After dealing with some really bad pain and nausea the week before, I was glad I was doing better this week with how I was feeling in my workouts. I still had some struggles and annoyances, but it’s always a nice thing when it’s not so bad that I’m miserable. And I had a fun surprise during the week that made my workouts even more amazing than normal.
I was still dealing with a bit of pain and nausea on Monday, but fortunately, I was over the hump and really close to feeling normal. I was still being careful with what I did and paid attention to how I was feeling so I didn’t overdo anything, but I was able to push myself more. And since it was a strength day, I’m glad I was able to push because it was a tough workout, especially the cardio!
The cardio was 3 blocks and they were all very similar. We had round of push pace and base pace using decreasing inclines and then we had an all-out at the end on an incline. The highest resistance level I used on the bike during the push and base paces was what my new all-out resistance level is now. So when we had the all-outs at the end, even though the resistance level could have been lower than my new all-out level I pushed it to be higher. Almost all the cardio was using resistance levels, but because it never got that high my legs didn’t feel as bad as they have with other strength days.
On the floor, we also had 3 blocks. And each block started with a 15 stroke row drill. Feeling off on days we have stroke drills is fine since we are supposed to go very slow to make sure the water is still on the rower between each stroke. So when I needed a break, it was between each stroke when I was pausing. After the row, each block had 1 exercise that was a drop set (doing heavy weights for low reps and then a lower weight for more reps) and one additional exercise. The drop set exercises were bicep curls, goblet squats, and shoulder presses. And the other exercises were bench push-ups, hip abduction, and running men. I tried to go heavy with the drop set weights, and I did do that for the bicep curls and goblet squats.
Wednesday’s workout was a mix of endurance, strength, and power. And I still had some pain to deal with, but it was minimal and didn’t affect my workout too much. I was really grateful to be feeling almost normal.
For cardio, we had 3 blocks and the first and third blocks were distance challenges. For the first block, we had a 3-minute run for distance, 1-minute walk, 2-minute push pace, and 1-minute all out. In the third block, we switched up the order so we had the push pace, all-out, walk, and run for distance. And the goal was to get further in the third block, which I was able to do. I did use the resistance levels for the run for distance part. I started with my push pace level, but that got a bit much so I went to the level between my push and base pace. And the block between the two challenges was a progressive push pace with increases every minute for 4 minutes. For the progressive push, I increased the resistance level by 1 every minute.
On the floor, we had 1 long block that was split up into 3 mini-blocks. The first mini-block had front raises and low rows on the straps with a mini-band around our arms. We did those twice and then we had an 800-meter row. Then we had 2 rounds of uppercuts with weights and high rows with weights followed by a 400-meter row. The last mini-block had 2 rounds of clean to press with weights and push-ups with a 200-meter row. I didn’t do that great on the first 2 rows, but my coach pushed me and cheered me on for the 200-meter row and I was able to get it done in just under 40 seconds! It wasn’t a PR, but it was pretty fast considering what I’ve been able to do since returning.
Friday’s workout was a mix of endurance and strength. And it was a tough workout for me. I was feeling fine, but I think this was the first workout this week where I really pushed myself to improve. I’m not sure if it paid off, but I’m still proud of what I did.
For cardio, we had 1 long block with 5 different progressive base pace segments. We started with a 5-minute base that increased incline/resistance every 75-seconds (so there were 4 total levels). For all but the last segments, we always worked with 4 different levels. But because the segments got shorter, each time we increased faster plus we started at a higher level. So toward the end of the workout, I was at some of the highest resistance levels I’ve used on the bike. I did have to take a few breaks to drink water and stretch my hip out, but I was able to keep going for most of the block. And at the end, the last segment had 3 rounds of decreasing levels for 30-seconds each and we ended with a 1-minute all-out.
On the floor, we had 2 blocks. Both blocks started with 15 stroke row challenges. We also had triceps and front presses with the medicine ball. In the first block, we had chest presses with weights, chest presses on the straps, and bird dog planks. And the second block had weighted squats, single-leg squats (which I had to do as regular squats), and plank leg raises. For the chest presses with weights and the weighted squats, we only had 6 reps so we were told to go heavy with the weights. I did use the heaviest weights yet for my chest presses. I didn’t use the heaviest weights for my squats, but they were only 1 set lower which was still really good.
But something else happened at my Friday workout that really made my day (and honestly, my week). Before the shutdown, I had a group of workout buddies I usually would see for almost all my workouts each week. And while we have stayed in touch over text, my workout group hasn’t returned to Orangetheory. Some are at new gyms and others aren’t in LA anymore. It’s sad, but I also understand that things like that happen. But one of my workout buddies was at Orangetheory on Friday for her job, and I knew that I’d probably get to see her. I didn’t know when during my workout she’d be there, but she was there during the warm-up and I had to go say hi immediately! I jumped off the bike to run out to the lobby to say hi and hug her (thankfully it was the warm-up so I wasn’t that sweaty yet). Even though I’ve had a lot of friend reunions since the pandemic, this one hit me hard. Maybe it was because we hadn’t seen each other in a year and a half or maybe seeing her at Orangetheory gave me even more of a sense of normalcy and my old life, but I broke down in tears when hugging her. I couldn’t say hi too long because I had to get back to the workout. But I did see her again after the workout was done and seeing someone from my old life really did make me so happy!
Saturday’s workout was a power day, and I was glad to have a workout that focused on shorter efforts. I feel like we’ve had so many endurance and strength workouts lately. But power days are always fun because I can push myself really hard knowing that efforts aren’t going to last too long.
For cardio, we had 3 blocks that got a little bit longer each time. Every block had 3 rounds of a 45-second push pace followed by a base pace and ended with an all-out. But the difference was each block had longer time for the base pace. The first block had 1-minute base paces, the second block had 75-second base paces, and the last block had 90-second base paces. I kept my resistance levels the same for each block, but having the longer base paces allowed me to try to pedal faster with the same resistance level each time. The only issue I was experiencing was some hip pain, but that’s so normal to me that I’m not really worried about it and it didn’t affect my workout too much.
We also had 3 blocks on the floor and each block started with a 45-second all-out row before going to the floor. In the first block, we worked with the ab dolly and had push-ups to knee tucks and roll-outs. Those were both tough on me due to my hip pain, but I pushed through when I could. The second block had pull-ups on the straps (which I did as high rows on the straps) and single-arm chest flys. And the last block had hip hinge swings, side step-downs (I did lunges instead), and mountain climbers. And by the end of this workout, I was exhausted! I know I pushed myself extra hard because it was a power day and I felt it! But it also felt great!
For the next 2 weeks, I may have to change up my workout a bit. I’m hoping I can still get in 4 workouts each week, but it will just depend on a few things. I’m also toying with the idea of seeing if a different workout time would work, but that can cause issues with my work schedule. I know I’ll figure out the best situation for me and make sure that I don’t slack on any of my obligations. Worst case, I know I can get my 3 workouts in each week. I do love my routine and having a set plan each week, but I also know I need to be flexible when other things come up. And the reasons I may not be doing 4 workouts each of those weeks are good reasons that are worth it. I’ll just have to wait and see how things turn out for me in the next few weeks!
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