Why Training Both Sides Actually Matters

Sunday Reset ✨

A weekly note on training, mindset, and your pole journey.

Hi loves,

Let’s talk about something most of us know we should do… but don’t always want to do.

Training both sides. You knew this topic would appear eventually lol Those that train with me know I talk about it. All. The. Time!

Now… I know. I know. There’s a reason we all have a favorite side. I do too!!

But over time, consistently avoiding the other side can start to show up in ways that feel bigger than just “ugh this side feels weird.”

It can look like...

-nagging aches or discomfort that don’t fully go away.

-injuries popping up again and again.

-muscle imbalances that start traveling through your body to other areas.

-getting stuck on combos or transitions that require you to switch sides.

A big reason these things happen is the training volume that we dedicate to our “better” side. When we repeat the same patterns on the same side over and over, we’re loading one side of the body much more than the other. Eventually, something has to compensate.

An off-the-pole example usually helps my students understand a bit better…

Imagine going to the gym and doing bench presses all the time, but never training your back muscles. Can you picture how tight your chest would get? How your shoulders might start rounding forward? How uncomfortable that would feel over time?

Or imagine if you spent most of your day looking down and never looked up… which, honestly, is kind of what humans are doing now. Over time, your head would start drifting forward, your neck would get cranky, and your posture would slowly change.

It’s the exact same idea with pole.

In pole, when one side is consistently stronger, more coordinated, or more mobile than the other, your body will find creative ways to compensate. And creative isn’t always helpful.

And I want to be really clear about something here, because I think it’s so important to really understand this next piece.

Training both sides does not mean everything needs to be equal all the time. This is especially true during competition or performance prep. Training volume and intensity usually increase, and the last thing we want to do is add unnecessary stress by forcing both sides of everything.

That’s where we train smarter… not harder.

If your routine includes Allegra, for example, you probably don’t want to be hammering full Allegra attempts on your non-preferred side every session. Totally understandable.

But that doesn’t mean the other side gets ignored completely.

This is where prehab and off-the-pole work become even more important.

Maybe you keep Allegra on your stronger side in training… but you add a simple floor-based spinal rotation drill for the other side. Something slower. Something controlled. Something that still gives your body input in that direction without the same demand.

Or maybe it’s a split move. If one split is far behind, that gap can feel overwhelming. Instead of trying to close it all at once, maybe you add a few active split drills on your less dominant side in between attempts on your stronger side.

For those of you who aren’t thinking about this in terms of competition or performing, you might be thinking…

Okay Steph, I can do Allegra barely on one side, but there is absolutely no way I’m getting into it yet on the other side.

That’s normal!! And it makes sense 🙂

When the gap is big, the task can feel daunting.

So instead of thinking in terms of perfectly matching sides, try out some of these other starting points:

-making your best attempt, even if it’s a variation or partial version of the move.

-working slowly and intentionally with the entry, stopping where it feels like your max, breathing there, then backing out.

-zooming out and asking what the move is actually asking of your body, so you can incorporate some floor-based flexibility or strength drill that’ll help close the gap over time.

For example, Allegra is an extreme spinal rotation. There are lots of ways to explore rotation on the pole or floor that don’t require full Allegra. You can check out my favorites in the off-the-pole twisting sequences on The Pole with Steph App at www.polewithsteph.com.

Many of us have that all or nothing mindset, but this is your gentle reminder that training both sides doesn’t have to be all or nothing! It’s just about supporting your body long-term so you can keep training, keep progressing, and keep enjoying pole (without constantly putting out fires).

Now, I’d love to hear from you about your journey with training both sides. Do you think it’s important? Is it something that is reinforced at your studio? If you’re an instructor, is it something you pass to your students? Or maybe you have not been doing it, but it’s a goal for this new year. Whatever your thoughts are about this topic, I’d love to hear it!

-If you’re reading this from my e-mail, I’d love it if you shared your thoughts by making a post in the App’s Community Feed.

-If you’re reading this from my blog, please feel free to share your comment below.

And one small ask 🙏:

-If you found this helpful, it would mean so much to me if you took a screenshot and shared it to your social media stories. My hope with this longer-form content is to reach and support as many people as possible, especially those who might need this reminder today.

Always cheering you on,

Until next Sunday 💜

xo, Coach Steph