How to Adapt Workout Classes to Your Needs

Workout classes (especially virtual ones) are great! They offer you the opportunity to move with others, build your movement skills, and potentially get some feedback from the class instructor on how to move more efficiently.

But if you have mobility challenges, chronic pain, or something like POTS which affects your body in complex ways, you might spend the whole class worrying that you’re one move away from feeling out of place (or worse, exacerbate your condition). This can happen even if the instructor has the best of intensions AND even if they offer variations in class.

The best thing you can do is arm yourself with knowledge on how to adapt movements to work for you. After all, you know your body best! Even the most skilled instructor might not have a variation that feels “just right,” but you can bridge the gap and find moves that do.

Movements on the Floor

You may wish to avoid the floor for a variety of reasons. You might also not want to get down and up many times throughout class, or you might not feel comfortable laying down for a long time. Here are some things you can do to adapt floor movements.

• Against the wall

Almost all movements done on the floor can be done against a wall. Whether it’s a plank-style movement, laying on your back for something like leg lifts, or a side lying movement, you can most likely do them standing with most of your torso in contact with the wall for support. It might feel awkward at first, but play with it until you find a way to make it doable.

• Seated

Many movements on the floor can also be done seated in a firm chair. If you are instructed to lie on your back, you can do the movement seated in the chair with your back up against the back rest. This works best if the chair is solid wood or has minimal padding. The feedback from the chair is similar to what you’d get on the floor or wall. For plank-like movements, you can stand facing the chair, and bend over to put your hands on the chair for support. You might end up bent at the hips in an L shape, or have more of a long line plank setup. It depends on the move you are doing.

• Cushion

It’s possible that floor moves are actually accessible to you, with the right props! Cushions such as small pillows, bolsters, and rolled up blankets make excellent support options for your head and neck, low back, knees, and feet. If being on the floor feels ok but you get uncomfortable after awhile, try propping yourself up in various ways with cushions!

Movements with Jumping

Jumping is a high-impact movement that is often used in bootcamp or CrossFit workouts, but can also be found as part of warmups or conditioning, such as jumping rope. While jumping has fantastic effects on bone density and cardiovascular conditioning, it can also feel very uncomfortable or painful for anyone recovering from injury, or anyone with joint instability or pain, large chest or belly, or a condition that makes moving up and down at a fast pace a high risk activity such as POTS. Here are some alternatives!

• Bouncing

Do the movement as shown, but don’t let your feet leave the ground. This allows you to get similar power generation as if you are jumping, but it has much lower impact on your joints! Bouncing can also be done from a seated position - ideally on a firm chair (extra support!) or a balance ball (extra bounce!).

• Trampoline

Got a rebounder? You can use it to actually jump while reducing joint pressure. Jump “rope,” jump squats, high knees, jump tucks, and many dance moves that are bouncy in nature can be done on a rebounder or trampoline.

• Thick Mats

A gymnastics or martial arts mat offers fantastic shock absorption. If you want to jump on the ground but feel less discomfort in your joints, get a thicker mat.

Single Leg Movements

Balance movements, lunges, single leg RDLs, step ups, and more - these are all movements that improve ankle/knee/hip stability by challenging one leg more than the other. However, they can be quite challenging if your balance is easily thrown off. If you’d like the strength and stability benefits that come from single leg movements AND you want to feel safe, try one of the following variations:

• Kickstand

Find this stand my standing tall with your feet in line with your hip bones. Press your left foot firmly into the floor as you slide your right foot back slighty, until your heel lifts but the ball of your right foot still has full contact with the floor. Your knees should still next to each other, like they were when you were standing tall. This stance offers you the challenge of off-set balance, along with the stability of having two feet on the floor. This stance is fantastic for building your ankle and hip stability.

• Split Stance

Find this stand my standing tall with your feet in line with your hip bones. Press your left foot firmly into the floor as you slide (or pick up and place) your right foot far back behind you. Right foot opens up to allow your heel to stay on the ground. Widen your stand as needed for balance support. This stance offers you the spaciousness and challenge of primarily putting pressure on the front leg, while giving you solid support from the back leg. This stance is especially helpful if you are lifting heavy weights.

• Hold onto a chair or wall

The original movement remains the same, but your hands hold or lean into a wall, chair, or counter for balance support. This can be to your side or in front of you, depending on the movement and where you need the most support. As you build strength and balance, you can work toward relying less (putting less pressure) on this support.

There are so many ways you can adapt movement in workout classes (and really, anywhere!) to feel more comfortable in your here-and-now body. Try some of these out and if they feel helpful, share this list with your friends!