The other day, I decided to do step-ups… because I hate step-ups. And not just regular step-ups… lateral ones. Where you step sideways onto a platform while keeping all of your weight in one leg. I hate them because I’m not good at them. And doing things I’m not good at is not my idea of fun.
It wasn’t pretty and, yes, there’s a video on Facebook of me doing a 360 spin in an attempt not to fall off of the platform mid step-up. This wasn’t the first time I had struggled with them, and it won’t be the last.
So why do I continually bother with the exercise—especially when I’m all about enjoying your workout? Because I think there’s something to that sayin that “the exercise you’re worst at is the one you need most.” Or “the best exercise is the one you hate.” Or however it goes.
Whatever the exact phrasing, the point is that, if you’re really bad at a certain exercise, it could because you’re lacking whatever strength or skill will make you stellar at that exercise. Improve at that exercise, and you’ll shore up your weaknesses, become more well-rounded, prevent exercise injury, you know the drill.
That holds true for me and step-ups. For me, step-ups largely suck because I’ve never been huge into training my quads, so they aren’t ridiculously strong. I also don’t have incredible stability. It’s not bad, but it’s not amazing, and it could use some work. That’s because I (like most people) need more lateral (side-to-side) training. And, actually, the step-ups are part of my effort to do a lot more lateral work—not just to improve stability, but help with some existing IT band and plantar fasciitis issues on my right side.
What I found interesting was that, when I posted this video and the little “the exercise you’re worst at is the one you need most” saying online, several people asked, “What if it always hurts?”
First off, let me just say that you should never perform an exercise that hurts. Sure, exercise doesn’t always feel like puppy and kitten kisses. But hurts? No.
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And while, a lot of times, people don’t like or are bad at an exercise because it involves a movement they really need to strengthen, that’s not always the case. There could be several different reasons that you’re bad at any one exercise.
To understand why, first think of one exercise that you really, really hate. Got it? Good. Here are some possibilities why you hate it:
1. You have a muscle weakness that the exercise calls out. (“This is “the exercise you’re worst at is the one you need most” argument.)
2. Your knees hurt.
3. Your hips hurt.
4. Your back hurts.
5. Your shoulders hurt.
6. Anything hurts.
7. You just don’t bend that way.
8. You can bend that way, but only if the rest of your form goes awry.
OK, now reason #1 is not a reason to skip an exercise, and it’s actually the perfect reason to make it your new best friend. (Of course, you need to start small and progress slowly.)
However, if reasons #2-#8 apply to you, yeah, you should probably either skip that exercise or tailor it to perform it in a way that does doesn’t hurt and does work with your anatomy.
For example, I do step-ups because I hate that they make me feel weak. But I never do burpees because I hate that they make me pass out. (I have vaso vagal syncope, so any fast movements up and down make me pass right out.) I do lunges, but with a forward torso lean, because I hate it when my knees crack or hurt.
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So here’s your challenge: Take a second and think of five exercises you absolutely hate. Now, really be honest with yourself about why you hate it. Is it #1? Then I suggest you integrate it into routine. Is it #2-#8? Or even a combo of #1 and everything else? It might be worth performing different variations of that exercise and seeing how each feels. Widen your stance. Use a neutral grip. Try a goblet. Step closer to the cable machine. Change the range of motion.
If it still causes you problems #2-#8, okay. Scrap it for something else entirely.
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