by Michael Plank
If you’re the kind of person who works out regularly, you’re also probably the kind of person who likes to have a plan. Maybe you like to know what the workout is before you head to the gym. Maybe you don’t, but you at least like to know what you’re capable of before you head to the gym. Maybe you like to get some conditioning in on particular days and some strength or skill work on other days.
But no matter who you are, sometimes the plan goes out the window.
Sometimes there’s a heat wave with frankly dangerous conditions that make lung-burners a bad idea (hypothetically speaking, of course ????). Sometimes you roll your ankle in the warmup. Sometimes you have unexpected travel plans and are stuck with three mismatched dumbbells in a hotel basement somewhere.
What do you do then?
Actually, the options are nearly endless. There probably aren’t actually an infinite number of workout possibilities out there, but it’s close enough to infinity that you don’t have to worry about it. But that’s not really the issue.
Because it’s not whether or not there’s something else we can do… it’s that we worry that if we don’t do what we planned to do, everything will be ruined. We were in the middle of a strength cycle! My 5k is coming up! I still have 5 more pounds to lose and I need that cardio!
But here’s the thing to keep in mind: if you go to the gym and you move your body for 30-60 minutes, there is literally nothing short of injuring yourself that you can do that will make you less fit.
Any movement is always better than no movement. Plans change. Don’t stress. It takes more than one single workout to build impressive fitness. It takes a lot more than one single workout to lose it. They key is to just do your best, even when plans change.
Keep doing that as long as you live and you will be absolutely set.