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There are few guarantees that can be made but this one, I assure you, is accurate: At some point, your usual workout routine will get disrupted. You will not, at least for a time, be able to do the workout and/or exercises you prefer or enjoy most.
For example …
You may experience random knee pain from single-leg exercises, or with squats.
You may sustain an injury at work or from a recreational activity.
You may strain a muscle, sprain an ankle, break a bone.
You may have a weeks-long weight-lifting restriction after a procedure.
Your gym may close in response to a global pandemic.
You may find yourself constantly starting and stopping a workout program because chaos keeps finding its way into your life.
The fact that something, at some point, will happen that will interfere with your workout program (or intentions to follow one) means you should have a plan prepared and ready to execute when that situation arises: Focus on what you can do instead of lamenting what you can’t.
Using some of the examples above …
Odd knee pain when you squat? If an extended warm-up routine doesn’t help, then switch to an exercise you can do pain free. Maybe that’s a single-leg exercise or the leg press machine.
Your gym may have closed in response to the global pandemic forcing you to get creative with at-home workouts since you no longer have abundant exercise equipment at your disposal. Is it what you prefer to do or want to do? Nope, but it’s what you can do, so make the best of it.
Or maybe you’re new to lifting, a strength training beginner, and haven’t had any minor injuries or disruptions pop up. That’s great! Keep going and ride that wave of momentum as far as you can.
But if you work out consistently, for long enough, rest assured you will have some issue you must deal with.
It will likely be minor, like a lingering ache or time constraints. But if you suddenly can’t do a favorite exercise or an injury from an unrelated activity makes certain exercises impossible, don’t panic or get upset.
The response shouldn’t be, “I can’t do this, and that really sucks,” but should rather be, “Okay, I can’t do what I’d prefer, but I’m going to find what I can do, and do it to the best of my ability.”
The situation may be different for everyone, but the solution is the same. Focus on what you can do. And do it the best you can.