Monthly Archives: October 2023

Starting Off Hell Week (or These Really Are Hard Workouts!)

Posted on October 30, 2023 | 2 comments

I’ve done Hell Week enough to know they are hard workouts. I love the challenge even if during the workout I am struggling. I know that these workouts push me in ways I need to be pushed, and I have never really regretted going to one. Sometimes I wish I had a different Hell Week workout that day, but that’s not exactly a regret.

With this past week, I started Monday off with a regular workout which was one that I had done earlier in the month. But I knew that workout was going to be the easy one for the week and the rest of the week was going to be a challenge. To earn your Hell Week shirt, you have to go to 4 of the 8 workouts. You can earn another piece of swag if you go to all 8, but I know myself enough to know I can’t handle 8 workouts in a row. So I didn’t quite earn my shirt in the first part of Hell Week since I only got 3 workouts in, but I’ll be doing another 2 this week, so by the time you read this, I should already have my shirt.

Of the 3 Hell Week workouts I’ve done so far, I think Tuesday was the hardest day. It might have been because it was the first one and I wasn’t used to how hard these workouts are, but I still think it was the hardest one. The hardest part was the floor work, a mix of timed exercises and exercises on our own. We had 5 short blocks on the floor, 2 of them were timed and 3 had decreasing reps starting at 8 reps. It was a lot of lower body work and a lot of squats. My foot is doing a bit better, but it’s still painful at times. And I discovered that squats put enough tension on the tendon that sometimes it triggers the pain. I just had to take some breaks when we weren’t supposed to so I could stretch my foot.

Wednesday’s workout was focused on inclines, so I had a lot of time to work on using the higher resistance levels on the bike. I do want to increase my resistance level on the bike, but as I was using the higher ones, I know I’m not quite ready for that, at least not for my all-out. I still felt like I was pedaling through jello and wasn’t able to go that fast. I know that still was a good workout because it uses different muscles than pedaling quickly, but since we do a lot of lower body work on the floor, those heavier resistance levels can make those exercises harder for me.

And on Thursday, I had to do a lot of modifications on the floor because it was a lot of jumping exercises. I also was really sore on Thursday from all the workouts earlier in the week, so I didn’t mind the modifications as much. But I did really enjoy the rowing that day because it was all about maximizing the distance you row with each stroke, which I think is something I do pretty well. It takes a lot of patience and understanding that your overall time might be a bit longer, but it’s a great way to use your muscles a different way while rowing.

I heard about some of the Hell Week workouts that I was going to miss on the days I don’t work out, and they all sound so hard! I know all of them are hard, but I think I got the best 3 so far. Even if I wasn’t doing what I felt was my best, I knew I was doing a lot of work and I could feel my strength coming through.

I can’t wait to see how these last 2 Hell Week classes go for me and be a Hell Week survivor yet again!

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Default ThumbnailStarting Off Hell Week (or 5 Workouts And They Were All Hard) Default ThumbnailAnother Week Of My Own Hell Week (or Hell Month Is No Joke For Me) Default ThumbnailMy Own Type Of Hell Week (or Working Through Some Tough Workouts) Default ThumbnailA Full Week Of Hell Week (or Quickly Earning My Shirt) Default ThumbnailA Month-Long Hell Week (or I’m Still Making Sure I Earn My Shirt) Default ThumbnailA Tough Week And A New Challenge (or Starting Off The Last Month Of Workouts For 2022)

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Not The Conventional Convention (or We Are Having An Intermission For Now)

Posted on October 25, 2023 | Comments Off on Not The Conventional Convention (or We Are Having An Intermission For Now)

This past weekend was the SAG-AFTRA Convention. It was going to be our second virtual convention, but we learned last time that virtual conventions can be just as productive as in-person ones. I hope the next one will be in-person because I love seeing people face to face and there are many fun little things that can’t be done with a virtual convention. But because the union knew while planning this convention that our negotiations might still be happening, it was safer to plan for something virtual. I don’t think anyone expected the convention’s first day to be the 100th day of the strike, but that’s exactly how it worked out.

Because the convention was virtual, there weren’t as many things that I had to plan and prepare for. I did make sure that my work schedule wouldn’t be affected too much, but I also knew I would be able to work while attending the convention again. I didn’t have to change anything with my workouts or plan out outfits in advance, which was nice. I think things weren’t as hectic leading up to the start of the convention due to so much attention being on our strike, but I also think that having a much calmer election season helped too. Even without the usual craziness, I was ready for things to start.

The convention usually has a similar schedule. The first thing we do is elect the last few officers that get elected at the convention and not during the election. Then we work on voting for or against different resolutions that were submitted before the convention started. And on the last day, we have a few speeches followed by using all remaining time for more resolutions. So as expected, once the convention started, we got to work on the officer elections. Things took a bit longer than they were scheduled for, but I think it always goes that way. With a virtual convention, there were some technical issues. But with an in-person convention, there are always technical issues as well. They just are different types of issues for each one.

I personally got to vote for 3 officer positions. Our Executive Vice President, which all delegates vote for, the Los Angeles Vice President, which only delegates from Los Angeles vote for, and the Actor/Performer Vice President, which all delegates from around the country that are actor/performers vote for. I was really excited that the candidates that I voted for were the ones that won those races.

And once all that voting was done, it was time for all of us to have a short lunch break. The break was only supposed to be 30 minutes, but it kept getting pushed back. We knew that the negotiating committee had a meeting during our lunch break, so some people were wondering if maybe that meeting was taking longer because negotiations were going to start again. And when we finally came back from our lunch break, that’s exactly what we found out.

A few weeks ago, the AMPTP had walked away from negotiations and we were just waiting for them to agree to talk to us again. They announced they agreed to meet again while we had our lunch break. And since negotiations were going to start again in a few days and our negotiating committee wanted to have time to prepare so they could be as ready as possible, it was decided that the convention was going to be put on pause. We were going to have our speeches and a quick keynote that afternoon, but voting on resolutions, which were supposed to be on Sunday and Monday, was going to be postponed until a later date.

This wasn’t what anyone expected to happen, but I agreed with my fellow delegates that it was the best thing for us to do. Negotiations haven’t been easy, and that should be the focus right now. And we will get back to voting on resolutions at some point and finish our convention. But hopefully, when that happens we will be done with the strike and we can focus more on the convention and less on picketing.

As I’m writing this post, it’s the first day back of negotiations. I don’t expect us to hear today that a deal was made, but I’m hopeful that we will hear back soon about a possible deal. I think the AMPTP sees how much support we have and they know that what we are asking for is what is fair and nothing unreasonable. I don’t know how long after a deal we will continue the convention, but I hope it’s not too long because I do enjoy working with my fellow delegates on union service like this. I can’t control when I audition or book work, but I can control some of my involvement in union service and I do take my elected position seriously and want to represent my fellow actors the best I can. And finishing out my voting when the convention returns is exactly how I can do that.

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Default ThumbnailVirtual Orientation (or Still Getting Ready For Convention) Default ThumbnailPreparing For A Virtual Convention (or My First Task For This Delegate Term) Default ThumbnailNot The Convention I’m Used To (or Still Taking On More Responsibility) Default ThumbnailA Full Convention Weekend (or Preparation Pays Off) Default ThumbnailSAG-AFTRA National Convention (or I Had No Idea It Would Be Like This) Default ThumbnailTime For Convention (or I’m Ready To Get To Work)

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Giving Myself A Long Time To Recover (or I’m Hoping This Isn’t Something Worse)

Posted on October 18, 2023 | Comments Off on Giving Myself A Long Time To Recover (or I’m Hoping This Isn’t Something Worse)

Over a month ago, I started to have some really odd foot pain. It’s been only on the top of my foot, and I couldn’t figure out what would make the pain worse and make it go away a bit. It would affect me when I was walking, which seemed normal. But what was so weird was that it hurt a lot when I was sleeping or lying on the couch. When it started, I thought maybe it was just a really bad bruise and I would give it time to go away. But after a few weeks, I knew it wasn’t something simple like that.

I started with a video appointment when a general medicine doctor, mainly because I knew I would need a referral to a specialist. But I wasn’t sure what type of specialist I would need to go to, so I just explained all my symptoms to the doctor and let them determine what the next steps would be. I had some x-rays ordered and the initial results were that there was nothing seen on the x-ray, which was a relief since the first doctor thought it could be a hairline fracture. But that didn’t answer what was causing the pain so I went to a podiatrist.

I was randomly assigned a podiatrist, mainly because I wanted the soonest appointment available. And it happened to be someone I had seen before for a different foot issue. As I waited for the appointment, things weren’t getting any better but they weren’t getting any worse. So I was just hoping that I could get some answers and make sure there wasn’t something really wrong with my foot.

I finally had my appointment last week. I knew going into the appointment that there were a few likely reasons I was having this pain. And those were a ligament issue, a tendon issue, or a nerve issue. I didn’t know which of those I was hoping it would be since none of them would necessarily be easy things to correct. But I also knew that getting a diagnosis was the first step in hopefully getting out of pain.

At my appointment, I reviewed all the symptoms for the doctor and he did a few different things to manipulate my foot to try to isolate the pain. And in the end, he thinks that I have a tendon issue in my foot. When he was pressing on the tendon on the top of my foot, it was making the pain more intense. But the one symptom that I said that confused him was that I experienced pain sometimes when I wasn’t wearing shoes, which made him worry that it could be a nerve issue. But that’s a much bigger thing to deal with so it’s easier to start with a simple problem and try to see if I can resolve that pain from those steps.

And the things I need to do aren’t too bad. I have to tie my shoes differently so they don’t lace over the affected tendon. I also am using BioFreeze on my foot a few times a day to help the pain not be as sharp. Eliminating the pain isn’t going to resolve the issue, but it makes it more tolerable to deal with while I wait for it to get better. And I might be waiting a long time because fixing a tendon issue can take months. I was told that if the pain wasn’t better in 6 months, then I need to return so we could look into some other remedies or see if I need to see someone else to figure out if it’s a nerve issue. But it might take those full 6 months before I feel better. So I’m just going to have to wait it out and hope for the best at this point.

I’m used to dealing with so many types of pain on a day-to-day basis, so it’s not too horrible to have another type of pain in my life. It’s not fun and I wish I didn’t have all this extra pain, but I know I can get through it. And hopefully, before 6 months have passed I will be in just a little bit less pain so I can just have this issue as something in my past that won’t be another medical mystery that needs to be solved.

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Feeling Ok When It Counted (or Ending My Workout Week On A Great Note)

Posted on October 16, 2023 | Comments Off on Feeling Ok When It Counted (or Ending My Workout Week On A Great Note)

Going into this past week of workouts, I knew they would be pretty tough for me. I expected to be nauseous and in pain for most of the week, if not the entire week. I tried to stay positive and remember that any workout is better than no workout. And I wanted to remember that it’s better to have my bad week now and not at the end of the month when we have Hell Week. I know that there’s no guarantee I’ll feel great during Hell Week, but I have a better chance of that considering this past week was my bad week.

I spent the beginning of this past week really trying to tough it out. I unfortunately did have to leave class a few times at the beginning of the week to get sick, but I was able to return to the workout and finish it out. But it’s always a bit harder coming back from being sick not only physically but mentally. There’s something that feels almost like a bit of a failure of your body when it happens, and that messes with my head. I know that I didn’t do anything wrong or cause it, but it still feels like a failure.

Getting sick during class is tough enough, but I also struggled on the floor with using weights. I wasn’t just feeling a bit weak, but I was exhausted because I wasn’t sleeping well at night. This past week was a bit worse for me with nausea than normal, and I was getting up multiple times a night to be sick. With a serious lack of sleep, I really felt like a fraction of my normal strength during the workouts. Again, I just had to keep reminding myself that I was doing something instead of just giving up and not doing anything.

I felt like this for the first three workouts of the week, and I really just couldn’t get over the feeling. But I was finally feeling a bit more like myself on Thursday, and I’m glad that happened because it was a challenge that I wanted to try my best on. We had Catch Me If You Can, which is a cardio challenge with different checkpoints to get to. You have a specific distance to get to at a certain time. If you get to that distance, you keep going. If you aren’t at that distance by the time, your challenge is done and you track how far you got. Normally, I get caught at the same checkpoint each time. I’ve been getting closer and closer to getting past the distance required to get to the next one, but I’ve just been missing what I need to get to. I was hoping to get further this time, but I also knew that it was going to be hard considering I wasn’t feeling totally better.

I reviewed the checkpoints before the workout started to make sure that I was familiar with each distance so I could do my best. I don’t know what happened, but in my head, I messed up things a bit and thought I had to reach the checkpoint that I usually get caught at by the 8-minute mark. I knew that it was maybe possible for me to get to that distance, but it was going to be a real struggle and I would have to do something similar to my mile benchmark. I’m almost glad I messed up the times in my head because I actually had to get to that checkpoint at the 9-minute mark. So when I thought it hopeless to make it to a checkpoint, I actually was able to get past it for the first time ever! I know I was going a bit too hard on the bike and was starting to hurt a bit, but I really wanted to see how far I could get.

The next 2 checkpoints were a challenge, and I barely was able to make it far enough. But I did it just in time. But for the checkpoint that I got caught on, I knew there was no way I would get far enough. I was still pushing myself to do my best, but I also allowed myself to slow down a bit so I wasn’t hurting as much on the bike. When I was finally caught, I was so proud of myself and how well I did. I did so much better than I had hoped I would and now I have a very impressive PR that will be difficult to beat the next time we have Catch Me If You Can.

I’m glad the challenge was at the end of the week so I was feeling better than I had at the beginning of the week. And it allowed me to end my week on a much better note than I started it on. And hopefully, that means that this coming week and Hell Week at the end of the month will also be positive weeks with some great workouts!

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A Year Of A Medication (or It’s Been A Lot Of Good And Some Bad)

Posted on October 11, 2023 | Comments Off on A Year Of A Medication (or It’s Been A Lot Of Good And Some Bad)

About a year ago, I had my first appointment with a doctor in bariatric medicine. I went into that appointment with a specific concern in mind and really was worried that the doctor would either suggest other options for me that I didn’t want to do or that they would dismiss what I had to say. I was shocked when I was at that appointment and it went exactly how I hoped it would. I was terrified to start a medication that I would have to inject into myself, but I was also really hopeful for what it could mean for me and my future.

It hasn’t been an easy year and I knew this medication wouldn’t be a miracle for me and that I would still have to work at losing weight and there may be some tough side effects to get through. I also had to overcome my issues with needles and I knew that would be a big challenge. My first few injections were pretty bad for me. I did pass out with them in the beginning, but I took measures to make sure that I was safe such as doing them while laying down so I couldn’t get hurt when I passed out. I had a lot of bad side effects from the beginning that I had to learn how to manage. Some of these side effects disappeared after a few weeks or after I had a bit of time at a new dosage. A lot of these side effects are still things I have to deal with now. But after a year, I have gotten used to many of them and they aren’t all as bad as they were when I started.

The main side effect I still deal with almost weekly is nausea. This is something that can vary each week, and I think there are a lot of factors that make things better or worse for me. I know I don’t inject the medication in the exact same spot on each side each time, and I feel like some spots are better for me than others. I just haven’t figured out the pattern of what are the good spots to use so I just have to see how I feel each week. And when I’m dealing with other nausea, the nausea I have as a side effect is amplified. It’s not ideal, but considering the good that I’m getting out of this medication, it’s worth it.

And I have been getting good out of it. I’m not losing weight at the same rate that I was at the beginning, and that’s a bit hard to accept. But I’m still losing weight. I don’t know why it’s as slow as it is now (sometimes it’s only half a pound a month), but I’m glad things are going in the right direction. And based on what this medication is supposed to help with, I have hit the goal percentage of weight loss already. That doesn’t mean I’m stopping, but I know that I’m considered a success story with how things have gone for me.

But beyond weight loss, the best thing for me has been my relationship with food. It’s so hard to explain food noise to someone who hasn’t dealt with it before, but it’s almost like an obsession with food even if you are eating healthy or the right portions. You can wake up and spend your morning planning your meals for the day to make sure it’s exactly what you want. Now, I still have some of those feelings and thoughts but they aren’t as often or as overwhelming. I don’t necessarily think about what I want to have for dinner until it’s almost time to eat. I do have to remember to eat occasionally, especially at lunchtime, but it’s nice to not have food such a focus in my mind.

I know that this medication is controversial and some people don’t believe that people should take it for weight loss, but I’m so grateful that I have been allowed to do so. I haven’t changed many of my food or exercise habits in this past year, but the way that my body is reacting is different. I have known for a while that the simple concept of calories in calories out hasn’t really worked for me. Even when I’m tracking things perfectly, my body doesn’t react the way it should. But now, things seem to be more aligned with what is considered normal. I also know that not everyone would agree that the side effects I’ve been dealing with have been worth it, but that’s a personal decision and some people will be ok with certain side effects more than others. I’m glad that I have been ok with the few negatives that I’ve experienced because this isn’t a short-term plan. I don’t know if I’ll be on this forever, but maybe I will and I’ve had to be ok with that.

It’s been a bit of a crazy year between side effects, medication shortages, positive progress, overcoming my issues with needles, and everything else that I have gone through. But I’m in such a better place than I was a year ago and I’m hoping that things will continue in the right direction for me in the next year and I’ll still be happy with how things look a year from now.

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Having My Expected Tough Week (or Feeling A Bit More Prepared For This)

Posted on October 9, 2023 | Comments Off on Having My Expected Tough Week (or Feeling A Bit More Prepared For This)

Going into this past week of workouts, I knew it would likely be a tough week for me. I’m grateful that I can plan for pain and nausea, but that doesn’t necessarily make it easier for me to tolerate. And even though I can anticipate when it’s likely to happen, I never know exactly when it might kick in and how bad it will be. And the intensity can vary so much not only from day to day but from hour to hour. I can leave my house in the morning for my workout feeling okay, but a few minutes later, I feel like I’m being ripped apart from the inside.

I’ve been dealing with this for a while, but it’s always a struggle for me. And I just have to suck it up and deal with it at times. That’s what I try to do during my workout, but I know that sometimes I’m barely able to do anything. I always try to remind myself that doing something is better than staying home and doing nothing, but even though I know that’s the truth it’s not always easy to remember that.

I was worried about how I would do this past week since I’ve been doing pretty good at increasing my efforts during my workouts. I didn’t want my pain and nausea to make me feel like I hadn’t made any improvements. I tried to remind myself every morning that at least I was going in, and I really needed to think about that a lot this past week. I was aware that I would likely have a hard week all week because my pain and nausea kicked in over the weekend, so I was expecting every day to be hard. Some days were a little better or worse than others, but they all were difficult for me to get through at times.

On the bike, I’m glad I spent some time working on longer push paces because that little extra endurance helped me a lot this past week. There were a few days I was able to push myself a bit more than normal for some of the push paces, but those usually were the short ones. For the longer push paces, I was still using my normal resistance levels, but I was pedaling very slowly. I had a really tough time on Thursday when I felt like I was taking a break to let the nausea pass every minute or two. I also had a moment when I thought I was going to get sick in the middle of the class, so I was prepared to get off the bike quickly. I’m glad that didn’t happen, but the fear of getting sick in class affected things too.

The rower is also usually really hard for me when I’m dealing with pain and nausea. I don’t know if it’s the rowing motion or the way I’m seated, but I usually feel like things intensify for me when I sit on the rower. There are also times when I feel fine on the bike and everything hits me on the rower. This time, I was already feeling awful when I was getting to the rower, so I just dealt with things getting a bit worse. I didn’t want to modify things too much, but there were some rowing blocks that had us getting on and off the rower to do exercises between each row, and for 2 of the 4 workouts this past week, I made the decision to not do that and to just row for the entire block as much as I could. I don’t love having to modify things that much, but I also knew it was for the best for me. For most of the week, I just rowed at something similar to a base row as long as I could and then rested when I needed to. It wasn’t my best week of rowing, but it’s something.

Unfortunately, things were hard for me on the floor too. It wasn’t exactly due to the pain and nausea, but I was experiencing a lot of weakness. This is something I know I’ve had some months, but I never know how much weaker I’ll feel. I tried to not go lighter with the weights if possible, and I managed to almost always use my normal weights for exercises. There are a few weighted exercises that I know I always have to go lighter when I’m weak, such as hip bridges, but I at least tried to use my normal weights first and then went lighter only if necessary. It was a similar idea to what I’ve been doing with trying to use heavier weights first and then going back to my normal ones if necessary.

Even though this past week was really hard for me and I don’t feel like I did a great job, I know that it went better than most of my bad weeks. I think that I was a lot more prepared for things because I had been doing better recently. My decrease in my workouts was much closer to my normal since my new normal is a bit more powerful. I know that might not always be the case and this past week might have been a bit of a lucky week that way, but I’m so glad it worked out for me the way it did. I still don’t feel like I worked that hard, but I don’t feel as disappointed as I know I have in the past.

I’m hoping feeling like I’ve been doing better than my past bad weeks continues through this week because it’s very possible that this week will be another tough week for me. I’m not expecting my pain and nausea to go away before the end of the week, but maybe it will surprise me and the entire week won’t be as bad. I’m also grateful that it’s happening now because in a few weeks, we have Hell Week again! I should be feeling like myself for at least most of Hell Week, and I’d rather be feeling good that week versus a normal week. And feeling like the workouts are extra tough right now due to my physical issues is just another way to prepare for how hard the Hell Week classes are going to be!

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Doing More And More Cleanup (or Feeling More Setup For Things To Come)

Posted on October 4, 2023 | Comments Off on Doing More And More Cleanup (or Feeling More Setup For Things To Come)

I made my monthly challenge in September to be working on digital organizing. I probably should do this more often than I do, but I really noticed that I needed to work on it over the summer. I just needed the push to get it done, and setting it as my challenge was what got me started.

I only worked on my phone since that’s where most of the extra apps have been. I do need to work on organizing and cleaning the files I have on my computer, but that’s a much bigger project and might take a few months since I need to see what I have saved in various folders. But there were so many apps on my phone that I forgot about and was easily able to delete.

With the way that you can set up an iPhone now, you can hide apps from your main app folders but keep them so you can search and open them back up. I don’t know if I hid a bunch of apps in the past or if my phone automatically did it when I wasn’t using an app that often, but I had so many hidden apps that I had no clue were still on my phone. Going through the hidden apps made things a lot easier to decide on since I knew if I forgot that I had that app, I didn’t need to keep it. I also did find a few apps that I forgot about that could be useful, so I made a new app folder of apps I want to test out this month so I can decide if I should keep them or not.

I really felt like doing the digital organizing was a success last month. I got more done than I expected, even if I only worked on cleaning up my phone. And I feel like doing that work set me up for being more efficient with using my phone going forward.

And the idea of being efficient and ready for things to come inspired my challenge for October. My challenge this month is to continue to get things set up for myself for the coming year.

This new challenge involves a few things, but I basically want to have some new systems and plans set for 2024. I have said so many years in a row that I want to take a vacation. I haven’t had the time or the money to do it. Now, I’m in a slightly better financial place than I have been in and I have the ability to continue to save money. I want to work on some budgeting and savings plans in order to be able to afford a vacation at some point in the next year. I also want to have some time management plans in place, such as working on setting aside time to make sure I cook more often and use the time I have outside of work better. It’s not easy to do that since I’m usually so tired after work and I have only 1 day off a week between my two jobs. But I need to really work on focusing on creating a plan that maximizes the little free time I have in my week. I have gotten into a routine lately, but it’s not the best routine for me since I’m not accomplishing as much as I know I could.

I also want to work on setting up more reminders and systems for myself so things don’t slip through the cracks. I am pretty good about setting up annual doctor appointments, but sometimes I only remember to call to make the appointments after the time I’d like to do that. It’s easy enough to have a reminder once a year (or however often I need it) so that I don’t forget. And when I’m doing regular shopping, I usually am putting together a list at the last minute and seem to forget one or two things. I’ve been using email drafts to work on creating lists as I go, but I know there has to be a better system for that and I’m going to take some time to figure it out. And yes, that might mean I will be adding more apps back onto my phone, but if they are helping me get through the errands I have to do regularly and make it so I don’t spend as much time focusing on them, then they will be good additions to my phone.

There are a lot of things that could make my time and money more efficient and used wiser. I haven’t been taking the time to figure those out because I haven’t really cared as much as I do now. And I think I’m thinking about it more now because there have been a lot of articles and stories coming out about how single people have additional costs and struggles because they are only relying on themselves to get by. I can’t have someone else make dinner because there is only me (but I do order in if I know I don’t have the energy to make something). All tasks that have to be done must be done by me unless I hire someone to do something like clean my home.

It’s a lot that I have put on my plate without realizing that I need to maybe adjust things considering that it’s just me doing all the work. And I’m hoping that working on setting myself up to have the best year ever next year will really help me find out how to make my life better and easier so I don’t have burnout as often. I deserve to have some fun and more than just the day-to-day routine I’ve been doing for a while. I just have to do some work now to maximize what I do have in order to make that happen.

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Working On My Workout Goals (or Somehow The Workouts Were Exactly What I Needed)

Posted on October 2, 2023 | Comments Off on Working On My Workout Goals (or Somehow The Workouts Were Exactly What I Needed)

Last week, my workout recap was about the goals and improvements I was hoping to be able to accomplish soon in my workouts. I know that it’s okay not to always have huge improvements, but I also want to make sure that I’m doing things to challenge myself because I do want to get stronger. I do remind myself that no matter what, a workout is better than doing nothing. But I also want to make sure I’m not stagnant for too long.

Sometimes, there are opportunities to challenge myself more in the workouts, and sometimes I don’t get that chance. And this past week, the workouts actually worked out well for me and what I wanted to improve on.

For cardio, a lot of the workouts had long push paces. Doing a long push pace is the perfect way to test my endurance and see if I can maybe consider something harder for my push pace going forward. It wasn’t always easy doing a 3-minute push pace at my current resistance level, but as I did more of those throughout the week, it felt a bit more normal. I didn’t change the resistance level for any of my workouts, but I would like to start testing things by doing the shorter push paces one level higher. And I feel really confident in trying that because not only did we have long push paces throughout the week, we had a lot of workouts that had 1-minute all-outs. I’m much more used to doing 30-second all-outs, so 1-minute ones feel really long. But I was able to get through them so I feel like doing a 1-minute push pace at a level between my current push pace and all-out is doable. My only big concern is feeling okay doing a base pace after a push pace at that level since after an all-out we usually have a walking recovery.

I also had some good opportunities to work on improving my rowing. When we had short rowing intervals, mainly ones that lasted under a minute, I was shocked when I saw what the wattage was as I was rowing. I am very used to seeing my wattage on the rower pretty low, which can be frustrating since that represents how much power is behind each stroke. I don’t know what changed or why I was able to do more, but my wattage was double at times from what I’m used to. I wasn’t able to maintain this for all the rowing intervals for the entire week, but it happened often enough that I really noticed. I did continue to struggle with my endurance on the rower, but I noticed that this past week it was also a struggle because of the pain I’m feeling in my foot. I think that sometimes, I can get on the rower and it doesn’t trigger the pain in my foot, and other times I just seem to do things exactly right or wrong and it makes my foot hurt so much. Hopefully, when I see the specialist I’ll have more answers about what is happening with my foot so I can make sure that pain doesn’t continue to affect my workouts that way. But I feel like overall, my rowing was an improvement compared to what I’m used to so I’m not that let down by the struggles I had.

Unfortunately, on the floor there weren’t really opportunities for me to do a lot of work with increasing the weights I use. I continued to try to use heavier weights to test out how they felt and then went back to my normal weights if I couldn’t manage the heavier ones. But I never really was able to go heavier for various reasons. The biggest struggle is seeing how using weights that are just a bit too heavy affects my form. Sloppy form with weights can lead to injuries, which is something I know I don’t need to add to my current health issues. I also had some issues with my foot and some of the exercises on the floor. I couldn’t do things on my toes such as push-ups because bending my foot that way hurts. That’s not too odd for me, but what was weird was that I couldn’t even rest my foot on the ground when I did those exercises on my knees. I normally do that because it adds some stability to the exercises. But this past week, I was keeping my feet up which made me very unstable for several exercises and I had to go a lot slower.

I am so happy that the workouts matched up pretty well with allowing me to work on the things I really wanted to try to do. Obviously, it won’t always be that way and I will have to challenge myself on my own when I can. I don’t know if I’ll have a lot of opportunities to do that this week since I’m expecting my pain and nausea to kick in at some point this week. But I’m hopeful that maybe that won’t kick in until toward the end of the week so I will be able to have at least some good workouts this week. But even if they are all struggle workouts, I’ll get them done just like I always do.

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