I love it when I have a good workout week, and this past week of workouts was one of those. When I have a good week, it’s like I am so strong and powerful and even the struggles I have don’t matter. I honestly wish every week was like this, but I guess it helps me appreciate them more when I have tough weeks too.
Monday’s workout was a strength based class and it was a 2 group class for me. I know that they have talked about turning that class into 2 groups instead of 3, but it still surprises me when it’s not a 3 group class. All my other classes are 3 groups and I love having equal time with all 3 sections of the room. With 2 group classes, you don’t always get to row and I miss it.
For cardio, we had 3 blocks that were similar. We had intervals with our base pace at either no incline or incline. The intervals were between 30 seconds and 2 minutes and the incline work wasn’t too high. I made the resistance level on the bike at the same level I use for all outs for the incline work since that is a tough level for me. I also knew how many incline intervals we had and I didn’t want to burn out. This had the potential to become a bit of a struggle at the end of each block because we ended with a hill and then an all out. So I decided to change things up a bit and do my all outs with my base resistance level but trying to pedal as quickly as I could. It was a good challenge to do and paid off in my other workouts this past week, plus it allowed me to not worry too much about the high resistance levels.
For the floor, we also had 3 blocks. Each block started with a quick rowing exercise. We had 15 strokes on the rower to see how far we could get. The key to doing the stroke tests is to row as slowly as possible while trying to maintain power when pushing back. It’s not easy, but I’ve gotten much better at doing this and can get pretty far in 15 strokes. Then after the rowing, we had 2 exercises in each block. One exercise was a drop set and the other was core work. The drop set exercises were tricep extensions, bicep curls, and deadlifts. And the core work was toe reaches, leg raises, and plank jacks. Even though it was a 2 group class so I had more time on the floor than I’m used to, the blocks really helped to break things up a bit and make the time go by faster.
Wednesday’s workout was a benchmark class. It was the 1-mile benchmark and I was really looking forward to doing it. Even though I have most of my cardio benchmarks from the treadmill, I’m starting to get a few on the bike so I’m able to compare my last benchmark to the current one. I think it’s so much better when I don’t have to guess on my progress and have proof of how much better I’m doing.
I started on cardio so I could do my benchmark first. I had checked my last benchmark time for the bike so I knew what time I was hoping to beat. I didn’t have a specific time in mind, I just wanted to beat my old time. I set the resistance level to be at the level between my normal base and push paces because I figured it would make it a bit challenging but not so hard that I had to slow down. I also had a goal to not stop to catch my breath or drink water during the benchmark and I knew that wasn’t going to be easy. When we started, I quickly found a pace that was fast but comfortable enough that I felt like I could maintain it for the entire time. I figured I would be done in under 9 minutes so I just kept watching the time and making sure I was hitting the distances I knew I needed to be at each time. And I was not just hitting those goals but I was doing better! When I was done, I took 31 seconds off of my benchmark time! That’s a huge improvement and I’m so happy that I was able to do it! After the benchmark, the rest of the cardio time was doing quick distances with walking recovery in between so I was able to take some time and recover.
On the rower, we started with a 600-meter row and then had arm raises with the mini-band. We repeated that pattern but went down 100 meters with each row. And the floor had lunges, single-arm rows, shoulder presses, and crunches. The rower and floor were kept a bit easier than normal because a lot of the class had to do one or both of those sections before the benchmark and doing the benchmark was the focus. But since I did the benchmark first, I did try to push myself a little bit more on both sections to make it a bit harder.
Friday’s workout was a mix of strength and endurance with more incline work for cardio. It was also supposed to be a day to have a new base pace, but I’m still getting used to the base resistance level I use on the bike so I didn’t increase mine. But I did try to work hard at pedaling faster when we were at a base pace so I think that balances it out.
We had 2 blocks for cardio. The first block had intervals of base pace with no inclines and base pace with inclines. I used my normal all out resistance level to be my inclines and my normal base resistance level for the time without the inclines. It was hard pedaling for the incline work because my legs were tired for some reason, but I just tried to focus on moving even if I was slow. The second block had a 3-minute hill that was supposed to be at a lower incline, so I used my normal push pace resistance level for that section. Both blocks ended with a 30 second all out and I used my normal all out level (which was also my hill level) for those. It was a long block with lots of work, but I guess that’s what makes it an endurance day.
On the rower, we also had 2 blocks. The first block was 4 rounds of 150-meter rows with squat front presses using the medicine ball. And the second block was 2 rounds of 300-meter rows with squat overhead presses with the medicine ball. I did much better during the first block than I did for the second. I don’t know what happened, but I was struggling during the long rows and had to take a ton of breaks. But at least I did make it through the 2 rounds of 300 meters before the rowing time was done.
And on the floor, we had 1 long block. We had 3 main exercises plus plank pull-throughs. The first round we had 1 round of 10 reps of the exercises and then the planks. The second round was 2 rounds of 8 reps and then planks. And the last round was 3 rounds of 6 reps and then planks. The 3 main exercises were chest presses, single-arm low rows with weights, and bicep curls. I did make it to the 3rd round, but because time was almost done I just did all 18 reps for the chest presses and bicep curls instead of splitting them up and was working on the planks when class ended.
Saturday’s workout was an endurance class, and it really felt like an endurance day for sure. The blocks were long, the work was hard, and it didn’t feel like we had much rest. But it also allowed me to end my week feeling so strong.
For cardio, we had 1 long block. We started with a 4-minute progressive push and I was increasing my resistance levels every minute. I started 1 level above my normal base level and ended at my normal all out level. After that, we had a long base recovery (but no walking recovery) and then we had rounds of 30-second push paces with 1-minute base paces. I was using my normal levels for those, but they felt so much harder because we had done so much work before those rounds. When we ended with our 30 second all out, I went back to my all out level and was able to pedal much faster than I normally can for an all out.
On the rower, we had 2 blocks with similar formats. The first block started with a 250-meter row and then we had squats with alternating side leg lifts. Each round we went down 50 meters on the rower and 2 reps on the squats with leg lifts. The second block started with a 350-meter row and went down 50 meters each round. And between the rowing we were supposed to do squats to reverse lunges, but I did just regular squats instead.
And on the floor, we also had 2 blocks. The first block started with doing double crunches. Then we had single leg sit to stand with the benches. But what was interesting was that we did multiple rounds of reps for that exercise. We did 8 reps each side, then 6 reps each side, 4 reps each side, and then 2 reps each side. After doing all the reps, then we had another round of double crunches. And the second block had the same interesting plan with how to do the reps. We had 8/6/4/2 reps with lunges, then with hip bridges, and finally with shoulder presses. And after doing all 4 rounds of reps with one exercise we had more double crunches. It wasn’t easy doing so many reps at a time, but when I got to move on to the next exercise I felt so accomplished.
I love how well this past week of workouts went for me and I’m glad I had a full week of good things. I hope that most of this week will go well for me, but I also know that it will probably start getting tough mid-way throught the week. But I know that even if I struggle for the next 2 weeks, I’ll hopefully have another good week in a month where I can prove to myself that I’m making progress even when I feel like all I do is struggle.
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