After what felt like a million weeks of tough or painful workout weeks, I finally had a week where I felt really great. It wasn’t all perfect, but honestly, it was so much better than the last few weeks. And when I did have pain issues, it was mainly my fault because I had been working out so hard.
Monday’s workout was a good and challenging one. We had 2 blocks for each section of the room and the first block was about 11 minutes long and the second block was only 2 1/2 minutes long.
For cardio, the long block was all about working with inclines. We had rounds of 2 minutes at inclines with 1 minute recovering without incline. During the incline work, we did a lower incline for the first minute and increased it by 1 for the second minute. And we just kept working up the inclines each time we got back to them. I did get higher with the resistance levels than I normally do, but they weren’t super high compared to some of the workouts we’ve had. And in the shorter block, we had 30-second intervals with all-outs and recoveries. Those weren’t with an incline, so I was able to get much faster on the bike than I had gotten in the first block.
On the rower, the first block was all about 400-meter rows. We had a row and then we had rainbows with a medicine ball. Then we had another row followed by halos with a medicine ball. We went back and forth for the entire block and we were supposed to try to get the row to be a push row. And in the second block, we were timed with cardio and did the all-outs with recoveries after.
On the floor, the first block had exercises and we had a range of reps that we were supposed to get to. We had single-arm low rows with weights, push-ups, and step-ups (which I did as lunges). And for the last block, we were timed with the rest of the room and did kneeling hammer curls and static planks. I tried to go heavy with my weights since we had a range of reps to do, but I think I’m almost between the weights we have options for because one was too easy and the other was too hard. But I know I’ll get there.
Wednesday’s workout was a benchmark day. We had the 200-meter row, which I feel like I haven’t done as a benchmark in a long time. I think pretty much all of my PRs are from before the pandemic, and I know I’m still working back to what I was able to do then. So I went into this workout just hoping I would be able to be close to my PR.
I started with cardio and it was a pretty simple workout since we were supposed to save our energy for the benchmark. We had 3 blocks that were 4-minutes long. In the first 2 blocks, it was a distance challenge and we were told to do something close to a push pace. In the last block, we did the distance challenge for the first 3 1/2-minutes and then had an all-out for the last 30-seconds. I kept the resistance level on the bike at my push level for the blocks, but I didn’t pedal as fast as I probably could have.
On the rower, the first block was to prepare us for the benchmark. We had rounds of a 200-meter row with squats after each row. We were supposed to focus on form and make sure we were warmed up for the benchmark. The second block was the benchmark, and I was pretty disappointed in myself. I felt like I just couldn’t get into a good rhythm and I did a lot worse than I should have. So I was grateful when we were given another chance in the last block to do the benchmark again. I did it and I took almost 2 seconds off of my time (which is a lot for a short benchmark). I’m still not back to my PR, but I’m 1 1/2 seconds off which isn’t that bad!
On the floor, we also had 3 blocks. The first block had low rows on the straps, tricep extensions on the straps, and plank punches. The second block had sumo squats to upright rows and pull-ups on the straps (which I did as high rows). And the last block had single-arm shoulder presses and single-arm low rows with weights. And for the last 30-seconds, we had squats to finish out the workout.
I was surprised at how ready I was for Thursday’s workout. I was afraid I would be tired or sore from the benchmark, but I lucked out. It turned out that I needed that energy and enthusiasm for the workout because this one was a tough one in the best way!
For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block was timed on our own. We had different distances to go and as the distances went down we were supposed to increase our speed. So the first distance was supposed to be between a base and push pace. The second distance was supposed to be at a push pace. The third was between a push pace and all-out. And I did set the resistance levels on the bike to match those guidelines. Between each distance we were supposed to do, we had step out squats and lunges, which were a bit harder for me to do. The second block was timed by our coach and we had rounds of 30-second all-outs and 45-second walking recoveries.
The floor and the rower were timed together for all 3 blocks. And all of the blocks had intervals that were 30-seconds and 45-seconds. For the first 2 blocks on the rower, we had push rows for 30-seconds and base rows for 45-seconds. The stroke rates were on the lower end so we were supposed to make sure we kept the rate below a specific number. And in the last block, we had 30-second all-out rows and then 45-seconds to do 10 lunges, and then we had the rest of the time to recover.
On the floor, we had 30-seconds of an exercise and then in the 45-second intervals we had a specific number of an exercise to do and then we got to use the rest of the time to rest. The first block had sumo deadlifts and hand-release push-ups. The second block had goblet squats and plank side reaches. And the last block had burpees and plank jacks. All of the blocks felt like they were never-ending, but the floor was crazy tough! But I really enjoyed it and felt like I was able to really push myself for the first time in a while.
While I wasn’t sore after my benchmark workout, I think I overdid it a bit on Thursday because I was sore for Friday’s workout. It was mainly tightness in my hips, which can mean so many different things for me. I do think it was due to the workout and not something more serious because I was getting some relief as I stretched when I could during and after the workout. Being sore did affect the workout a bit for me, but it wasn’t as bad as what other pain has done to me.
For cardio, we had 3 blocks and they were all focused on doing all-outs. The first block had 4 rounds of a 30-second all-out with increasing walking recoveries between each one. The second block had 3 rounds of a 45-second all-out with 45-second recoveries in between. And the last block had 2 rounds of a 1-minute all-out with 1-minute recoveries in between. For the first two blocks, I was fine with doing my normal resistance level for my all-outs. I was struggling a little, but it was a good struggle and what we should have to deal with during an all-out. But for the 1-minute all-outs, I really noticed it hurting me more so I decreased the resistance level on the bike to make sure I didn’t push myself a dangerous amount.
On the rower, we had 1 long block. We started with a 3-minute row and we were supposed to keep our stroke rate below 28 strokes per minute. This wasn’t too hard for me since that’s basically what I normally row at. After the row, we had tricep extensions and lunges with a front press with a medicine ball. I modified things so I didn’t do the lunges since my hips were so sore and I just did the front press. But I did use a heavier medicine ball than I normally would to make up for that. After the exercises, we had a 90-second row and a 45-second row with the exercises in between each one. And for the last minute of the block, we had a 1-minute all-out row along with the treadmills.
And on the floor, we also had 1 long block with 3 mini-blocks in it. We were supposed to do each mini-block twice before moving on to the next one. We had leg lifts with the straps and lateral lunges, squats to y-raises and hip hinge reverse fly, and plank blast-offs and suitcase squats. I didn’t finish the second round of the last mini-block before we got to the last minute of class where we were supposed to do a minute of push-ups to knee tucks. I tried doing those but I really was hurting and my hips were really stiff so I just did push-ups and then held a plank once I couldn’t do any more push-ups.
Even with the few struggles I had during this past week, I really had one of the better weeks I’ve had in a while for my workouts. I needed this. I’ve had enough struggles lately and needed a week where I didn’t have to do so much to work around my limitations. I know I’ll have another bad workout week soon when I have to deal with nausea, but I’m glad I got a break from that feeling. And hopefully, the way I feel after this past week will help me get through the harder weeks I might have soon.
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