I’ve always thought that my strong arm was my right arm. It’s the hand I write and use the computer mouse with as well. Just because it’s my dominant hand does it mean that it’s my strong hand when it comes to pole dancing?

I’ve been thinking about this recently as I’ve been going over harder moves and working on my strength training. I find that when it comes to using actual strength the right side of my body is much stronger. When doing pull ups on the pole it comes so much more naturally to the right side of my body than the left – using the right side as my dominant side.

But what about in individual moves on the pole?

Strong Or Weak In Routines?

Whenever I write about moves or routines I always differentiate between the strong and the weak side of the body. This is mostly to get across the understanding of the move rather than to determine whether you are meant to be using the weak or strong side of the body. With a lot of higher level moves it is really up to the individual as to whether they find it easier to use their weak or their strong arm – for example with the Ayesha and the Air Walk.

I find it much easier to talk about right and left arms when explaining moves as I am right handed, and thus can easily explain how I do moves. The problem comes when a left handed person reads these and has to adjust and do the opposite. And that just isn’t fair! Therefore it seems more fair to use the terms strong and weak arm.

How Strong Is Strong?

My right arm is my dominant arm, and my strongest right? Wrong! Well possibly…

I always use my right arm to do the necessary tasks – hold the phone, write, brush my teeth etc… but all this time I haven’t really thought about what the left arm was doing. I think this is secretly the arm that has been building up the strength. It’s the arm that does all the things while my right arm is busy.

The left is the one holding the tea cup when I write, and it holds the bags while I’m texting. Without even realising my left arm has become the stronger while the right arm has become the more skilled. This only really occurred to me the other day when cycling. I can cycle one handed easily – more so with the left than right. The right wobbles and doesn’t have as much control or strength as the left. I found it odd but when thinking about it, it makes more sense.

And It’s Not Just Us…

While my right arm is the skilled and the left is the strong, the same can be said across other sports. Take football (soccer) for example:

In his work as a sports coach, my partner works with a lot of footballers. While talking about one-sided dominance on the pole, he likened it to a common observation he makes regarding footballers. While footballers will be more skilled and powerful kicking with one leg, it’s often the other leg that has all the balance and stability. The non-dominant leg develops to provide a strong base while using the skill of the other leg.

Will It Change My Poling?

While my realisation will not change my poling, it will make me stop and think next time I try a move. I’m really working on building up the strength and skill in both arms so that my options for moves are doubled – I will be really powerful if I can do every move with both arms as the strong arm.

It is still up to the individual as to which arm they use as their strong arm, regardless of their skilled or dominant arm. These are simply my observations of the last few poling sessions I’ve had.

So which arm is your dominant arm and which is the strong arm?