It's Always Ok To Modify

40440854150_4675f41b45_o (1).jpg — "Drop down and get your eagle on girl," and it's okay to take it slow.

Have you ever have noticed that some exercises are uncomfortable, too challenging, or maybe even painful to do? While feeling the burn is normal, feeling real pain is not okay! In those cases, you may need to modify your workout to fit your needs.

For some, the idea of modifying a workout drudges up feelings of disappointment, frustration, or even pride. But we, self-proclaimed fitness queens, love to modify exercises all the time! One little-known fact is that we both experience joint pain from time-to-time; we like to joke about our bodies taking turns giving out! But, honestly, if we let every knee, shoulder or hip pain stop us, we would never reach our goals!

There is no shame in modifying an exercise when needed, in fact, it is one of the secrets of ensuring you get a great workout every time!

Three Reasons to Modify Your Workout

It’s been a while: We don’t know about you, but sometimes vacations, busy schedules, or life gets ahead of us, and we miss a few workouts. If you are getting back into the swing of things after a long break, it can be tempting to go from "zero-to-100 real quick." However, by setting your expectations too high, you can risk injury or make yourself so sore, you can’t workout consistently.
You are unable to do a full version with proper form: Sometimes we have to build up our strength, endurance, or flexibility. While doing a full version may make you feel stronger, doing it can lead to injuries if done improperly. Some workouts require us to start simple and build complexity, one step at a time. Others may require us to lose the equipment, i.e., a dumbbell to work on our form. Remember to be kind to your body. You only have one.
You are injured or have an old injury that gets triggered by specific movements: It’s important to learn your body to recognize the difference between “I’m pushing myself hard”soreness, and real pain. By modifying exercises, we can protect our injured areas while still getting our sweat on and becoming stronger. Believe us, there are some exercises we would love to do, but just can’t (Looking at you TRX ropes). It's more important to workout in a way that caters to my body.

#FinesseTip: Your pride is never worth an injury! Don't be afraid to tell your trainer or instructor when something doesn't feel right. It's their job to ensure that your workout is not only effective but safe. If a trainer doesn't know how to modify any exercises or tries to push you past your comfort level, Run!

Here are modified versions of our go-to workouts! Check them out and let us know how you like to modify your favorite workout!