Customizing
One phrase you’ll hear a lot from the Street Parking staff and community is to “customize your workout.” Well… what does that mean? Why is it important? And how do I do it?
Whether you came into SP with a background of knowing how to do the movements in the daily workouts or if you're brand new and trying to figure out what to do with minimal equipment, this is for you.
Real talk before we unpack it all: customizing is not just about adapting the workout physically -- sometimes it's even about your mindset. Giving you fitness freedom to customize your workouts is another way we are here to help remove the real life obstacles to get your fitness in -- and if we’re really being honest, that includes the excuses that can creep in... “Well, I don’t have a pull up bar so I’ll just chill today and catch up on Office reruns. Maybe tomorrow will be something I can do…”
Since our goal for you is consistency, learning how you can customize your SP workouts (even in some fun ways!) can be the key to keep you moving
CUSTOMIZING = #FITNESSFREEDOM
To customize means to “modify (something) to suit a particular individual or task.” In this case, that something to be modified is the workout, and the individual it would suit is you.
Modifying isn't a bad word, it's not doing less than, it's not missing the point of the workout. In fact, when you follow the coaches tips and make the appropriate customizations, it could be how you actually get the BEST workout in for you that day!
Making customizations is important because each Street Parking member is different. We are different ages and genders; we have different training backgrounds and genetics; our access to equipment and time availability vary, as well as our recovery and any injuries we might be overcoming. There’s no way one workout can accommodate for these differences. So what we aim to do is give you a framework AND ways to customize that framework to meet you where you are.
Each Street Parking workout is written with a certain intention in mind - meaning there’s something we want you to get from it - whether that be improved endurance, stamina, strength, and so on. We add a goal to every workout because giving you a goal to shoot for is our way of guiding you on how to customize the workout to make sure that YOU get what we intended you to. If you consistently miss the goal, you could be keeping yourself from getting the results you want! (Read that again if needed.)
WAYS TO CUSTOMIZE
Equipment - Programs A-C cover a variety of equipment options but you can use anything at your disposal - even if it’s not offered in one of the program versions! For instance, you’ll sometimes see Julian do this in the live daily demos when he will swap in Kettlebells in place of dumbbells or barbells.
Weight - You can increase or decrease the load of a movement (or multiple movements) depending on how many reps the workout calls for and your abilities. The written workout description will give you direction on how to figure this out with written tips like "pick a weight where you can perform all 20 thrusters within 2-3 sets..."
Volume - Total number of rounds and reps can be adjusted UP or DOWN - usually by no more than 25% or so of the original rep scheme
Movement Complexity - Many movements fall on a sort of scale from simplest to most complex. (SHIFT often offers the simpler version of the movements you’ll see in Program A-C). Sometimes simplifying movements can help you reach the workout goal or even move with more intensity.
Mix & Match - Mix different program versions by using a variety of equipment, going heavier on one movement and not the other, customizing a complex movement to a simpler one, so on and so forth.
Mama Modifications - Don’t sleep on the Mama Modifications even if you aren’t pregnant or postpartum. You’ll see movement options that can be beneficial if you are rehabbing or recovering from a variety of injuries or simply want to mix in different movements.
SHIFT and/or Program A - For someone who is interested in transitioning from the SHIFT workouts to Program A, you can approach it in a couple of different ways:
take the simpler movements from SHIFT and apply them to the rep scheme of Program A (decreasing the complexity and increasing the volume)
take the heavier weights from Program A and apply them to the rep scheme of SHIFT (decreasing the volume and increasing the weight)
The important thing to remember is that there’s no right or wrong as long as hitting the goal is your top priority.
WHAT ABOUT ODD OBJECTS?
But what about customizing with OTHER pieces of equipment - especially the odd objects - that you may have in your garage that you don’t see programmed in the daily workouts? Things like D-Balls, Atlas Stones, Sleds or Ropes? Much like the functional versatility of the sandbag, these are often some of the most FUN (and effective) pieces of equipment to utilize and mix in as you are comfortable or proficient in doing so.
Use the "Odd Objects and the SP Programming" resource as a guide for some of the most common Odd Objects we either have on hand ourselves or get asked about. You’ll see tips for how to sub movements - such as “when you see pull ups, swap it out for rope climbs” - as well as the benefits that adding some of these in can bring to your overall fitness!
WHAT ABOUT WORKING ON SOME SKILLS?
Maybe your goal is to do Round 2 of the Vault with pull ups instead of ring rows, or you crushed your consistency during the latest challenge and you feel ready to work on building your endurance engine to hit the goal times for runs in the daily workouts...
Don't forget to check out ALL of the options we have for you in the Extra Programs. We've got programs for Push Ups, Pull Ups, Double Under progressions, Extra Endurance, a 5k Program, Starting Strength, and even Military Prep programs that can be added into your weekly schedule if you have the time or desire!
