Adaptive Exercise

💡 **TRAINER TIP: Appropriate Levels of Support**

**Support ≠ Doing It For Them**

When teaching a new exercise, independence doesn’t always need to be the first goal. The first goal should be helping an athlete accurately perform the movement to the best of their ability.

At Adaptive Exercise, that starts with clearly modeling the exercise to establish an expectation. Then, whenever appropriate, we give the athlete an opportunity to attempt the movement independently before stepping in.

From there, we determine the appropriate level of support and systematically adjust it using a least-to-most or most-to-least approach.

Support can take many different forms:

👀 Visual Supports — hand, foot or arrow markers to show positioning and direction
👉 Tactile Cues — providing touch-based feedback to help guide the movement
🔄 Movement Modifications — adjusting the exercise to make successful movement more attainable
🤝 Physical Prompts — systematically providing hands-on assistance when needed

The goal isn't to provide as little help as possible from day one. It's to provide the right amount of support for that athlete at that moment.

Once they begin performing the movement accurately and consistently, that support can gradually be faded.

Build the movement first. Build the independence from there. 💪

Monday Morning Training Recap 💪

This past week was my taper week, and it was much needed.

My body has definitely been feeling sore lately, and the downshift in training made a big difference. It was tough tapering after falling short of my weekly training goals two weeks in a row, but I stuck to the plan instead of trying to make up for missed work. I’m glad I did, I’m feeling much more recovered and ready to get after it again this week.

My client caseload was lighter too, with a lot of people away on summer vacations, so it almost felt like a taper week for work as well! I used some of the extra time to finish updating a few exercise plans and started baselining some of the new exercises with my clients. I love seeing clients progress with exercises they’ve been working on, but it’s also fun introducing something new and seeing how they perform with a fresh challenge.

Colby is officially more than halfway through his recovery, which means we were able to add a few more minutes to his walks! 🐕 We still have a ways to go before we’re back to our normal routine, but he was certainly happy about the extra time. With the heat wave, those walks were kept to the early mornings and later evenings.

Last week:
🏋️ 90 minutes lifting
🏃 18 miles running
🧘 55 minutes stretching
👥 19 clients trained
💪 1 group class
🐕 Daily dog walks
💧 Big focus on hydration every day
🫁 Daily breathwork

The taper did its job. Feeling better, moving better, and ready to build things back up this week!

🌟 Adaptive All-Star Spotlight: David 🌟

Some of the most rewarding moments in coaching come from looking back and realizing just how far someone has come.

David and I have been working together since around 2019, when he and his twin brother first joined my group classes through the Autism Resource Center.

Back then, our workouts looked very different. We focused on learning the basics, standing on a spot marker, paying attention to directions, practicing modified squats to a ball, marching in place, overhead reaches, and standing twists. Three exercises followed by a break was a great workout.

Fast forward to today, and those same movements have become his warm-up.

Now David is pressing 12-pound sandbells overhead, performing modified Russian twists with a 10-pound medicine ball, tossing medicine balls with power, and tackling new challenges with confidence. (The only problem is that he's gotten so tall I practically need a step stool to help spot his overhead presses! 😂)

David's progress didn't happen overnight. It came from years of consistency, patience, and building one success on top of another.

Congratulations, David, on being this month's Adaptive All-Star! I'm incredibly proud of everything you've accomplished, and I can't wait to see what you achieve next.

💙💛

Trainer Tip: Don't Rush the Reps ⏱️

One of the biggest coaching cues I give my athletes isn't to lift heavier or do more...

It's to slow down.

Moving with control helps develop strength, coordination, balance, body awareness, and confidence. When we rush through an exercise, it's easy to rely on momentum instead of the muscles we're trying to strengthen.

In this band row, we're counting each repetition to encourage better posture, activate the upper back, and reinforce proper movement patterns. The goal isn't to finish as quickly as possible—it's to make every repetition meaningful.

Whether you're training in a gym, at home, or modifying exercises for different abilities, remember:

Quality will always beat quantity.

Slow down. Stay in control. Make every repetition count.

💙💛

This past week was another reminder that progress isn't always about checking every box, it's about adapting and staying consistent.

For the second week in a row, I came up just short of my running goal. That's pretty rare for me, but instead of seeing it as a failure, I'm trying to see it for what it really is: balance. Between my clients, appointments, and getting ready for our baby, this is a season where not every goal will be hit every week and that's okay.

I made lifting my priority this week since I have a much needed taper coming up, so I wanted to make those sessions count. Hitting that goal felt like a win.

Colby is still recovering from his CCL surgery, so we're sticking to 2–3 short walks each day. The rain kept them a little shorter than planned, but every walk is another step toward getting him back to full speed.

Work was another highlight. I had a slightly lighter schedule with a few clients away, but the majority of my clients progressed on at least one exercise this week, and I was able to update a couple of fitness programs to keep things fresh.

My weekly breakdown:
🏋️‍♂️ Minutes lifted: **200**
🏃 Miles ran: **23**
🤸 Minutes stretched: **35**
🧒 Client Sessions: **23**
🧘 Daily breathwork

This week reinforced something I remind my clients all the time: consistency isn't about perfection. It's about making smart adjustments, staying committed, and continuing to move forward even when life gets busy.

🏋️ Trainer Tip: Don't Rush the Reps

When it comes to strength training, moving slower is often more effective than moving faster.

It's easy to think that getting through more repetitions means you're getting a better workout. In reality, slowing each repetition down helps improve muscle activation, control, coordination, and body awareness while reducing the tendency to rely on momentum.

At Adaptive Exercise, we emphasize quality over quantity. Whether we're performing band rows, chest presses, overhead presses, or wall squats, we encourage our athletes to move with intention, control both the lifting and lowering phases, and focus on proper technique from start to finish.

A well-executed repetition will almost always provide more benefit than several rushed ones.

💙 Slow down. Stay in control. Make every repetition count.