A long time ago I read some research in sports physiology that seemed to suggest an unexpected benefit in training for the other side of your body: the opposite-side limb would, according to this research, benefit slightly, but measurably, from the training you did on one side. In general, every rep you do of some routine for a rightside technique improves your execution of this technique. The authors hypothesized, as I recall, that if this effect can actually be established, then it suggests that our neurological `model' of what we're doing when we carry out some task is not side-specific, that our brains are able to take what works on one side, abstract a kind of general template for that kind of action, and use that template to evaluate, inform, and correct our execution of the same tech on the opposite side. In this way, training one side or the other will always yield a certain contralateral benefit.
I'm curious to know if other MTers have experienced something like this. I have to say that I've noticed something which could easily reflect this effect: I've worked very hard to establish good dynamic balance in kicking on my strong side, and for a while focused all my workout efforts on that side, because I figured that my weak side is so far behind my strong side that I'd be spending most of my time grabbing for things to hold onto in order to regain my balance as soon as I stwitched from one to the other. And what I noticed was that the stability for my right leg balance/left leg kick is way better than it used to be, although I've really skimped on training that side. It's as though the improvements I've made in my left leg balance/right leg kick have carried over somewhat, along the lines of the research I mentioned earlier. Has anyone else had an experience which reflects something along these lines?
I'm curious to know if other MTers have experienced something like this. I have to say that I've noticed something which could easily reflect this effect: I've worked very hard to establish good dynamic balance in kicking on my strong side, and for a while focused all my workout efforts on that side, because I figured that my weak side is so far behind my strong side that I'd be spending most of my time grabbing for things to hold onto in order to regain my balance as soon as I stwitched from one to the other. And what I noticed was that the stability for my right leg balance/left leg kick is way better than it used to be, although I've really skimped on training that side. It's as though the improvements I've made in my left leg balance/right leg kick have carried over somewhat, along the lines of the research I mentioned earlier. Has anyone else had an experience which reflects something along these lines?