Ok, I’m gonna get real with y’all… are you ready?
I just did the Phase 3 “Total Body Tone” from 9 Week Control Freak: Off the Wall. Guess what? I hated it. Yes, that’s what I said. I HATED IT. It’s not for me.
Why? I have an arthritic right hip and a right shoulder that bums out from time to time due to recurring injuries (and imbalances due to lifelong scoliosis) from back when I used to regularly teach boxing and kickboxing. It’s better now for me to hone in my strength training to more focused/localized types of exercises vs. ones where it feels like you are patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time.
To add to that, Autumn Calabrese is maybe 5’3-5’4”, and I’d be surprised if she even weighed 130-ish pounds. She takes moves at speeds good for her, her size, and others near her size, but those speeds aren’t always the best/safest for those who may be considerably larger than her or those working with injury imbalances. I’m 5’8” and around 190-ish pounds. Speeds that are good for Autumn may not necessarily be good or safe for me to get a good workout and be able to get my full range of motion without cutting a move short to keep up pace. I can do about 90-95% of her workouts fairly good, but sometimes there are some moves or speeds with moves that are just not the best for my body, so I adapt.
I’m saying this for reasons of math and physics, not to body shame myself or to say that I’m not as good as others who can keep pace with the videos 100% of the time. If you are a larger or taller person, it’s hard to keep good safe form and keep up with people much smaller than you, and that’s just physics. It’s nothing to be ashamed of or defeated by. It’s good to be able to recognize it so that you can make safety choices for yourself so that you are getting the best workout possible for you and you alone.
I’m telling you all of this, because it’s ok if you find a workout within a program that you feel the same way about. What can you do about it? Well, there are options:
- Do it anyway. Grit your teeth and use that hate energy to get through it. This is not really the option I’d recommend, but I know that for some of you, this is the way.
- Do it, but follow the modifier in the video… and don’t feel ashamed for doing so! Modify=safety. Modification doesn’t make you any less of a badass.
- Do it, but hit “pause” and slow the moves down to a pace that you feel safe doing. Or just use the workout sheets for the program and do the moves w/o the video playing so that you can keep your own speed through the whole thing (I’ve done this with P90X on multiple occasions).
- Pick a workout from a different program that works the body in the same way and sub in that workout to replace the workout that you truly hate (need help? Ask a coach! We can find one that’ll fit the bill! Feel free to email me and ask for help) OR do the same workout from a different phase of the program you are doing (if doing a program that has phases).
- Pick a different program all together. Trust me, I like finishing what I started, but I also like my body and don’t want to mess it up.
- Take an extra rest day. There isn’t anything wrong with a little extra rest for that body.
Back when I did 80 Day Obsession I made this same choice with the “Cardio Flow” workout. It was also not great for my hip & shoulder, so I just subbed in a different cardio in its place. It’s ok to do this. Consider this your permission. It’s also totally ok to admit to hating a certain workout. Just because you are committing to exercise doesn’t mean that you are required to love every single type of exercise. It also doesn’t mean you are required to grit your teeth and do it through that hate (I suppose unless you are working with a physical therapist to regain mobility, in which case – listen to your therapist). If you need any assistance figuring things out, just reach out 🤗 I’m happy to offer guidance!
