Switching Things Up (or Challenging Workouts)

I had another 4 workout week this past week. It wasn’t easy doing 2 weeks in a row of 4 workouts (especially since I feel like I’m doing fewer 4 workout weeks lately), but I’m glad I did it. I’m hoping that eventually 4 workout weeks will be the norm and the 3 workout weeks will be less frequent. But I’ve got a lot of progress to go before I get to that point. For now I’m just happy with my occasional 4 workout weeks.

Monday was a tough start to the week for me. Usually, if you warm up on the treadmill you will start with cardio and if you warm up on the rower you will start on the floor. But on Monday, our coach Brendon switched things up so those of us warming up on the treadmill started on the floor. I wasn’t too happy about that, but fortunately it wasn’t as bad as it’s been in the past. Before, my hips would lock up on the treadmill if I started there second. But on Monday I was in a bit of pain (which is expected) but no hip lock.

On the floor, I was able to do my arm work, but I had to use the 15 pound weights instead of the 20 pound ones. And we had a bunch of TRX strap work which is one of my favorite things to do. I feel really powerful on the straps and it’s much easier to make micro adjustments versus using weights. On the treadmill, we had a bunch of longer pushes (2 1/2 minutes) followed by all-outs. We really didn’t have any base pace work, but the pushes did get shorter so that was nice. I definitely felt exhausted after the Monday workout.

Wednesday was a day that was filled with lots of tough treadmill blocks. We started with a 3 minute push followed by a 30 second all-out. There were 5 blocks and each block was 30 seconds less on the push pace. Even thought the blocks were getting shorter, it felt just as tough as the long one. But I was still able to maintain my 3.5 miles an hour at 6% incline for my pushes. I tried seeing if I could do 3.6 miles an hour (like I do for my all-outs) for the pushes but I tried that toward the end of the treadmill time so I was a bit too tired. Even though I was tired after all that treadmill work, I was still able to do my arm work on the floor with 20 pound weights (which made me really happy). And we had some rowing to do as well on the floor but I was struggling a bit with those because of my hips.

Friday was probably the most challenging day of the week for me. First of all, I wasn’t able to get the treadmill that I use pretty much every day. That probably doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when you use the same treadmill all the time you get used to the quirks of that machine. And the treadmill I ended up using had just been worked on and was still a bit slick, so I felt like I wasn’t walking as steady as I’m used to. And that ended being something that really got to me because the treadmill block on Friday was a solid 22.5 minutes straight.

It was a distance challenge, and we could either follow along with the push and base pace plan that we were going to be told or do our own thing. In the past, I pretty much did my own thing for those distance challenges. But on Friday I followed along with when we were supposed to be in a push pace versus a base pace. I kept my pushes at my usual 3.5 miles an hour and 6% incline for almost all of it. I had to bring it down to 4% incline toward the end, and I bumped up my speed for the last minute. I had a goal in my head that I wanted to get to 1.3 miles in 22.5 minutes (I’m not sure why, but that number was the first thing I thought of when I heard it was a distance challenge). I knew I was going to be close, but I’m so glad that I bumped up the speed for that last minute because I know that is what got me to be just a bit better than my goal distance.

After that was done, I felt like I had just completed an entire class! But I still had my floor work to do. We had some rowing (mainly sprints so I was able to do some quick rows) and also some hip bridges (which I can do really well now) but I had to take things a bit easy because I was so tired after the treadmill. I know when I’m tired my form can get sloppy and that can make my hips hurt more (or cause an injury) so I have to be extra careful. I know I could have done better, but I’m glad I went easy because it was worth it to not hurt.

Saturday ended up being a nice bookend to my week when compared to the rest of the workouts. I was planning on using the bike for my cardio (as I’ve planned), but I forgot to put a cone on a treadmill so there would be enough spaces for me to be with the treadmill group. Since every treadmill was taken when I was on my bike, I had to start on the floor again (just like Monday). The workout was broken up so we had 2 blocks on the floor and 2 blocks on the treadmill (although technically each of those blocks was 2 blocks each). So we did get to switch back and forth.

The floor seemed to be a lot of ab work using the Bosu. I had to modify a couple of them since the instability can be tough on my hips, but I was happy that most of them I could do just fine. We also used the Bosu for some triceps pullovers and I was able to do those with a 25 pound weight. For the rest of my arm work, I switched between 12 and 15 pound weights depending if they were lateral work (12 pound weights) or anything else (15 pound weights). We also had sprint rows but I think I sprinted a bit too hard because I had to take time catching my breath between the rower and the rest of the floor.

The bike was fine, but I always feel like I don’t get in as good of a workout as I do on the treadmill. I was getting my heart rate up into the proper zones and I was sweating like crazy, but it still feels easier than the treadmill. I’m starting to think that maybe I think less pain means easier and that’s why. I don’t see any other proof that the bike isn’t as good as the treadmill but it’s just something that I keep thinking.

I know that this week I’ll be doing 3 workouts and the week after will be Peak Performance week (which may need to be 3 workouts due to my 5K race). I think that I’ve been pushing myself nicely lately and I’m hoping that those results will show at my next race. But I also know that race days can be weird and I’m not expecting a PR. All I want is a good race.

You Might Also Like

Getting Back To Normal Workouts (or Balancing Hard Work And Taking It Easy) Some Holiday Workouts (or Back On The Treadmill This Week) A 4 Workout Week (or Only A Few More Weeks Of 2015 Workouts) An Easier Workout Week (or Ignoring My Head And Listening To My Body) Lots Of Different Workouts (or Struggles and Successes) Balancing My Workouts (or Doing Some Planning)