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Jeremy Singh

What to do if you can’t go for a run

Welcome to the GO FOR A RUN, the newsletter that loves biking almost as much as running… except this:

Can I let you in on a little secret Reader?

Today I was supposed to run for an easy hour.

A 60-minute deposit into the bank of slow.

Nothing too hard – I wanted to have enough energy to play with my daughters. But I did something I very rarely do:

I skipped the run.

Not because I was feeling lazy. But because my pesky left ankle pain had been playing up again (thank you basketball injuries).

I’m working on my ankle mobility and strength – but that’s a story for another email.

So I limped around the house for an hour feeling annoyed and worried that the pain wouldn’t fade.

I thought about not working out at all (sometimes the right move). But instead, I decided “F*ck that!” and busted out the mountain bike.

It was fun as hell — a good substitute for a run.

Here’s the thing.

Sometimes an injury or life event will pop up and try to stop you from working out…

It’s easy to use these as an excuse to scrap the workout altogether – that little voice in your head can be a sneaky bitch.

But here’s the truth.

You are a badass.

You know there’s almost always something you can do.

  • Ankle hurts? Go for a ride or a swim.
  • Planned 1 hour workout gets cut short? Do 30 minutes.
  • Stuck at home with a sick kid? Do some push-ups, jumping jacks and tib raises (you should always be doing tib raises)

You can substitute 1 type of exercise for another, whenever you need to.

Or if you can’t get your full workout, do whatever you can.

Sometimes shit happens.

But don’t use that as an excuse to bail on your health and fitness.

Have a set of backup workouts and exercises.

  • No run? Bike, swim, hike, row
  • No gym? Bodyweight or strechy band
  • Limited time? Exercise snacks sprinkled throughout the day

That way, you will continue on the path of getting after it.

And you won’t run the risk of skipping multiple days in a row which can snowball and is depressing as hell.

So like Goggins says:

“If life gives you lemons, eat the f*cking lemon.”