The Other Side

In a right handed world, left handedness can be a tough act. I used to draw circles, lines and scribble in in the margins of the loose leaf paper used in public school back then, using my other hand. This topic of conversation came up, recently, as my grandsons, 5 and 8, were climbing, like Spiderman clones, inside the entrance to their kitchen. 

Spiderman seemed to be their inspiration at that moment. I began to think about the whole body in that context. Could exercises like this climbing maneuver help to strengthen other parts of the body not used in a rigorous workout on a regular basis? I wondered.

Being left handed did not pose too great a problem for me growing up but I always felt the pen, in my right hand, made life easier if I practiced using this weaker hand, on a regular basis....(The computer was decades ahead.) My left hand seemed to get in the way, at times.The paper on my desk in school was never smudged when my right hand was in use. 

My older brother was left handed, too. My mother was left handed but wrote right handed because she was disciplined in her country of birth if she did not switch from her left hand to her right as if that could happen just like that. The grandsons have begun to print simple words using their left hands. Recently, it was difficult for me to pick the right handed versions of those words. 

Both grandsons are involved in soccer and baseball, loving the camaraderie and excitement these sports provide. Watching them crawl along the archway adjacent to the kitchen that day made me wonder, do all boys aspire to such heights when presented with an opportunity to climb? Supervision is the key regardless..Opposite thinking might be its own reward.

Training the whole body, at a young age, to prepare itself for a career in professional sports seems to make sense.The ability to develop an agile body from the beginning could have an immense ripple down effect thus making the athlete a more powerful version of themselves, in many ways, for the sport of their choosing. 

At the sleepover, the youngest, Tom, remarked that he had not done any printing with his left hand, lately, as though it was homework to be done. I smiled at his retrospection. Anything you do with the other half of your nimble body helps to strengthen everything close by, I would think.

Certain activities involve a focus on the preferred hand, like baseball, for instance. Being right handed seemed better, even as a left handed teacher. My right hand made the perfect pointer and did not smudge the work written upon the chalk board. Even using today's screens, the left hand can interfere with or obstruct the audience's viewing.

Throw the baseball with the left hand. Strengthening the hand that rarely receives attention it deserves helps the overall body begin to feel a seismic change overall, a new realignment. I wonder. As small boys, every little bit of use, here and there, greatly magnifies the overall agility and strength of the body destined for professional sports. Both hands should matter and a little goes a long way.

I am not a doctor or trainer, just a baba who listens and watches as others wonder why some hitters in pro baseball can't seem to run as fast as they should to get on base. Perhaps running with a heavy weight attached add a dimension that can strengthen the legs and make speed a new reality when both these elements are used. Gymnastics should factor into your  training routine, regardless of sport. Just wondering.