This past week of workouts was just odd. Everything is just odd right now. There’s no denying that. But I tried to do everything I could to make it seem like a normal week. I struggled with pain and nausea for the first part of the week and was hoping that was going to be the worst of it. And physically, that was the worst. But the second half of the week was mentally a struggle. I tried my best and I think that I did pretty ok.
Monday’s workout was an endurance day, and I was definitely struggling with nausea. I didn’t have too much pain like I sometimes do, but it was there. But my nausea was really bad and I knew it would be another workout where I just had to try to do my best.
For cardio, we had 3 blocks. But like I have started to do on my bad pain/nausea days, I didn’t really worry too much about doing the push paces or all outs. I pedaled when I could and took a break when I needed to. I don’t like not following the workouts because one of the things I love the most about Orangetheory is having a coach to push me. But when things are this difficult for me with my body, I really can’t do much else. I could try to do things a bit more as planned, but I’d rather not have to rest when I don’t necessarily need to because everyone else is in a recovery minute. Especially if I just took a break to let some nausea pass. I feel like it’s better to just keep going and that’s why I have started to focus a bit less on the specifics on those days. And it’s not all the time that I feel like this, so I know I’m getting the coaching in on other days.
On the floor, we also had 3 blocks. I knew ahead of time that there were a lot of things I would need to modify and my coach and I were able to go over those things before the workout started. That helped a lot because I wasn’t feeling confused about what I should do and felt more confident about what I was going to do each block. Everything that was done with an ab dolly was something that I had to modify. But I think I got some good things to replace them with. The first block had single-arm low rows using the bench (I did them as hip hinge low rows so I wasn’t facing down too much) and ab dolly rollouts (which I did as rollouts on the straps). The second block had seated low rows, pikes on the ab dolly (I did plank leg lift using the bench), alligators on the straps, and push-ups to knee tucks on the ab dolly (I did these as push-ups and mountain climbers separately using the bench). And the last block had plank Spiderman (again, using the bench for my hands), sit-ups, and a 300-meter row. It wasn’t easy to get through all the floor blocks, but I did it.
Wednesday’s workout was a power day. I wasn’t doing a lot better than I was feeling on Monday, but at least it was a little less pain and nausea. But I still had so many modifications I had to make to every part of the workout.
For cardio, we had 2 blocks that had different intervals of a push pace, base pace, and an all out. All of the all outs were 30-seconds long, but the push and base paces changed. I wanted to do the intervals the way we were supposed to and I was able to do a little faster pedaling for the push paces and all outs. But I still was doing a lot of pedaling when I could and resting when I needed to. It wasn’t exactly the same as what I did on Monday and it wasn’t doing what I can do when I feel good. It was somewhat in the middle.
The rowing was one long block. We started with 3 rounds of a 100-meter row with squats with a medicine ball. Then it was 3 rounds of a 150-meter row with squats to shoulder presses with a medicine ball. And the last section was 3 rounds of a 200-meter row with ground to presses with a medicine ball. I did ok for the first section with the regular squats. But the squats started to make me feel a bit nauseous so I didn’t do any squats in the second section. I just did shoulder presses with a medicine ball between each round. I was working on my first 200-meter row when the block ended so I didn’t have to worry about what I would do to modify the ground to presses.
And on the floor, we had 2 blocks and I did a lot of modifications by using the bench for my hands. The first block had deadlifts with weights, burpees (I used the bench), and plank jacks (using the bench again). And the second block had lunges and planks with in and out with our hands using a mini-band (again, with the bench for my hands). Anything that had a plank element in it made me very nauseous and I took a lot of breaks in the middle of doing all the reps. But I knew this could happen so I was prepared for needing those breaks.
Friday’s workout was themed for Friday the 13th and I knew it would mean we also would also mean we had a lot of burpees since those tend to happen on Friday the 13th. I was finally feeling normal, but the mood in class was not normal. We usually have a full class, this time we didn’t. I think everyone knew that people were going to possibly avoid coming to class because of coronavirus. But it was still weird to see it not as full as we are used to. I know there are reasons to not come to class, but I feel like it’s one of the better places I could go to work out. The classes are small, everyone has to use an anti-bacterial wipe to clean up everything they touch. And I think most of us are feeling so anxious and we need something to keep us calm. And for many of us, that thing is our workouts.
The cardio was all about 1s and 3s. We had 3-minute distance challenges and 1-minute recoveries and all outs. I was able to do my biking work a bit more normal and that really helped me feel better. I wasn’t able to do the biking as hard as I know I could, but it was so much more than I had been able to do for the past week. And I did take the recovery time to be able to go really hard for the all outs.
On the rower, we had one long block. We did 100-meter rows and 13 squats between each row. I was really trying to do my rowing as fast as I could since 100-meters is a sprint, but my endurance wasn’t quite there. I know that whenever I am getting over when I’m nauseous that I usually need to do a workout or two before I’m back to my best ability. But I think I might have forgotten that a bit in the workout.
And on the floor, we had 3 blocks. In the first 2 blocks, we had 2 exercises and both exercises had 13 reps. The first block had burpees and bicep curls. And the second block had burpees and triceps with weights. The last block was timed and we had 1 minute of burpees, 1 minute of bicep curls, and 1 minute of triceps.
Saturday’s workout was something I really needed. My work shift on Saturday morning was just insane, and I needed my workout to recover from the mental stress I was under at work. I still laugh when I think about how I look at workouts as a way to get over stress or to feel better, but I guess that’s what happens when you get into a regular workout routine.
The workout was strength-based so we had incline work for cardio. We had 2 blocks and both the blocks were similar with all the work being at a base pace but alternating between no incline and incline work. The intervals on the first block were a bit longer than the ones on the second block, but they were both tough. And I was feeling good enough to do all the inclines the way I was supposed to. I also think it was helping me get some of my frustration out over how I was treated by some customers during my shift.
On the rower, we had different types of rowing for stroke drills. We started by doing 15 stroke tests to see how far we could get for 3 rounds. Then it was a 45-second row for 3 rounds. And we finished with 150-meter rows for 3 rounds. Every time, we were supposed to focus on rowing slowly to get as much power into our rows as possible. And between each row, we were supposed to lunge jumps. But I really can’t do those and it’s always tough for me to get on and off the rower, so I did regular squats instead.
And on the floor, we had 2 blocks. The first block had squats with weights, plank pull-throughs, and double crunches; all of those exercises were using weights. And the second block had sumo squats with weight, plank shoulder taps, and side plank pendulums. There was so much plank work and I’m so glad that I was finally feeling ok enough to be doing that. I know I could have modified things if I needed to, but I’m glad I didn’t have to because it’s tough when almost everything had to be modified.
This week, I have no clue what will happen. As of right now, I plan on going to my workouts. I know the studios are doing everything they can to keep things clean and safe for us. But as I’ve learned this past week, things can change so quickly. I really hope that I’m still able to make it to my workouts because it really does do amazing things for my mental health. It puts me in a better headspace and helps to keep me feeling like I have a bit of control in what feels like an out of control world. But if things change, they change. And I’ll just have to be ok with whatever does happen.
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