Monthly Archives: December 2021

This past week of workouts was another 4 workout week for me to finish the workouts I needed to do to complete the 12 Days Of Fitness challenge. We had to do 7 out of the 12 days, and I had 3 days the week before so I needed to do 4 more this week. That’s normal for me with my workout schedule. But just like I’ve done recently, I had to pack in my workouts to fit with the holiday schedule so I did 3 workout days in a row.

Monday’s workout was Day 6 of the 12 so we had a few different 6-minute of 6 1/2-minute challenges and it was endurance-focused. For all sections of the room we had 2 blocks. The first block was 6 1/2 minutes and the second block was 6 minutes.

Both cardio blocks had the same format. We had a 3-minute push pace, a base pace, a 1-minute push pace, and a 1-minute all-out. The difference was the length of time for the push pace. I was still feeling a bit nauseous that morning, but I was doing much better so I could do a decent effort for the 3-minute push paces. I did put the resistance level at my normal push pace level to start, but in the second block I had to move it down a bit.

On the rower, the first block had rounds of 1-minute all-out rows with squat jacks and lunges between each row. I did the squats as normal squats and my lunges were not that deep because of feeling some hip pain getting on and off the rower, but I still did the exercises. We didn’t reset the rower for that block and then in the second block we first rowed the same distance we did in that first block and then just had the squats and lunges until the block was done.

And on the floor, the first block had sumo squats to upright rows with weights and lunges to bicep curls. I ended up splitting up each move so I had 4 exercises instead of 2, but I still did all of them. And then the second block was a 6-minute challenge with the Bosu. We had push-ups, pop jacks, and single-leg v-ups all using the Bosu. We started at 8 reps and went down by 2 each round. The goal was to finish the round of 2 reps, but I only started it when the workout was done.

Wednesday was Day 8 and it was a power day. And we had an 8-minute floor challenge.

For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block was rounds of a 1-minute push pace to a 30-second base pace with a 1-minute all-out at the end. And the second block was rounds of a 30-second all-out with 1-minute to recover between. It feels like it’s been a while since we had short all-outs with recovery for an entire block, so this was a fun one to do.

On the rower, we had a similar timing pattern with the cardio. The first block was the same intervals with the push pace to base pace with the all-out at the end. And the second block was technically the same timing, but during the recovery time we also had lunges to do before continuing our recovery. So we didn’t have the full minute to rest before the next 30-second all-out row.

And on the floor, the first block was a short block with bicep curls and tricep extensions. And then the second block was the 8-minute challenge where the goal was to get through 5 rounds of hip hinge swings, sumo squats to froggers, plank pull-throughs, and plank dumbbell taps. And if you finished all the rounds, the bonus round was double crunches. I was able to get through almost 4 rounds of the exercises, but I didn’t make it to the 5th one. I wanted to make it to the end, but I also knew if I went faster that my form would have been sloppy and that wouldn’t have been good.

Just like the past few weeks, I worked out on Thursday instead of Saturday. For Day 9 we had another challenge on the floor, but this time it was using the TRX straps.

For cardio, the first block was rounds of 30-second push paces and 30-second all-outs with 30-second recoveries, which felt like not having much of a recovery.  And the second block was rounds of 90-second push paces with either 1-minute or 90-second base paces with a 30-second all-out at the end.

The first block on the rower was rounds of 150-meter rows with 12 criss-cross squat jacks between each row. I did regular squats instead. And the second block had 300-meter rows with front press jacks between each row with the goal to double the distance from the first block. For some reason, that day I really struggled with the rowing and I didn’t get that much distance for either block, but I tried.

And on the floor, the first floor block was shorter with gorilla rows with weights and overhead presses. And the second block was the 9-minute challenge with the straps. We were supposed to start with knee tucks in the straps, but I did mountain climbers instead since I can’t do that sort of unstable exercise. Then we had 3 rounds of tricep extensions, bridge rows, and squats using the straps. And if we completed that, we had the knee tucks again. But I was doing my last round of squats when the 9 minutes were done. I felt like this was the toughest of the floor challenges this week, but it might have been because all my workouts that week had floor challenges.

And Friday was Day 10 of the challenge but day 7 for me so I was able to complete the challenge and earn my hat! This workout was an endurance day and it was a really good endurance challenge.

For cardio, we had rounds with different distance challenges with 45-seconds to recover between each round. Because some of the distances were a bit longer than what I would normally do in a push pace, I set my resistance level to be between my base and push paces and that seemed to work really well for me. And even though the recovery time was short, I tried to pedal really slow on the bike to get some recovery instead of doing something closer to what my base pace is like, which is what I tend to do at times.

On the rower, we had our 10-minute challenge. We started with a short block with a 2-minute warm-up row with some push paces and an all-out. Then we had 5 rounds of a 2-minute block on the rower. We started each block with high knees and then we went to the rower to row the rest of the time in that block. I usually had about 90-seconds to row each time. And we had some distance goals to hit, but because my hips were hurting from getting on and off the rower I really didn’t get close to the goal time. But considering how much time I had on the rower, I didn’t do too bad.

And on the floor, we had 1 long block that all had exercises with weights. We had neutral thrusters, reverse flys, sumo squats to upright rows, tricep kickbacks, bicycle presses, and plank low rows. I might have gone a bit too heavy with my weights for the floor because I needed to take more breaks than I normally would. But it was a good floor block and a great way for me to finish this week of workouts.

Even though I have done weeks in the past with 3 workout days in a row, I think this is the first time where I had multiple weeks doing this. And I’m debating if I want to change up my regular workout schedule to be Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from now on. It does make it tough, but it also makes my Saturdays a bit more open since the earliest I can go on Saturdays is at noon after work. I’m still deciding what I will do this week, but I know the week after I have to do this again because of the holiday schedule. So I think I’m going to keep testing this out and I know I can decide to change whenever I want. But maybe change will be good for me. I’ll just have to wait and see.

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This past week of workouts was a tough one for me for a few different reasons. First, I knew this would be a tough week because I was expecting to have to deal with pain and nausea, and I was right that it would be happening. Also, I had another week where I had 3 workout days in a row. And finally, this week was starting the 12 Days Of Fitness! I’ve done the 12 Days Of Fitness before and it’s a great challenge. The goal is to do 7 out of the 12 days and then you earn a winter beanie! Just like with Hell Week, I knew I’d be doing this and making sure I earned my hat!

Monday’s workout wasn’t a part of the 12 Days challenge since it was before the start of the month. It was an endurance day and it was also a day I wasn’t feeling too great. I was mainly dealing with pain that day, which can sometimes be easier for me to push through. And I think I needed the ability to push through in order to do the endurance plan.

For cardio, it was all about long push paces. We had 2 rounds of a 3-minute push pace and 2 rounds of a 2-minute push pace. Between each push pace, we had a 1-minute base pace and after the last 2-minute push we went right into a 30-second all-out. It was a lot of work and didn’t feel like it had a lot of rest. I did have to take my own breaks during the workout in order to get through some of the pain, but I think I did better than I expected to do considering how I was feeling.

On the rower, I really struggled and had to do a bit of my own plan. We were supposed to do long rows with hops between each round of rowing. But for me, the hops were making me feel really sick, so I decided just to work on rowing for the entire block and take breaks when I needed to. But I did try to be aware of the plan for the rowing and make sure I took breaks after each round. The rowing was supposed to be 800-meters, 400-meters, 200-meters, 400-meters, 200-meters, and 100-meters. I only got through about half of the rowing even without doing the hops between each round. That just shows how slowly I was rowing and how often I needed to rest.

The floor was a bit better for me. We had 1 long block with 2 mini-blocks in it. We were supposed to do each mini-block for 3 rounds before switching. The first mini-block had bench squats, goblet squats, and static crunches with scissor kicks. And the second mini-block had sumo squats, squats with rotations, and single-leg v-ups. I felt much better about my workout after the floor work since I think that was the best section for me.

And Wednesday’s workout kicked off the 12 Days challenge. And each day is themed around the day number that it is. So for Monday, since it was the first day we had a lot of things that were for 1 minute. Unfortunately, I was also feeling really horrible this day. I was really struggling to do anything, but I knew I just had to try my best.

For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block had a 1-minute push pace, 1-minute base pace, 2-minute push pace, 90-second base pace, and 1-minute all-out. The second block flipped the push paces so we started with the 2-minute push pace and had the 1-minute one toward the middle of the block. I still took a lot of breaks to rest or let the nausea pass, but I think I did a pretty decent job considering how worried I was about being able to do anything.

For the rower, again I struggled as I did on Monday. The first block started with a 100-meter row and then we had high knees. I knew I couldn’t do high knees, so I did marching in place instead. Each round on the rower, we increased the row by 100-meters. And for the last minute of the block, we had a 1-minute all-out timed with the treadmills. Then we reset the rowers for the second block and we started with a 300-meter row and high knees. And each round on the rower we went down 100-meters. And again, we ended with a 1-minute all-out row. The goal was to do better in the second block, and I think my nausea medication was kicking in around the second block because it went a lot better for me than the first block did.

And on the floor, we had 4 blocks. The first and third blocks were longer blocks. The first block had goblet squats and hip hinge low rows. And the third block had deadlifts and shoulder presses. For the second and fourth blocks, it was a 1-minute block that went with the all-out on the treadmills and rowers. We got to pick one exercise to do for the entire minute. I picked squats and I was able to get a lot of reps done within the minute both times.

As I mentioned before, I did a Thursday workout instead of one on Saturday due to my schedule (I think this week will be the same way again). So I was at the workout for Day 2, which had a lot of 2-minute things and it was also a strength-based day and a 2 group class so I had longer on cardio than I usually do.

We had 3 blocks for cardio. The first block was rounds of a base pace at an incline and a base pace without incline. We started with the highest incline and went down each round. But the incline base paces got longer as the incline got lower. And the block ended with a 2-minute distance challenge. I did work with the resistance levels on the bike, but I was pedaling really slowly because it was another day I was feeling rotten. The second block was the same idea as the first block, but we went up the inclines instead of down. It also ended with another 2-minute distance challenge. And the last block was one more 2-minute distance challenge.

On the floor, we also had 3 blocks. The first block had single-arm high rows and chest flys. And the second block had single-arm chest presses and hip hinge reverse flys. For both of those blocks, when the treadmills were doing their 2-minute distance challenges, we had a 2-minute row. For the last block, it was 2 minutes long and the coach got to pick what exercise we had to hold for the entire time. Our coach picked squats so we had a 2-minute squat hold. We were told to take breaks when we needed them, and I also did wall squats for maybe 10 seconds at a time to make it a bit easier for me.

By Friday’s workout, my pain and nausea were a bit better (but still not great) but I was dealing with a little soreness from having 3 workout days in a row. But I still think it was one of the better days of the week for me. It was a power day, and because it was Day 3, we had a lot of things that lasted 30 seconds to fit with the theme.

We had 3 blocks for cardio and blocks 1 and 3 were the same. For those blocks, we had 2 rounds of a 30-second push pace and 30-second base pace and then ended with a 30-second push pace to a 30-second all-out. I tried to limit the breaks I needed to take to just the base pace time and I was still working with the resistance levels to make my push and all-outs harder. And for the second block, we had 4 rounds of a 30-second all-out with a 1-minute recovery after.

For the rower, we had the same 3 blocks as we did for cardio with the push paces to base paces and the all-outs with recovery. This was a lot harder for me than the cardio was and I took a lot of breaking during the rowing blocks. But it was also a lot of rowing even if I was feeling ok.

For the floor, the first and third blocks were timed out with cardio and the rowers. In the first block, we had alternating heel touches and static crunch in and outs with mini-bands and we switched every 30 seconds. And in the third block, we had front walks and side walks with the mini-bands and again we switched every 30 seconds. For the second block, it was supposed to be lunges and step-ups, but I usually replace step-ups with lunges. So I ended up having a block of lunges, which wasn’t easy but at least it gave me a challenge during a week I had to go easy on myself.

This week, I’ll be finishing up the 12 Days Of Fitness and I hope that I feel better for most of it. It’s an unknown how I’ll feel this week, but I’m trying to think positively so I can finish out the challenge on a good note!

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