition.
Games that can (and should) be used to develop ambidexterity include basketball, soccer & tennis. Any competent youth basketball or soccer coach will tell their kids they must be right & left-handed/footed, otherwise they are only half a player. Actually without these skills, you are less than half a player, as it is impossible to be fluid & powerful with an overdeveloped right side and an underdeveloped left side.
For a tennis player with tennis elbow or a right shoulder injury, putting a racket in their left hand and starting over is more than most macho maniacs can take, but it’s actually how to recover without surgery. Rotator cuff surgery is a sports-career wrecker, so it’s best to do everything possible to avoid it.
Ambidexterity starts with correct form and mechanics, which means taking it slowly to start, and using each training session as purposeful rehabilitation. This leads to steady improvements on BOTH sides of the body. The injured right side is being rested, while the once-atrophied left side is now being strengthened & honed. This develops better overall coordination with rapid improvements in mechanics, muscle gain & fat loss. Peak efficiency can now be approached, as previously-unused muscle groups now provide real work & stabilization. With a healthy & balanced body, much of the ‘thinking’ and ‘negative self-talk’ during competition goes away, and many of the previous performance problems are now solved.
Note: One of the biggest deterrents to ambidexterity for most athletes is their pride. Most male athletes have a HUGE fear of looking bad in front of others. When they stink in front of others, they shrivel up. This cuts them to the quick, which leads to the trash talking & carrying on you see everywhere today, all to deflect inadequacies. This type of ‘athlete’ will never attempt anything as serious as what I’m proposing. The point for these posers is to always look good on the field/court, at any cost, then cover up the rest with bullshit. As their saying goes, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you place the blame.”
The truth is, wherever there are sports injuries there are reasons. It’s usually either 1) traumatic injury, and/or 2) improper repetitive mechanics. The serious athlete needs to look at this left side as an unused canvas. This is their chance to start over (with experience & knowledge!), on a clean slate. As the athlete progresses with sustained focus, inefficiencies will inevitably show up and left-side muscular breakdowns will occur. These breakdowns need to be scrutinized as likely the same mistakes were made on the right side. This allows healing to flow back and forth, through the body. Every athlete should become a student of anatomy. There are so many muscles in the human body, with most of the focus on chest and extremities, to the point that the major core muscles (which really matter for functional strength), are often ignored– even by top athletes.
Sports are most enjoyed by its participants when they are a pain-free experience, or at least as much as possible. This means avoiding the chemical route and its nasty side-effects, many of which are unknown to the user until long after usage has ceased.
Today it is basically a consensus of elite athletes and their sports organizations which prefers surgeries & pharmacology as their primary injury-management tool. While there have been revolutionary advances in these scientific fields, their real-world application can be most-accurately defined as abusive over-prescription. The sheer number of surgeries for sports injuries, weight loss and other ‘cosmetic’ procedures is a complete disaster for consumers, who continue to be unhealthy at record-setting rates. Globally we now have a whole subgroup of people who are addicted to this culture, and this is presented as normal– even desirable, when in fact it is deeply pathological.
All surgeries contains inherent risk, including the most common risk-outcome of making the situation worse for the patient. Too often this is the result, as the cutting of bone, ligaments and cartilage (with its resultant scarring) is a common pathway to future disability. Eventually the surgeons say there’s nothing they can do, and it’s chronic pain as a daily reality.
The only way to avoid this and maintain any semblance of youth into middle age & beyond, is to follow these outlined recommendations, which are based on science. Nutrition, work/stress management, and exercise must all be balanced. As you become more ambidextrous, you will become more balanced in everything. This is the true path towards health & wisdom.
This ‘Fountain of Youth’ is inside of all of us, but it is only something one can achieve thorough due diligence & hard work. It means remaining pure of heart and being open to new ideas. It takes steady purpose and focused intelligence to push through the pain & ridicule one must endure to achieve ambidexterity, but once this status has been achieved, it outshines everything else.
Eventually we all give way into the eternal cosmic ash, but knowing that one was the best they could be is an existence to admire. As we age we are supposed to get wiser, but this only happens when we learn life’s most valuable lessons. Ambidexterity is a life skill, which means that it helps the individual in all things. Working towards this ideal balance & synergy brings out the best in our humanity.