How to Work Around Your Limitations in the Gym
Everyone has limitations that affect what types and intensities of exercise are best for them. I can’t anticipate every unique scenario. I’m also not a doctor or physical therapist. Always consult a qualified therapist or doctor if you have any doubts about your ability to perform a certain exercise, your readiness for a fitness program, or an injury. Be your own best advocate.
With that said, pretty much every client I’ve ever worked with has some sort of limitation regarding exercise, whether it be an old injury, medical condition, or other issue. None of us are superhuman, and if you’ve been on the planet long enough, you’ve got things that will affect you in the gym. I have several old injuries that I work around every day.
Despite whatever limitations you have, you can still train productively and progressively. It just takes a little creativity sometimes. Don’t let your limitations discourage you to the point of quitting.
Here are some ideas for modifying your exercise program if you have health or injury restrictions.
Don’t train through intolerable pain. Some pain and discomfort may be ok, but use your best judgment or exercise guidelines given to you by your healthcare provider. Train within your own tolerance. If an exercise hurts (and it’s real pain and not just difficult), you can try a slight modification before ditching the exercise altogether. Here are some ways you can modify most exercises to find a pain-free version, in the order you should try them:
Lighten the load, if possible. This also includes ways to make bodyweight exercises easier, like elevating the hands for push-ups.
Slow down the speed of movement (the “tempo”), which will also require a lighter load. I’ve found that clients often can perform “painful” movements just fine if they move slowly and focus on perfect execution.
Widen or narrow your stance or hand position. For example, many people have shoulder pain bench pressing, but can bench press with a narrow grip.
Use a different implement (for example, dumbbells instead of a barbell, or different kinds of barbells). For example, the safety squat bar is a great option if you have shoulder or elbow pain while squatting. Dumbbells will allow you to turn your hands freely while doing pressing exercises to work around shoulder pain.
Restrict range of motion to a pain-free range. For example, if you can’t bench press to your chest without pain no matter what grip you use, try wrapping a thick towel around the center of the bar or do board or pin presses to restrict the range of motion. You can set the pins in a power rack to limit the range of motion of many barbell exercises, such as squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead presses, etc. You can also squat to a box.
If you’ve tried everything above and still can’t find something that works for you, make a substitution using a machine-based movement. Exercise substitutions should look as similar as possible to the original movement. For example, leg press is an acceptable worst-case substitution for barbell squats; leg extensions are not. A chest-press machine can be used instead of bench press; cable flies cannot. Use your common sense.
Above all, focus on what you CAN do. There is a variation out there that will work for you. Get creative and send me an email if you’re having trouble finding a variation that works.
If you’re looking for a fitness trainer in the Mt Juliet/Hermitage/Nashville TN area, online fitness training, or just need some advice to get your fitness program started, contact me