Considering the things I was worried about regarding this past week of workouts, I’m pretty happy with how things went. I knew that my pain and nausea might be kicking in, which is always a challenge. I also was going to work with a new workout schedule and had no clue if I’d be able to manage that. But even with those challenges, I think this past week was a real win!
Monday’s workout was a strength-based class. It was also the first class with the new class schedule. While I like that the class I attend is a bit later so I could sleep a little longer each morning if I wanted to (but I haven’t done that yet), it does make it a bit close for having time to get ready before work. My new class time ends 30 minutes before I have to log in for work. So I decided that if I left before stretching, I could test out if the new time worked or if I had to find a new time for a bit.
The cardio had 2 blocks, both with hills. The blocks were almost identical starting with a push pace, going to a hull, and ending with an all-out. The difference was that the inclines/resistance levels in the first block increased during the hill and in the second block they decreased. I did use the correct resistance levels for the hills, even though it was really hard for me to pedal at the highest levels.
On the rower, we also had 2 blocks. The first block started with a 1-minute row followed by lunges with overhead triceps using a medicine ball. Then the row decreased by 15 seconds each round. And the second block started with a 15-second row followed by lunges with rainbows using a medicine ball. Then the row increased by 15-seconds each round. This was a good challenge for me to work on my rowing endurance, but it was still tough to do the longer rows. But I can feel like I’m getting back there.
And the floor also had 2 blocks, with a focus using the Bosu. The first block had shoulder presses, pullovers, and bicycle crunches all on the Bosu. I was struggling to balance for the shoulder presses, so I kneeled on the floor for them. The second block had single-arm presses on the Bosu, standing upright rows, and Spiderman planks.
And like I planned, I rushed out of class before the stretching and did have just enough time to shower and get dressed before logging in for work. It did cut it close, but I think this will work until the next time the class times change.
Wednesday’s workout was extra special because it was my first post-pandemic workout with one of my pre-pandemic workout buddies! My friend Erin, who has been doing my hair for a little over a year, was returning to OTF and was in the same class as me. I’ve already shared how happy I am to have some of my normal routine back in my life, and having a friend in class is an added bonus and makes things feel even more like they used to!
The workout was a mix of endurance, strength, and power and everything was about 45-second intervals.
For cardio, we started with a 45-second push, 45-second base at an incline, 45-second all-out, 45-second recovery, and a 45-second all-out. We repeated this a total of 3 times but the incline went down each round. And all the end we had one more 45-second all-out. I liked the short intervals because I felt like I could really push myself with the resistance levels and go fast for the all-outs. But the recovery times were short and I was really tired at the end.
The rowing started with a 45-second row followed by another 45-second row where we were supposed to keep the wattage the same but slow down our rowing speed (focusing more on power from our legs). Then we had 45-seconds to recover followed by 45-seconds of squat jacks. The squat jacks were tough for me. My hip popped out, which isn’t that unusual. But I couldn’t get it popped back in again which was frustrating. We repeated this pattern for a total of 3 rounds.
And on the floor, it wasn’t exactly 45-second intervals but it was a mix of 45-second intervals with 2 1/4 minute intervals. For the 2 1/4 minute parts, we had lateral lunges, deadlifts, and plank low rows. When that time was done, we stopped wherever we were and had 45-seconds of speed skaters. Then we had another 2 1/4 section where we picked up where we had left off. My hip continued to bug me while I was on the floor, but this is something I have dealt with for so many years, so I know how to work around it.
Friday’s workout wasn’t a bad hip day, but I started to have to deal with nausea. I did take my medications before the workout, but they weren’t really kicking in. The workout was strength-based, so I knew there would be a lot of work with the resistance levels for the bike. So I focused more on that than anything else.
The first cardio block was on our own. We had a distance to do on a hill and then repeated it with a bigger hill. I only made it through 3 rounds before that block ended. The second block was similar, but we were timed instead of doing the distance on our own. We had 3 hills and they went down each round.
The two row blocks were similar, with a focus on doing 100-meter rows. The first block had the rows with squat to presses, front raises, and regular squats using a medicine ball. The second block had the rows with bicep curls, tricep extensions. and calf raises with a medicine ball. My rows weren’t that great, but I tried to use as much power as I could. And for my last row of the second block, I went all out and got my wattage to be higher than it’s been since I started back and close to one of my highest numbers ever!
And on the floor, we had a focus on the upper body. The first block had single-arm chest presses, pullovers, and plank pull-throughs. The second block had single-arm low rows, push-ups, and shoulder presses. For any of the face down exercises, I used the bench so that I wasn’t feeling extra nauseous. It helped, but it was still tough getting through the floor blocks.
I was feeling a little better on Saturday, but I was still pretty nauseous. I knew that it would be another workout where I had to use a bunch of modifications and take it easier than I would like to. But I still managed to find ways to challenge myself a bit.
The cardio work had 3 blocks that were all 4 minutes long. Each block had a push pace, base, all-out, recovery, and all-out. But the push got shorter with each block and the base and recovery got longer with each block. I tried to pedal faster for the push and all-out segments, but I think I was really pedaling about the same speed the entire time. I tried to be ok with that and told myself that it was important to just keep moving, but it’s hard when I know I want to keep improving.
The rowing was also 3 blocks that were 4 minutes each. Each block started with a row and then had squats and lunges. The first block was a 400-meter row with 16 squats and lunges. The second block was a 300-meter row and had 2 rounds of 8 squats and lunges. And the last block had a 200-meter row with 3 rounds of 6 squats and lunges. And after the squats and lunges, we were supposed to row for distance. I only made it to the row for distance part in the first block, but I am proud of myself for rowing every distance without needing a break. And for the 200-meter row, I decided to fully go for it and was able to do the row only 7 seconds longer than my PR! I think that was the closest I’ve had to my old rowing ability since I started back!
And the floor was one long block. We had single-arm snatches, pullups on the straps, plank jacks, sit-ups, hammer curls, and bridge rows on the straps. I didn’t go super heavy on the weights because the 200-meter row from the row block really took it out of me. But I did try. And for the plank jacks, I used the bench for my hands so I wasn’t face down. I had to modify both of the strap exercises, both for nausea reasons and because my hip was starting to bug me again. But considering what I thought I’d have to do, I didn’t do that many modifications and that was a nice feeling!
This week will probably be another week with pain and nausea and I’m trying to see if I can do anything to make it easier on me. I am working on taking my meds before class and seeing if the timing of the medications might change anything. And I’m going to continue going to the class time that is a little later, even though I have to rush to get home and logged in for work. I’ll probably keep that time until they change the schedule again (and I hope they make the class either back to the other time or split the difference). I can make it work even though it’s not ideal. But even with any changes I have to make to make that time work, it’s completely worth it because I’m still so happy every time I get to go into the studio to work out.
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