I took the decision a while back that to reach my potential on both sides of my body I needed to try and drop my self consciousness about the reality that I build muscle much faster on my right then on my left due to hemiplegia and the sheer difference in muscle fibres.
It has taken long time to fully admit to myself that this will be the case. Over the course of the summer I’ve deliberately added weight through the right training and a calorie dense diet to get some size and with that the physical changes in the mirror have provided me with joy in one sense in so much that I can see progress but also that like before, my left far more visibly reduced compared to my right and that has been tougher than I first thought it would be.
It has surprised me that I been that self conscious about this internally mainly due to the fact that it’s something that I haven’t seen before – another part of my body that has been seemingly ‘left behind’ while my right side continues to develop.
However, as I’ve tried to mentally dig myself out of the hole during these months I’ve tried to position my left side with a status of a ‘supporting role act’. I’ll try to explain…
The ability for me to lift heavier weights on my right such an EZ Bar or Shoulder Press is reliant on on good balance in part – my right NEEDS my left to help it lift – I wouldn’t be able to lift what I do without my left hand at least. Therefore – my mission is not beat the guy next to me – It’s to create the best ‘leading role’ for my right AND creating the best supporting role for my left! That way it will build muscle on both parts as far as possible, to the best of its ability.
We are all unique and by the tine I get on stage next year I’ll be bringing the best of my right AND the best of my left….
Keep pushing folks….As hard as you can, it will all be worth it…..
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