Monthly Archives: August 2022

I knew going into this past week of workouts that it would be a tough week. I never know how bad it might be, and it was pretty bad. It wasn’t the worst I’ve felt, but there were moments when it was getting close to that.

Monday’s workout had some parts that were easier on me and how I was feeling and some parts felt like they were extra challenging. So I just tried to push when I could and go easy when I needed to.

For cardio, we had 2 blocks. For the first block, we had 2-minute push pace intervals and 1-minute base pace intervals. For the push paces, we went up by 1% for the incline each time. And the second block we had 1-minute all-outs and 1-minute recoveries. And for the all-outs, we did the same as the first block with increasing the incline (or resistance level) each time. I did use my new base pace and I did do the increases we were supposed to do even though it felt a lot harder than what it normally feels like.

For the rower, we were timed with the treadmills for both blocks. When the treadmills were in a push pace or an all-out, we had a row for the same amount of time. Then when they were in a base pace or a recovery, we had exercises off of the rower. In the first block, it was supposed to be forward and back shuffles and in the second block, it was supposed to be side hops. I tried the shuffles in the first block for the first time, and I knew that I couldn’t do it. It was making me even more nauseous and by the time I could start rowing again the rowing time was over halfway over. So I did squats instead in both blocks. It’s not the best modification, but it was one that worked.

The floor was a bit better for me. In both blocks, we only had 2 exercises. In the first block, we had lunges and low rows with weights. The low rows were supposed to be in a modified plank, but I did them standing to not add to my nausea. And in the second block, we had single-arm chest presses and hip bridges. Fortunately, I didn’t have to make any modifications in the second block so I felt better about my workout at the end.

My nausea was a little less extreme on Wednesday, but the pain from cramps was a lot worse so I think the workout was equally as tough. I still had to push when I could but also take a lot of rest when I needed to let the pain subside.

For each section of the room, we had one long block and one short block. For cardio, the long block had 3 parts to it. For each part, we had a base pace, base-to-push pace, push pace, and all-out. I did use my new base pace, but because of the increases we used, my base-to-push pace was the same as my push pace. First, we did each of those sections for 1-minute each. Then we did them for 45-seconds each. And finally, we did them for 30-seconds each. And between each of those sections, we only had 30-seconds to recover. And in the shorter block, we had 30-second intervals of a base pace, base-to-push pace, push pace, push to all-out, and all-out.

On the rower, for the longer block, we started with a 200-meter row. After the row, we had rainbows with a medicine ball. We repeated this pattern with a 150-meter and 100-meter row. Then we repeated the 3 rows again but we had overhead tricep presses with the medicine ball. For the shorter block, we worked along with the treadmills with 30-second intervals. I was proud of myself for getting through all the rows in the first block without needing to stop due to pain. But in the second block with the long row, I did need some rest.

On the floor, for the first block, we had 2 mini-blocks. The first mini-block had regular lunges and lunges using the straps. And the second mini-block had single-arm high rows with weights and low rows on the straps. And in the second block, because it was such a short block we only had one exercise. We had kneeling single-arm shoulder presses. I didn’t go too heavy with the weights on the floor, but I tried. But the pain was getting really bad while I was on the floor and I didn’t get through too many rounds because of the breaks I needed to take.

Thursday’s workout was one that I had done earlier in the month. And this might have been the worst I felt all week, but again I just did what I could and tried my best.

For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block had a 1-minute push pace, 30-second all-out, and 1-minute recovery and we repeated that pattern 3 times. And the second block was the same idea except the push pace was 30-seconds instead of 1-minute. I used my new base pace but was pedaling pretty slowly throughout both blocks.

On the rower, we had one long block. We started with an 800-meter row and then we had squats and lunges. The row went down by 200-meters each time and we repeated the pattern. I had to take a lot of breaks during the rowing, so I only got through the 800 and 600-meter rows. I hated how little I was able to do, but I just reminded myself that I tried.

And on the floor, we had 2 blocks. The first block had chest presses with weights, push-ups, and side plank hip dips. And the second block had lunges, squats, and back extensions. I switched out the back extensions for bird dogs because of my nausea. And most of the exercises were supposed to be done with the Bosu, but I did them on the floor without it. It wasn’t my best workout, but it was better than doing nothing.

I wasn’t really doing better on Friday, but I think I tolerated things a bit better so that helped to make the workout better than Thursday’s. We had 2 blocks at each section of the room, but we switched between blocks so we did 1 block at each section first before doing another lap around the room, which helped to split things up nicely.

The first block for cardio had push pace and base pace intervals. All the base paces were 1-minute and the push pace started at 30-seconds and increased by 30-seconds each time. And we ended with a 30-second all-out. The second block was similar, but the push paces started at 90-seconds and went down by 30-seconds each time. Again, I was using my new base pace (I don’t know if I’ll go back down to the old one now) and just pedaled slower than normal to make things easier for me.

On the rower, both blocks were all about stroke drills where we had to do 15 strokes on the rower and try to keep the wattage the same the entire time. Between each row in the first block, we had squat front presses and between each row in the second block, we had lunges.

And on the floor, things were a bit more challenging for me. The first block had chest presses with weights and plank jacks to push-ups. The plank jacks to push-ups were so difficult because it’s always hard for me to be face down for exercises when I’m nauseous. I split the exercises up and just did as many reps as I could at a time. And the second block was challenging for my hips and balance. We had weighted step-downs on the bench and step-ups to knee raises on the bench. I wouldn’t have been able to do either of these with the old type of benches, but because the new ones get lower to the ground, I’ve been trying to do them more and more. They are still difficult for me, but I have noticed improvements in my balance each time we do them.

I’m happy I did what I could, but I’m ready to have a good week again. But this week, my workout schedule is going to be a bit different because the studio will be closed part of the week when Orangetheory films a commercial there! I’m still figuring out which days I’ll be going, and I’m looking at possibly changing up my workout schedule again because some of my coaches are changing which days they are there. But for this coming week, I know it might still be a bit of a bad week, so I’m hoping I will still just do my best and maybe I’ll be able to surprise myself.

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This past week, I wasn’t doing too great with my workouts. I thought the beginning of the week would start off well, but I had other medical issues come up that made those workouts harder. And then, I started to have to deal with nausea. So while I was hoping at least the beginning of the week would start off well, it really didn’t.

I was feeling a bit weak going into Monday’s workout. My gallbladder attack was on Sunday, and even though it wasn’t the worst attack I’ve had, I was still recovering from the pain and a few other symptoms. I probably should have taken some pain medication before my workout because my body was sore from being tensed up during the attack, but I didn’t think of that until I was already in class.

For cardio, we had 3 blocks and did the same pattern each time. We had a 2-minute base pace at an incline, a 1-minute push pace at the same incline, and a 1-minute all-out. Because of the incline we were at, the base pace was at the resistance level I would normally use for my push pace, so I kept it there for those first 3 minutes and just pedaled faster for the push pace. And for the all-out, I did go up to my normal resistance level. We had that same block 3 times and we were supposed to try to get better each time. But I think I probably did about the same effort each time because as I tried to push myself I was also getting tired so they canceled each other out.

On the rower, we had 1 long block. We had 2 rounds of a 300-meter row, 2 rounds of a 200-meter row, and 2 rounds of a 100-meter row. The idea was to get to each distance with the fewest number of strokes each time. To do that, you have to pause at the front and back of the rower and really explode from your legs. I’m not great at explosive power, but I have built up core strength so I can do better with the pauses. And between each row, we had lunges that were supposed to be with a medicine ball, but I did regular lunges.

And on the floor, we also had 1 block. We had 4 exercises and we were supposed to do each one twice before moving on to the next one. For all the exercises, we had the mini-bands around our legs and they were drop sets so we did 8 reps with a very heavy weight and then immediately go into as many reps as we can with a lighter weight. We had upright high rows, deadlifts, low rows, and front squats. I went heavier than I can remember with my deadlifts, and that was a real challenge for me. And for the front squats, I really needed to keep my hands free for balance because I was having a tough time with the mini-band on my legs so I did those without weights. But considering how I was feeling going into class, I was very happy with the work that I was able to do.

On Wednesday, I was feeling a bit better but it was also the start of having nausea. I tried to not let it affect me too much, but there were a few moments when it got a bit more severe and I just had to let it pass. But fortunately, this was right when the nausea was starting, so it wasn’t as bad as it can get.

For cardio, we had one long block. We started with a 90-second push pace followed by a 3-minute base pace. Since the base pace was so long, the idea was to work on increasing your base pace speed. Since my speed can be a big variable on the bike, I decided to increase the resistance level by one. So my base pace was between what my normal base and push paces are set at. That did add a challenge, but it wasn’t too different so it was manageable. We repeated the pattern with the 90-second push pace and 3-minute base pace a total of 3 times before we ended with a 1-minute all-out.

On the rower, it was all about doing 300-meter rows. I was surprised at how well I did with the rowing since I usually struggle a lot on the rower when I’m nauseous. I only had to take a break during the row once. Between each row, we had either front presses or calf raises with a medicine ball.

And on the floor, we had 2 blocks. The first block had single-arm shoulder presses, squats to shrugs, and lunges. And the second block had chest presses, sumo squats, and lunges. I did go heavier with my sumo squats since I know I could probably go heavier than I think I can. Sometimes the bigger struggle is picking up the weight, and not using it in the exercise. But I tried and I’m glad I pushed myself a bit more on the floor to prove that I could do it.

Thursday’s workout was a 2 group class, so we had 23 minutes for cardio and 23 minutes for the rower and floor. I was still dealing with nausea, so having such a long time on the bike was a challenge, but the entire workout was set up to be a good challenge.

For cardio, we had a single 23-minute distance challenge. You could keep your speed the same for the entire thing, but there were 3 times throughout the challenge where we were encouraged to go a bit faster for about 90-seconds. Because it was such a long challenge, we were told to be at our base pace or a little above our base pace. Since I had just done a challenge with using one resistance level higher on the bike for my base pace the day before, I did that again. I also increased my push pace for the 3 short intervals where we were supposed to push ourselves. It wasn’t an easy challenge, and it was harder being nauseous while doing it. But I was really proud of myself for what I did and how I did push myself to do a bit more than what I thought I could do.

And for the second half of class, we alternated between floor and row blocks. We had 3 of each of them. For all of the blocks on the floor, we had the same exercises. We had sumo deadlifts, wood choppers, bicep curls, and bird dogs to push-ups. Every time we got back to the floor, we picked up where we left off. And on the rower, we were rowing while cardio was in their push intervals and we just rowed for those 90-seconds each time. I struggled a bit on the floor with the push-ups, but again I was proud of myself for what I was able to do considering how I felt.

Friday was probably one of the toughest days for me since it was the worst day of nausea. I knew it wouldn’t be a great workout and I would just do what I could. But it’s always frustrating when I feel like that.

The two cardio blocks were very similar. We alternated between a push pace at an incline and a base pace without an incline. And again, I tried to use my potential new base pace. I haven’t increased what my push or all-out paces should be just yet, so I didn’t challenge myself much harder outside of my base paces. At the end of each block, we had an all-out at an incline, which was 2 resistance levels higher than what my normal all-out is.

We also had 2 blocks on the rower and it was all about 400-meter rows. In the first block, between each row, we had squat presses and tricep extensions with a medicine ball. And in the second block, we had bicep curls and shoulder presses with the medicine ball between each row. My rows were pretty slow and I had to take a lot of breaks during them, so I didn’t get that much done in each of the blocks.

On the floor, I ended up doing a lot of modifications between my hip issues and dealing with nausea. In the first block, we had lunges, chest fly with weights, and push-ups. There were 2 types of lunges, but I can only do one type of lunges so I did squats to replace one of the lunges. And sometimes I modify push-ups to be on the bench, but this time I did chest presses instead since they work the same muscles. In the second block, we had lateral lunges, skater lunges, sit-ups with rotations, and sprinter sit-ups. I did bicycle crunches instead of sprinter sit-ups, but that was the only modification I had to make for that second block. I know I did the best that I could in this workout, but I hate when I finish a workout and feel like I should have done more. But I also know there was nothing else I could have done with how I was feeling.

And I’m mentally preparing myself for this week. It might not be as horrible as some of my bad weeks are, but it can be and I know I need to be ok with that. Hopefully, I’m preparing myself more than I need to so it won’t be as bad and I will feel better about myself and my efforts when I’m writing my workout recap next week!

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