When I first started doing my workouts, in March of 2015, I wasn’t jumping very high or for very long, now I can jump higher and longer. One of the most intimidating exercises that I faced was Eccentric Plyo Push-ups from the Eccentric Upper workout in P90X3, when I first started them I wasn’t coming off the ground at all and couldn’t do all ten, now I have can do all ten, while getting nice height every time.
The secret to getting better is not to give up. Although I couldn’t do some of the exercises when I first started, I modified the move until I could do it if I got tired doing a move, I didn’t stop working, I modify that too.
I was talking to someone about one of the workouts I posted one day and they said that they would kill their knees of they tried it, I told them to modify, their reply was “that’s cheating.” This is not true! Modifying is not cheating, not at all. It is a way to get your workout done, without hurting yourself.
While I was doing my workout this morning (Speed & Agility from Insanity Asylum) I had to modify some because it was kicking my butt. As I was doing this, I thought about all of the people that told me that they couldn’t do the workouts and thought modifying was cheating and wanted to prove them wrong.
I rested for a couple of hours and did another workout, Plyo Fix Extreme, from 21 Day Fix Extreme. I decided to do it because it involved jumping in every move, only I was going to modify the whole time. Instead of jumping, I just raised my knees, stepped, or in some cases, used no weights at all.
I recorded myself doing the workout (video below); I had only ever done the workout once prior to the recording and had never modified the moves, so I was pretty much making them up on the spot. The video has a modifier (as does all Beachbody workouts) but they were still jumping and I wanted to take that completely out.
I’m not perfect, I actually stumbled a couple of times in the video and I started off doing one move completely wrong, it happens. There are other ways you can modify the moves too, I go fairly deep in a lot of the squats and lunges, but you don’t have to go so deep. Where I lift my knee to my waist, you might not be able to get it as high, at first. If you don’t think you can use weights at first, don’t. Do what you feel comfortable with but get it done.
Don’t be scared to modify. The workout was 30-minutes long, even with modifying I burnt over 300 calories and was sweating like crazy. Modifying will help you get the workout done, eventually you’ll be able to do the regular workout, it might only be one rep at first, but soon you will be able to do the entire 30-seconds of each move with no problem.
The truth of the matter is, if you think modifying is cheating and that’s the reason you won’t workout, that’s just an excuse. Modifying will build you up to be better. I have a bad shoulder, but that doesn’t stop me from getting my workouts done.
As Tony Horton says, “Your limitations might be challenges, but they shouldn’t be your excuses.”
Watch the video below and see how easy it is to modify and still get the job done.
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