Help needed with planks, push-ups and balance

MaryS910

Hi y'all! I am new to this group but have been on MFP for about 1.5 years and have lost about 80 lbs over the last year. I am on week 4 of JMBR and have run into some problems and wonder if I should stay on it an extra week. I would appreciate any recommendations and advice!

1) Planks where you go down on your right forearm then left, then back up. I can't even do one of these. I can do a plank and walk it back up on my hands but not the forearm move.

2) In this same vein, I can't do but about 3 modified push-ups. When she does push-ups on the floor, I get up and do them against the wall.

---I had a discectomy for a herniated disk in my neck in November, 2010 and I know this accounts for some of the arm weakness but I am able to do the bicep, tricep, shoulder work with 7 lb weights. This is very frustrating.

3) You know the move where you put your foot against the thigh of the opposite leg and lift weights? I wobble like crazy and cannot keep that leg in place. The balance problem seems more related to my feet than my core and I have tried wearing different shoes, lacing them tightly, etc. Oddly enough, I can stand there and do it bare footed but I don't think I am supposed to be doing this barefooted, right? Maybe I should buy a smaller pair of shoes? What do y'all wear to work out and do you have any wobble?

THANKS SO MUCH!

gardenimp

First of all CONGRATS on the 80 pounds lost, what a huge accomplishment!!!:flowerforyou: So on to your questions;

1) Make sure you are planting your hand next to your chest and under your shoulders; not in front of your shoulders. When your hands are not under your shoulders, its MUCH harder to push yourself back up.
2) Do as many as you can push yourself to do without hurting yourself. If 3 is the absolute most you can do then do the best 3 with the best form you can. Remember push up are about shoulders, but also chest, back and abs. Try to engage all those muscles so your avoid injury.
3) I know that this move she does show a modification of placing your one foot flat and the other on the toe balanced against your ankle to provide stability if you are simply not able to balance

Also, go at your pace...I find that I lose my balance/concentration when I try to keep pace with the people, especially the first time I'm trying to learn the moves. I believe it is more important for you to push yourself to YOUR limit, not the limit of obscenely fit people :laugh:

I'm just started workouts 7 & 8 in phase 2 and feel like I've never workout in my life, but I know I felt like that the first time I tried each new workout. Have fun and be assured you are getting stronger!

rosied915

Glad I saw this.

I am the Queen of Modifications and have managed to come up with enough modifying moves to get me to Workouts 9 & 10!!
(workout 9 is gonna be the death of me but that's another story)

So for those plank up and downs: just hold plank for as long as you can

Push-ups: you're doing PERFECT in my book!! I did the entire 30 Day Shred series and all of Phase 1 doing pushups against a wall. If you position your hands correctly and keep your feet back far enough, you're not missing a thing!! I have only progressed to Knee-down (Girl) Pushups recently and just yesterday actually did them the RIGHT WAY! (and in a Yoga class of all places)

Balance: I have MS and my balance is affected. I keep my toe touching the floor and if I need more I'll lightly hold on to a chair. I feel like I'd rather modify the move to what I can do than skip the move because I can't do it perfect. Because for me, there is no perfect~ just what I can do in the way that I can do it.

With regard to the shoes, I do the workouts in sneakers and I tie them TIGHT! You can practice your balance in bare feet which is what I do in Yoga (hey, I highly recommend this for you too!) but because of using the weights, I think shoes are a must.

You are doing just fine and seem to be figuring out how to modify your workout to YOU which is key!!

And I second the CONGRATS:flowerforyou: on your amazing weight loss!! If you can do THAT, you got Jillian, no problem!!

gerbies

Congratulations on your weight loss...so motivational!

In terms of the workouts, it's about starting with where you are and making improvements. For example, do three push-ups now and make your next goal, 4 push-ups.

In terms of push-ups, I would try to do them on your knees. Not that wall push-ups are not a good modification, but really push yourself. You will find you increase your strength quickly.

With the plank ups, if you're not able to go down on your elbow and back up, just hold plank the whole time. If you can't hold plank for the 30 seconds, try holding for 10 seconds, rest for 5-10 and do another 10 second hold. And then add more time until you can hold it the whole time.

With "tree pose" with arm raises, don't worry about trying to keep your foot on your inner thigh and balancing. Plant one foot straight and instead of placing your foot on your inner thigh, place it on your ankle with your toes on the ground. As you build balance, place your foot on your calf, then thigh.

Just modify to what you need to do so you can at least do a few moves, but so you are also challenged...

MaryS910

Thanks for the help, y'all. The modifications help a lot but my ultimate goal is a "real" push-up, lol!

gerbies

You'll get there. Before starting JMBR, I did another program that is very push-up heavy. It's also a 90 day program. In the beginning, I did push-ups on my knees and did them slowly and not well. My the end, I was doing (and still do) push-ups on my toes. Now I work no my range of motion...trying to get my chest closer to the ground. The key is progression!