Even though I’m continuing to increase my medication and it’s affecting my workouts, I’m starting to get used to having to be a bit easier on myself. It’s not easy to do it because I always do want to push myself, but I’m more accepting that this is a temporary issue and that I’ll be done with increasing my medications soon and I’ll get used to this new dosage.
Monday was a bit of a tough workout for me. It was the first time on the increased dosage that I had a morning workout (which meant I worked out about 90 minutes after taking my medications) and I really felt it. It was a strength based workout so I was fine with walking on the treadmill. And since it was a 3 group class, I was only on the treadmill for about 1/3 of the class and not 1/2 of the class. I was able to do my normal speed and kept my inclines at my normal inclines. I did have to take more breaks than normal, but overall I was pretty happy with myself.
On the rower the first block was decreasing rows starting at 500 meters with bicep curls using the rower between each round. My times were never that great, but they weren’t that horrible. I did have to take some breaks on this rowing block because of my heart rate going up too high, but it wasn’t anything unmanageable. The second block on the rower followed the same pattern as the second block on the treadmill with doing base, push, and all out paces. The idea was to not stop rowing for the entire block (which was about 5 minutes) and to get to 1100 meters. By the end of the block, I was just at 1100 meters. And on the floor we had squats with weights, triceps with weights, knee tucks using the ab dolly, lunges with weights, hamstring work, and roll outs on the ab dolly.
Wednesday was the first day on a higher dosage of Vyvanse (and what should be the dosage I’m sticking with so hopefully the last increase). It was difficult being on the higher dosage and my body felt it. I dealt with a little bit of light-headedness (I don’t think I drank enough water before class either) and my heart rate was getting super high. I knew that this would happen on the first day of the new dosage but expecting it didn’t stop me from being a bit frustrated at times that I wished I could be doing more. The treadmill format would have been a good one for me to do some running in normal circumstances, but I had to stick with walking. I did my normal speed but only used 4% and 6% inclines.
The floor was one long block. We had sumo squats, skier swings, triceps on the straps, push up to plank jacks, and knee tucks. And after doing all of that we had rowing. The first row was 1200 meters and I managed to do it in 5:45 and didn’t have to take any breaks. That seemed like a huge accomplishment considering how I was feeling. I then had the second round of the moves on floor and then a 600 meter row. This was at the very end of class and my rowing wasn’t my normal speed or intensity. I had to take a few breaks and just as I finished the row class ended so I never made it to a third round on the floor.
Friday ended up being a much better day than Wednesday. I was feeling more adjusted to the new dosage and the workout was a partner day so that helped to keep me motivated and focused. My friend Grace was in class that day so she was my partner. It had a bit of an odd format, but I liked it. Blocks 1 and 2 were the exact same thing. One partner was on the rower and one was on the treadmill. The person who started on the treadmill was the pace setter and did .25 miles on the treadmill (I walked so I did .13 miles) and then tagged the person on the rower. Then they rowed 400 meters and tagged the person on the treadmill. The other partner just ran and rowed for distance. One of us was the pace setter for the first block and the other was the pace setter for the second block.
After those blocks, we had the last block that lasted about half of class. It was a bit more complicated but basically the partner on the treadmill or rower was the pace setter while the other partner on the floor did exercises until they were tagged (so we rotated throughout the block who set the pace). The floor exercises were squat thrusters, upright rows, froggers, high rows on the straps, and mountain climbers. The pacer had .5 miles on the treadmill to start (I walked .25 miles). The next round was 800 meters on the rower. And the last round was .16 miles on the treadmill (.08 for me) and a 260 meter row. Grace and I each were able to complete all the cardio portions before time was called which was awesome! I didn’t want to be the slacker partner and I think that I was able to hold my own.
Saturday’s workout was a bit more like Wednesday’s. I was struggling a bit with the medication dosage and I felt it in the workout. So I just took things nice and easy and did my best. And it helped again that it was a 3 group class. I started on the treadmill where we had rounds of push paces that decreased as the block went on. I was at my normal speed and used all my normal inclines. I was tempted a few times to try running for the 30 second all out paces, but I knew that this was just the beginning of the workout and I didn’t want to overdo it.
Next I was on the floor where we had 2 blocks. The first block was weighted lunges, plank work, good mornings to tricep kickbacks with weights, and pop jacks. The second block had squat jumps, side plank hip dips, squat jacks, and sit ups. And I was on the rower last where we started with a 200 meter row followed by 10 squat jacks. Then it was a 30 second all out row followed by 10 squat jacks. Then 15 pulls on the rower followed by 10 squat jacks. Then we started back at the top again with the 200 meter row but had 15 squat jacks between each rowing segment. I took quite a few breaks and none of my rowing was what I know I could do, but it was the end of the workout plus I was dealing with everything else.
I’ve debated if I should have gone down to 3 workouts a week instead of 4 while I was adjusting to new medication dosages, but I’m glad I didn’t. I did struggle at times but I like staying in this good habit. And now that my dosage won’t be increasing again, I can focus on getting things back to normal and being able to do my workouts the way I want. It still may take another week or two, but I know I’ll get back there eventually.
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