Kind of exciting...

We are all special unique unicorns, just like everyone else.  What this means is that all of us need to evaluate the information we get and decide what parts are good for us.  I know this is more work than just accepting a ready-made program or solution, but it is much, much better.

While this is true across all of life, it is especially true about fitness.  When we show up to a fitness class, we need to make sure to tell the instructor about any injuries we might happen to be dealing with or moves that are not helpful in our bodies.  Good instructors welcome this kind of information because it helps them know what kind of feedback is useful and what sort of modifications to offer.  So if someone says they have a shoulder injury, the instructor might suggest not taking a movement to the overhead extreme, but to stop at a pain-free level.  Or someone with bad knees might need an option without jumping for some exercises.

There will always be exercises that we don’t like.  For many of them, we can find substitutions.  Every once in a while, there is a good reason to do an exercise we don’t like but isn’t actually bad for us.  When we know that it is just a little bit of the workout, we tend to be able to tolerate it more.

One of the things we develop when we work out is strength of character.  We learn to advocate for ourselves because we learn what helps us and what doesn’t.  As we pay attention to how our bodies work on a daily basis, we notice what patterns persist and which change as we grow.  It’s kind of exciting!