Adaptive Exercise

This is exactly why exercise progress should never be judged by where someone starts.

When Bryce and I first began working on lunges, the exercise looked very different than it does today. Lunges were a significant challenge, so we modified the movement to match his current abilities. We started with his front foot elevated on a step and he held onto my hands for balance and support.

As Bryce became stronger and more confident, we systematically adjusted the exercise. The platform got lower over time. My hands were replaced with a resistance band. Then the amount of support continued to decrease session after session.

Now Bryce is performing lunges independently.

What you're seeing in this video is only his second session completing lunges without support from me or a resistance band for balance. More importantly, you can see the confidence that has built along the way.

This is what individualized programming looks like. Meet the client where they are, provide an appropriate level of support, and gradually fade that support as skills improve. Small progressions repeated consistently over time often lead to results that once seemed impossible.

Great work, Bryce!

What you see in this video did not happen overnight.

When Jacob and I first began working on this lunge progression, we started with his front stance leg elevated on a step to reduce the overall difficulty of the movement. From there, I had him lower his back knee to a large medicine ball while holding onto my hands for support and balance.

Over the following weeks, we slowly and systematically progressed the exercise.

✔️ Lowering the height of the front platform
✔️ Gradually decreasing the size of the medicine ball target
✔️ Improving balance and stability
✔️ Transitioning from holding my hands to holding a resistance band for support

Each phase had a purpose.

The goal was not to rush Jacob into the final version of the movement. The goal was to build the strength, coordination, balance, motor planning, and confidence necessary to eventually perform it independently.

This is a major part of adaptive exercise that people often do not see:
The real progress happens in the details of the progression itself.

Now Jacob is demonstrating controlled lunges nearly all the way to the floor with significantly improved balance and confidence compared to where we started.

Proud of the consistent effort he continues to put in every week 💪

Not every athlete needs the same level of adaptive support.

One thing I always emphasize is meeting each individual where they are.

In this older video, my client Kev is performing Sandbell Toss Overs, one of my favorite functional exercises. Movements like this challenge coordination, strength, balance, and body awareness all at once. In many ways, it is similar to a deadlift pattern, but often much more engaging and fun for athletes.

For Kev, this exercise did not require extensive adaptive strategies or physical prompting. My role here was simple:
✔️ Clearly model the exercise
✔️ Make sure he understood the task
✔️ Observe his movement quality
✔️ Provide encouragement and praise

That is an important reminder in adaptive fitness. Sometimes the best coaching strategy is knowing when to step in… and when to step back.

Functional exercises like these can help improve strength and movement patterns that carry over into everyday life and tasks of daily living.

“Why this exercise took weeks to achieve.”

Hasan is showing great form here performing alternating overhead crunches, but it did not start this way.

When we first introduced this exercise, coordination was a major challenge. Hasan was not fully raising his arms overhead and had difficulty coordinating the movement pattern consistently.

To support success, we slowed the movement down to an exaggerated pace and used tactile cues to help guide the exercise and create clearer movement expectations.

Over multiple sessions, we practiced the exercise together so Hasan could use me as a model while gradually improving coordination and timing. As his confidence and consistency improved, we slowly increased the speed while continuing to reinforce proper movement patterns.

Now Hasan is performing sets of 12 reps with great coordination and control.

This is an important reminder that progress in adaptive exercise often happens through patience, repetition, appropriate support, and meeting individuals where they are, not rushing the process.

Some moments in adaptive exercise may look small from the outside… but behind them are weeks of preparation, trust, consistency, and hard work.

This is an older video of my client Marion performing step ups for one of the first times, and it’s still one of my favorite moments.

Before we ever got to this point, we spent weeks building the foundation, working on balance, coordination, motor planning, confidence, and understanding the movement itself. To support Marion, I placed visual footprints on the step so she had a clear visual target of which foot to use. I changed the footprint placement each rep to encourage alternating legs and independent problem solving.

Beyond the physical support, encouragement mattered just as much. High fives, cheering her on, gestures, and positive reinforcement all helped to create an environment where she felt successful, supported, and proud of herself.

And her reaction says everything.

That smile and excitement is what this work is all about. Not just improving strength and coordination, but building confidence through success.

Meeting clients where they are. Providing the appropriate level of support. Creating opportunities to succeed.

That’s Adaptive Exercise.

One of the most important parts of adaptive exercise is understanding that sometimes we need to modify the environment before we can successfully train the movement.

In this video, my client Antosha is performing seated overhead presses. Rather than simply asking for “better form,” I’m providing clear tactile targets by holding pads overhead for him to press toward each repetition.

These pads help establish:
• A clear stopping point
• Full range of motion
• Consistency from rep to rep
• Immediate feedback without over-verbalizing

Another important adaptation here is the seated position itself.

Prior to this, standing overhead presses introduced additional challenges including pacing, difficulty remaining in one area, and maintaining safe body positioning while still focusing on the exercise itself.

By reducing those competing demands and having Antosha seated, we were able to create a safer and more successful environment to build the movement pattern first.

This is a great example of meeting the client where they are and adjusting the exercise to fit the individual, not forcing the individual to fit the exercise.

Appropriate support creates opportunity.
Clear expectations create success.