With less than 1% of the population being classified as truly ambidextrous, most people have a dominant hand. Having a dominant hand would imply that the other hand is a weaker, or submissive hand. This may be true with coordination, but when it comes to grip strength, does this still hold true? With about 90% of the population being right-handed, this may seem to be the case based on our individual experiences. But does this hold true for left handed people as well? Or, do left-handed people have better grip strength in their non-dominant hand?
It turns out that, while right-handed people typically have 10-12% less grip strength in their non-dominant hand, left-handed people have almost exactly the same grip strength in both hands. Therefore, left handed people have two equally strong hands and the left is only dominant in coordination.
Those with a dominant hand will typically do virtually every task with that hand. This means that the other hand doesn’t get used for much outside of two-handed tasks, leading to improved strength in the hand that does all the work.
Check out this study that measured the grip strength of Turkish athletes to shed some more light on the subject.
Why Might Left-Handed People Have Stronger Grip In Their ‘Weak’ Hand?
The reasons for this might lead us to speculate about all kinds of causes. I would infer that this is a result of left-handed people living in a right-handed world.
Most aspects of the modern world are designed with right-handed people in mind, which makes sense, since they make up a strong majority of the general population. Therefore left-handed people have become quite accustomed to using their non-dominant hand for many day-to-day activities and tasks, even if they are less coordinated with that hand and it is not ideal for them.
Do Mixed-Handed People Have Better Grip Strength?
Quite often, those who identify as left-handed could actually be considered mixed-handed. These are people who do some activities with their left hand, but are better at others with their right. This is different from ambidextrousness, where someone will be equally good at most tasks with either hand. Most often, we tend to declare ourselves as right- or left-handed based on which hand we write with. I have always considered myself to be left-handed because I write with my left. In truth, I write, play tennis and ping-pong with my left, however I generally throw and bowl better with my right.
Mixed-handed people are likely to have extremely even hand strength, since they use both their left and right hands for various tasks. Often they have a similar skill level with both hands.
How Do I Make Grip Strength Even In Both Hands?
Weak point training, when focused on a particular function, as opposed to a specific muscle that is lagging on one side, is best addressed by, first, eliminating support of the weaker side by the stronger side, and second, performing additional sets when training that weak side.
So, instead of barbell rows, presses, curls etc. force each side to work independently by using dumbbells, or resistance bands, where possible. You can also try one handed variations on many machine exercises.
When it comes to grip strength, forearm training will have a big impact. Perform 20-30% more volume on the weaker side until things even out. So, for example, if you do 4 sets of dumbbell wrist curls on your dominant hand, do 5 sets with your weaker side.
One really great exercise to work on hand grip directly is to pinch a 45lb plate with your fingertips (or whatever the heaviest one is that you can hold this way). Stand upright, and hold the plate as long as you can until it is about to slip, then use both hands to safely set the plate down. Repeat for 3-4 sets on your dominant hand and do 5-6 sets on your weak hand.
Forearm training will only play a partial role, so be sure to do plenty of heavy dumbbell rows, and other exercises where your grip is challenged while the wrist remains in a mostly fixed position throughout.
