This past week of workouts was another good one. I had my usual schedule, but there were a few things that changed. But I think the variation in my workouts was for the best.
Monday’s class was a 3 group class. I think most of my classes will be 3 group ones right now (that can change, but I think it will be like this for a while). And that means I get to do more rowing, which is both good and bad. I think rowing is the toughest thing for me, but that’s why I need to do it more. And this workout was a power day so it was a good day to kick off having more 3 group classes.
We had 4 blocks for cardio, 2 that were longer and 2 that were super short. The longer blocks had push pace to base pace intervals ending with an all-out and the short blocks were just an all-out. I was doing better than I had over the weekend, but I was still dealing with the end of the side effects from my booster shot so I didn’t go too crazy.
On the rower, our blocks matched cardio with 2 long and 2 short blocks. For the first long block, we had either a 1-minute or 30-second row with squats between each row. And for the second long block it was either a 300-meter or 150-meter row with squats between each row. And the short blocks were just an all-out row.
And on the floor, we also had 4 blocks. In the first long block we had lunges to a neutral thruster with weights, lunges to hops, and plank punches. In the second long block we had goblet squats, squat jumps (which I did as squats with calf raises), and plank rotations. The first short block had bench sit-ups to squats and the second short block had froggers. It was a lot of work, but I took my time and rested when I needed to.
Wednesday’s workout was a special one for several reasons. First, it was a benchmark workout which is always special. Also, my dad worked out with me. He’s done a bunch of Orangetheory classes, but this was the first time that he’s done 2 classes within a week! And finally, this was Coach Benzo’s last class with us. He got a promotion and can’t keep the regular Wednesday classes, but he’s hoping to come back as a sub from time to time. I’m happy he got a promotion, but I’m sad he won’t be my regular coach anymore. He was my first coach back after the studio reopened and I’ve loved having him motivate me in the morning. But the class was more celebratory than sad, so that was good.
For cardio, we just had the benchmark to do. The benchmark was the 12-minute distance challenge. I hadn’t done this challenge since before the shutdown, so I wasn’t too stressed about trying to get a PR. And for my dad, this was his first time doing a benchmark so he knew he’d PR. And since he’s a runner at his gym, this wasn’t too hard of a challenge for him. For me, I set the bike resistance at the level between my base and push paces and just tried to keep my pace steady until we were almost done and then I went crazy to go as fast as I could for the last minute. I didn’t do my best, but I was close to my distance from before the shutdown.
On the rower, we had decreasing rows with lunges between each round. We started with a 400-meter row and went down 50 meters each round. I was doing better on the rower than I had on Monday. And even though normally my dad and I challenge each other when we row next to each other, we didn’t really do that this time and just tried to get in our best workouts.
And on the floor, we had one long block that had both upper and lower body exercises. We had balance bicep curls, seated torso rotations, knee tucks on the ab dolly (a piece of workout equipment my dad never used before), single-arm low rows on the straps, and triceps on the straps.
And of course, after the workout we had to get a photo! Both to celebrate Benzo’s last class and because I always get a photo after my dad comes to class with me!
Friday was another power day and I really did try to push myself more. I was finally feeling normal again and I know it’s only a bit of time before I start having nausea again so I wanted to take advantage of this workout.
We had 3 blocks for cardio and they were similar. The first block was a 2-minute push pace, 30-second all-out, 1-minute recovery, and 30-second all-out. The second block was 2 rounds of a 1-minute push pace and 30-second all-out with a minute to recover between. And the last block was 2 rounds of a 30-second push pace and 30-second all-out with a minute to recover between. I tried to not only increase the resistance level on the bike but also pedal faster, especially with the all-outs.
On the rower, all 3 blocks were similar with 3 different types of rowing. We started with a stroke drill, then a 100-meter all-out row, and then a recovery row. In the first block, the stroke drill and recovery each had 15 strokes. In the second block, they were 12 strokes. And in the last block they were 10 strokes.
And on the floor, we had 3 blocks and each block had 2 exercises. We had chest presses and power push-ups, hip hinge low rows and pull-ups on the straps, and seated torso rotations and sit-ups. My upper body was tired after all the floor work, but I knew I needed to push myself this way.
Saturday’s workout was a 2 group class (I think this one will be staying as a 2 group class for now). The workout was a mix of endurance, strength, and power and it gave me a lot of opportunities to work on a bunch of different things.
For cardio, we had 4 blocks that were basically the same. Every block has a 1-minute push, 1-minute base, 1-minute all-out, 1-minute of recovery, and a 1-minute all-out. The difference in each block was the incline/resistance level for the base pace. It started at the highest level and went down each block. I didn’t go too high for the resistance level on the bike, but I tried to keep it at either the level I use for my push pace or the level between my push and base paces. That wasn’t exactly what we were supposed to do, but it worked for me so I could do the all-outs faster.
And on the floor, we also had 4 blocks but there was one set of exercises for all of the blocks. For each block, the first 3 minutes was doing the exercises, then we had a minute to get to the rower, and then we had a 1-minute all-out row. Wherever we left off on the exercises, we picked back up there each block when we were back on the floor. The exercises were skater lunges, lateral lunges, deadlifts, and plank low rows. I didn’t go too heavy on the weights because I needed to be able to row and there wasn’t a lot of rest time. But because there weren’t breaks, the weights I used felt heavier.
I really enjoyed the workouts this past week, even when I had moments I was struggling. And this week, I’m excited because I will be doing my traditional Thanksgiving day workout even if it’s just me and not with my family. But I’m glad I’ll be keeping up with the tradition and I think it’s going to be a fun one!
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