Category Archives: Fitness

My Own Type Of Hell Week (or Working Through Some Tough Workouts)

Posted on October 19, 2020 | Comments Off on My Own Type Of Hell Week (or Working Through Some Tough Workouts)

Even though it is currently the month-long Hell Week right now, I technically didn’t have any Hell Week workouts this past week. I will get my 4 workouts in to earn my shirt, but I still have a little more time before the next official workout happens when I do my workouts. But that didn’t make this past week any easier for me because it was when I was dealing with really bad pain and nausea.

The week didn’t start off too bad with pain and nausea, but I was dealing with extreme fatigue. Even just getting dressed was exhausting me. I think this was related to all my other hormonal issues and not that I’m sick, but I wasn’t expecting it. But starting on Wednesday, the pain and nausea really kicked in. And it hit me so hard. I got to the point where I was crying a lot because of how awful I felt. But I really tried to push through and do the best that I could.

I went a lot easier on myself because of how I was feeling. I didn’t make my weights as heavy as I normally would. And sometimes I didn’t use weights for some exercises. I just did the movements and tried. And I got into the same feeling of wondering if I was doing enough and having to remind myself that doing something is better than doing nothing.

Fortunately, the workouts this past week didn’t have a ton of exercises that would make nausea worse. I pretty much can’t do face down exercises like planks or I honestly feel like I would throw up. And I rarely am lucky enough to not have to deal with those exercises when I feel sick. But this past week didn’t really have much of those. And the few that were in the exercises were very easy for me to modify. So I do have to focus on that being a positive thing because that was a nice treat for me.

And even with how hard the Zoom workout was, I managed to make it through it. My coach knew I was having a tough time and she let me know there wouldn’t be any face down exercises. The main modifications I had to make were with the mini-bands. Some exercises had mini-bands on our legs while we did squats and I tried to always start those exercises with the bands. And if it was getting too hard on my hips, then I’d take it off to finish the exercise.

I have been doing more jump rope work recently, but I didn’t do any this past week. Jumping rope would make my nausea so much worse and it’s not worth me trying to do it. Maybe I could do a little bit of it, but I also know that’s a really risky thing to do because it could also make me feel awful very quickly. But honestly, I didn’t feel like I was up for it either. I wasn’t upset that I couldn’t do it. I just felt off and I let myself feel that way and not try to force myself to do anything I can’t handle.

I’m hoping this week will be a bit better for me. I’m not sure if it will, because I’m still feeling off. This might last through this entire week, but I’m hoping it might only last a few days. I won’t know until I feel better, which is a little frustrating. I wish I knew that I would feel better on a certain day so I could plan accordingly. But I just have to take it day by day and hope that I am really doing the best that I can.

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A Month-Long Hell Week (or I’m Still Making Sure I Earn My Shirt)

Posted on October 12, 2020 | Comments Off on A Month-Long Hell Week (or I’m Still Making Sure I Earn My Shirt)

Ever since I started at Orangetheory, I have participated in Hell Week. I’m pretty sure I’ve completely Hell Week each time and have always earned the shirt too. Hell Week is typically the last week or two of October and you have to complete a majority of the days in order to earn the shirt (like if there are 8 days, you have to do 5). But this year, things are happening a little differently.

Hell Week is actually lasting the entire month. But not every day is a Hell Week workout. There are 12 days throughout the month and we have to complete only 4 of them in order to earn the shirt. And those workouts can be completed in the studio, doing a home workout, or doing one of the official outdoor workouts (we have those in Downtown LA, but I haven’t taken them because of the drive). Fortunately, the studios in LA made a tracker so we can make sure we do all the workouts we need to do.

I think we are going to go to our studio to pick up our shirts when the month is over, but I’m not sure. I have submitted my shirt information to my studio and they said they will update me on how and when I can get my shirt.

But before I did a Hell Week workout this past week, I had 3 other workouts. On Monday, I did the OTF at Home workout using the Orangetheory app. I’m still trying to switch things up between my workouts to give me as much variety as possible, but I still want to make sure I do the workout from the app at least once or twice a week (especially with Hell Week). And I’m learning more and more about how to push myself to make them seem harder so I can try to get back some of my strength.

On Wednesday, I did some of the workouts on the FitOn App. I’ve looked more into the app and I will always have to do more than one video when doing those workouts because of how short they are. I wish they had longer ones, but maybe those will be coming. I still only did workouts that were coached by Brendon, but I did some that were OTF-themed and some that were just his regular ones. I haven’t explored what the other coaches do yet because Brendon is someone I’m familiar with. But I bet I’ll eventually look into it a bit more. Besides the workouts in the app, I also did some jump roping. I am still easing myself back into it and have been looking at some interval workouts to try. But for now, I’m doing 8 rounds with 15 seconds of jumping and 45 seconds of rest. I probably could shorten the rest a bit and maybe I’ll do that this week, but starting around the 5th round I do really need all that rest time to recover. But challenging myself is what I need to do, so maybe that’s what I’ll have to do.

Friday was my Zoom workout with Coach Jenna. We had a slightly shortened workout this time (50 minutes instead of 60), but I think we actually worked more. We didn’t have as much time between exercises and rounds. All of the breaks were super short and I felt like I collapsed into a puddle of sweat when we were done. It was a good challenging workout for me and I do love getting to work out with friends. I keep my screen on the gallery view so I can see everyone working out. It’s not to really look at the others, but it’s nice to glance at the screen and see that I’m not alone in the workout. If I only had Coach Jenna on the screen, it would feel a bit like the other video workouts. I like having our small group together, and I guess it’s good that it’s a small group because it makes it easy to still see Coach Jenna and the video isn’t too tiny.

And Saturday was my first Hell Week workout.

I like how they changed up the video a bit so it felt like it wasn’t the same as all the other workouts. I do wish they had the coach coaching us through the entire thing like they did with the Dri-Tri, but maybe videos like that will happen toward the end of the month. I know those workouts are harder to make than the regular ones. But they did change this up nicely. The workout was a lot because it was mainly the same exercises each round with one variation each time. So I was exhausted. And because it’s Hell Week, they added in times when you would be in a block and then it would be time to do 1 minute of burpees. Burpees are never my favorite, but I tried to do as many as I could with as few modifications during those minutes.

Because of the days that have been selected for Hell Week, I might not be doing another Hell Week workout until almost the end of the month. But I’ll be getting in at least 4 more so I will know I will earn my shirt. Having proof I survived Hell Week is always important, but it almost feels more important this year than any other.

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Trying Other Types Of OTF At Home Workouts (or Adding More Variety)

Posted on October 5, 2020 | Comments Off on Trying Other Types Of OTF At Home Workouts (or Adding More Variety)

I’m coming up on 7 months of working out at home (side note: how have we been in safer at home for almost 7 months?!?). Since the first week of working out at home, I’ve been using the official Orangetheory at Home videos that are posted on their app and YouTube channel. For a while, I have also been doing 1 workout on Zoom a week with one of my OTF coaches. This routine has been great for me and I’m still so happy that I have been able to keep up my routine while at home. But this past week, I changed things up a bit.

I’ll start with my Friday workout because that was the one that was the same. That was still my Zoom workout. We had it a bit earlier than normal to fit with our coach’s schedule, but it wasn’t too early. It was just as hard as always, and possibly a little harder because my body was a little sore from the night before and I didn’t do as much stretching as I should have done before the workout. But it was still amazing and one of the highlights of my week!

For my Monday workout, I did a workout that was on Instagram Live! The coach doing the workout was actually my normal Monday coach from OTF, so that was even more amazing for me! This was not exactly like my old Mondays, but it was the closest I’ve had in a long time. I loved getting to work out with Coach Brendon and having his motivation the entire time.

The Instagram Live workout was done through the FitOn app account. I hadn’t used FitOn before for my home workouts, but Brendon was now a part of them and he had some video workouts available on the app. So after doing the workout on Monday, I downloaded the app so I could test it out on Wednesday.

All the workouts on the app are free, which is awesome. And there are a lot of different types of workouts and coaches that are on it. But I was mainly focused this past week on the workouts that Brendon had on there. On Wednesday I did the workouts that are OTF ones on the app and on Saturday I did the workouts that Brendon did but wasn’t OTF specific.

I say “workouts” when talking about what I did on a single day because the videos were a bit short. For example, there was a cardio one that was about 25 minutes and then an upper body strength one that was about 20 minutes. So I did both those videos to get a full workout in. I didn’t explore the app too much so I don’t know if other types of workouts or other coaches have longer workouts. I’ll probably look into it a bit more this week.

But I did love the workouts that I did. It was really nice that Brendon does the workout in the video with you. Even though the coaches at OTF when you are in the studio aren’t doing the workout with you, they are constantly coaching you and encouraging you. And Brendon did that in the videos just like he would do in the studio. That’s something I loved about the Dri-Tri at home workout I did too. The official OTF workouts are normally a little coaching at the start of each block and then it’s the workout screen with all the exercises since they aren’t necessarily timed (so not everyone is doing the same number of rounds and aren’t on the same exercise at the same time).

I also used my jump rope again this week. I only did it once, after my Saturday workout, but that was still something considering the break I had taken from it recently. I had to ease into getting back to the jump rope and I made the intervals a bit easier for me, but it was still tough and I was sweating hard!

I’m not sure what I’ll be doing for my workouts this week. I might do more FitOn workouts. I might do some of the official OTF workouts. But I am happy that I have some more options now that I know I like so I can mix things up more than I have been doing.

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Dri-Tri At Home (or Taking Challenges Where I Can)

Posted on September 29, 2020 | Comments Off on Dri-Tri At Home (or Taking Challenges Where I Can)

As I mentioned yesterday, one of my workouts last week was doing the Dri-Tri at home. I’ve done almost every Dri–Tri since joining Orangetheory. I missed the first one because I was scared and had something that I thought would prevent me from doing it. I missed the one earlier this year because it happened right after the gyms closed. I was getting ready for that Dri-Tri during my last in-studio workouts.

Some studios in different areas have reopened, and it is Dri-Tri again. So those studios were going to do them as close to normal as possible. Some studios did them outside or modified things, but they were still close. But for those of us who don’t have studios open yet, Orangetheory created a Dri-Tri that we could do at home. It was the video workout for Saturday, which worked out perfectly for me.

I love challenging myself in the Dri-Tri. I always have new goals in mind with what I want to be able to do. I usually wonder why I’m doing it at some point in the middle, but I’m always so happy when I’m done and I feel so proud of myself. And I really wanted to try to get that feeling at home.

Obviously, there’s no way to do the Dri-Tri exactly the same way at home. I guess if I had a rower I could do it with running/walking outside. But I do appreciate that they tried to do something that was close to what we do in the studio. For this video workout, we were coached through the entire thing. The coaches were doing the workout too. They didn’t just show the exercises and leave us to it. I really liked having that constant coaching.

For the rowing section, we had exercises that worked out the same muscles that rowing does. It was about 8 minutes long, so a little shorter than I normally take to do the 2,000-meter row. But just because it was faster, it doesn’t mean I wasn’t just as tired. I did try to challenge myself with the weights I was using for that section to make it hard.

For the floor section, we had the same types of exercises that we have for the Dri-Tri, but they were timed intervals and not the number of reps. Again, like the row, just because it was different didn’t make it easier. And for the cardio, we had different exercises that got our heart rates up.

The entire workout was about 45 minutes long, so it was a similar length to what it takes to do the Dri-Tri. And I was exhausted after I was done. This was a really hard workout and I tried to make it as hard as possible with challenging myself with the weights.

There were aspects of the regular Dri-Tri that I missed. I love doing it with people cheering us on. I love how we come together as a group to cheer on the finishers and we don’t stop until everyone is done. I missed the personalized coaching. I missed using the rower and having a good way to compare one Dri-Tri to another.

I hope that by the time the next Dri-Tri happens, gyms will be able to be open. I know that I might struggle more than I have in the past, but I just want to do it in the studio to feel that same sense of accomplishment. I am proud of what I did, but it’s not the same. I keep saying how I crave that feeling I used to get in my workouts, and this was just another sign of how much I want to get that feeling back.

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Hitting A Workout Milestone In Isolation (or Still Working Toward A Goal)

Posted on September 28, 2020 | Comments Off on Hitting A Workout Milestone In Isolation (or Still Working Toward A Goal)

My recap of the last week of workouts is going to be split up into 2 posts. I’m going to write about my first 3 workouts today and my Saturday workout tomorrow. And that’s because this past Saturday was the Dri-Tri. And even though the studios I go to are still closed, Orangetheory created Dri-Tri at Home so I did that! But I want that to be a different post from the rest of my workouts.

I didn’t have a Zoom workout last week due to schedule issues. I missed doing that class, but I didn’t let that get me down too much. I had so many weeks without a Zoom workout, so I knew I could be ok with doing just the video ones. I know I don’t work quite as hard when I don’t have a live coach, but I’ve been trying to push myself more. It’s not easy to motivate myself that way, but I know I need to try my best.

I keep hoping that things will continue to get better here so that the studios can reopen, but I also know that it could still take a while. It’s so crazy to me that I’ve been doing workouts at home for 6 months already. This past week, I did my 150th workout of the year.

And a majority of those workouts have been at home alone. I never thought I would be doing workouts toward my goal for the year outside of the studio. I didn’t want to do them on my own. If it was up to me, I wouldn’t be doing this. I have some friends who go to different workout studios who have said that they don’t know if they will be going back. They have found a great way to work out at home and they are loving it. I’m not someone like that. I crave the community and encouragement. I am proud of myself for not giving up and still being on track for my workout goals for the year, but this is not the way I want to do them.

I will say, the one thing that is making me a bit happier with my home workouts is having my new set of weights. Using those has been a big change for me and I like having the ability to really push myself and get my strength back. I’m still so far from where I used to be in terms of how heavy I can go with the weights, but I have noticed some improvement already. It’s all about the small steps toward getting back to where I was.

I had some really great ideas for this year with goals I wanted to hit with my workouts. And now it’s almost impossible to do most of them. The only one I feel like I can accomplish is doing at least 200 workouts this year. I am on track for that and feel confident that I will get there. But I wanted to do more than that. Showing up for a workout is good, but seeing results and improvement is so much better. I am trying to see improvements with my strength. But I won’t be able to get to where I wanted to with my cardio. I have some cardio stuff I do at home, but I have no way to test my rowing like I can do in the studio. I wonder where my rowing ability will be when we do get back. It’s going to be so weird and I’m sure I will be very sore for a while.

I am proud of myself for seeing some improvements with my strength and for hitting a workout milestone this past week. And I’m proud of doing the Dri-Tri at Home (at least, what was created to do at home). And I’ll write about that Dri-Tri tomorrow.

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6 Months Of Home Workouts (or I Still Miss OTF All The Time)

Posted on September 21, 2020 | Comments Off on 6 Months Of Home Workouts (or I Still Miss OTF All The Time)

It’s been 6 months since I had my last in-studio Orangetheory workout. When I had my last workout at the Culver studio, I had no idea that was going to be my last workout there for a long time. I didn’t know that the studios would be closing after that. And I certainly didn’t know that they would still be closed 6 months later.

As much as I miss my workouts, I know that keeping the studios closed for now is necessary. It’s keeping us safe and healthy. And it’s not just about keeping those of us working out safe, it’s about keeping the staff and coaches safe. I know that some studios around the country have been able to reopen, but the cases there are also usually lower. We are getting things more under control here, so I hope it stays that way so gyms can reopen soon. But I also know that there is a chance that we won’t be back in there until after the end of the year.

I’m still doing my home workouts 4 days a week. And I’m really trying to make them feel just as tough as my regular workouts are. It’s not the same, but I’m trying. And I have made a lot of improvements since my few first weeks of home workouts.

When I started working out at home, I didn’t have equipment. I used my toolbox for weights. I had a yoga mat to try to protect my knees on the floor, but it really didn’t do much. I slowly started to add things to my home gym setup. I got foam floor tiles which have been much better for protecting me from using a hard floor. I used water bottles for a while for weights but have slowly added weighted things like a weight bar and my adjustable weights. I have mini-bands for resistance training. And even though I haven’t used it for a little while, I have a jump rope for cardio.

I have a nice collection of things I can use for my workouts. I still wish I had a rower in my house, but money and space don’t really allow for that. I did sell my exercise bike just before this all happened, but I don’t know how much I’d be using it so I am grateful for the extra floor space. But considering what I had when I started and what I have now, I’m very happy with what I’ve been able to find and get for myself.

I know that I’m not as fit or as strong as I was 6 months ago, but I’m trying to get back there. I know that my strength will build back up, especially now that I have my adjustable weights. I try to not be frustrated when I realize how much weaker I am, but it’s hard. I just try to remind myself that it’s a process and I have to do the same hard work that I was doing when I started at Orangetheory. And I will get back to where I was. I might not get back there until I start in-studio workouts again, but I can take steps to be closer to there.

I know that there is a possibility that I will be doing home workouts for another 6 months. I don’t want to think that, but I also know I need to be prepared for that possibility. At least now, I am much more prepared to do those workouts than I was 6 months ago when I started.

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Workouts Feeling Familiar And Strange (or Still Adjusting To Using Real Weights)

Posted on September 14, 2020 | Comments Off on Workouts Feeling Familiar And Strange (or Still Adjusting To Using Real Weights)

I’ve been able to use my new weights for my workouts for several workouts now, and it’s really hitting me hard with how different my strength is right now. It was so easy to trick myself when I wasn’t able to use real weights that things weren’t that different. But now, it’s very clear what I’m able to do and not do.

A lot of the workouts have parts of it that I’m very used to doing when I had workouts in the studios. I like those familiar exercises because I know how to have good form when I’m doing them and if they are things I need to modify I know those too. It also does make me happy to have something that feels so familiar and like I’m doing the workouts that I’m so used to.

But at the same time, I’m very familiar with the weights that I could use for those exercises before and it’s shocking when I can’t even come close to that. There were some things I was using 25-pound weights before and now it’s a struggle to use 15-pound weights. And it’s so hard to not feel down when I realize how far down I have slipped. I’m trying to see it from a different perspective and look at it as a challenge to get back to where I was. I also am motivated by knowing I can get there again because I was there before.

Just like all the other weeks since I started doing Zoom workouts, the Zoom workout was the hardest one of the week. It also ended up being the workout where I was the most nauseous, which added another level of it being difficult. I tried to work through the nausea as much as I could, but it got very overwhelming at times. I also think I took my anti-nausea meds a bit too late that morning so they didn’t really kick in until after the workout. That’s a problem I’m used to having when I was doing in-studio workouts because of the limited time between waking up and working out, but I hadn’t had that issue since doing the home workouts. But it was a good reminder to be a bit better about timing medications.

I really wanted to get back to using my jump rope this past week, but I didn’t think about it as the week that I would have issues with being nauseous. So that plan didn’t go how I wanted it to and now it will be another week or so before I can try using it. But I hope that I will be able to get back to it then and that I won’t struggle too much when I use it again.

This week of workouts will likely be a tough one for me. I’m getting myself mentally prepared for the struggle and to know that it’s ok if I have to go easy on myself. I think I will always have a hard time being easy on myself, but I guess it’s good that I’m forced to do that by things that happen in my life.

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A Double Hard Workout Week (or I Did Want A Challenge)

Posted on September 7, 2020 | Comments Off on A Double Hard Workout Week (or I Did Want A Challenge)

So many of my workout recap post on here have been about how I know the workouts I’m doing at home are better than nothing, but that they are not close to what I know I was doing at the studio. I have worried about gaining weight, losing muscle, having setbacks for when I finally do get back into the studio, and losing my motivation to do my workouts the way that I was doing them 6 months ago. And while I still think that there will never be a perfect replacement for the in-studio workouts, this past week of workouts was easily the closest I’ve had since I started working out at home. And this was due to 2 things.

First, I finally got to work out with my new weights!

These took a bit longer to get to me than I expected, but now that I have them I’m so happy! As you can see, the weights go from 5-25 pounds in 5-pound increments. While I do use 12- and 17.5-pound weights when I’m in the studio, I didn’t think I would need those for now. I know for sure that I have lost some strength and need to work on rebuilding that. So for things that I used 12-pound weights, I’m using 10. Instead of 17.5-pound weights, I’m using either 15 or 10 (depending on the exercise).

The first workout that I got to use the weights was my Monday workout and I immediately noticed a difference in how I felt after I was done. The workout was so much harder than any other home workout and I was even feeling a bit sore. The weights are pretty easy to use and switch out how heavy or light I want them to be. It’s not as easy as having a set for each weight that I use, but I also know that having a pile of dumbbells would not fit in my house. These are perfect for what I need and they fit in very nicely with the rest of my home workout equipment.

I used my new weights for every workout this past week and I really felt a huge difference. It was a little upsetting and sad when I realized that I cannot do what I used to do. As much as I told myself that would happen, it was hard to see it come true. I know that I can rebuild my strength and muscles and I’ll be back to where I was soon enough. And now that I have some good weights at home, hopefully I’ll be closer to that whenever I’m able to get back into the studio.

The other reason why this past week of workouts was so hard was that I did 2 days of Zoom workouts! The group that I do Zoom workouts with normally does them on Tuesdays and Fridays. I cannot join in for the Tuesdays ones, so I only get to do the Friday workouts. But this past week, things switched up. Instead of Tuesday and Friday, we had Zoom workouts on Wednesday and Saturday! This was only a switch for this week (I wish they could move the Tuesday one to Wednesday, but that schedule doesn’t work for the rest of the group). But it allowed me to have double the Zoom workouts that I normally get to do.

Between the new weights and the Zoom workouts, this was the most challenging and most rewarding workout week in a long time. I want to say this was the best week I’ve had in the 6 months that I’ve had to work out at home so far. I really felt like things were going so much better for me in the workout and that I was doing a really challenging workout and not just goofing off a bit. I know that having these weights is going to help me feel like this a bit for all the rest of the workouts because I do have something that can make the exercises harder. And I can see the progress as I’m able to lift heavier. That’s something I haven’t been able to see since the studios had to close.

After this past week of workouts, I’m on such a high. I needed this challenge and this boost. I have been feeling so low about my workouts and my weight for too long and this really made me feel more in control of things. I know that having weights in my house isn’t going to be a magical fix for everything, but it is a big thing that I know I’ve been needing to have. And now that I have them, I can’t wait to continue to challenge myself and see if I’m able to have any big workout wins like I used to have in the studio.

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More Like My Normal Workouts (or Finally Getting Over Some Things)

Posted on August 31, 2020 | Comments Off on More Like My Normal Workouts (or Finally Getting Over Some Things)

I’ve been having struggles with my workouts for a while now. Some of it is due to the pain and nausea I get each month, but I’ve also had a random collection of other injuries or issues. The biggest one I have been dealing with lately is what I suspect to be tennis elbow. I’ve been doing a lot to try to make it better. I have a brace for my arm, I am taking supplements that are supposed to help, and I use a foam roller ball to massage my arm.

And while I’m not completely better, I am doing so much better. Between my pain and nausea reducing every day this past week and having less pain in my arm, things are looking up for me. I was able to do so much more this past week than I could do for the past few weeks. There were exercises that I haven’t been able to do without pain for a while that didn’t hurt me that much. I know that it will take more time before I’m out of pain, but this was the first week that I really felt the progress in pain reduction.

I also felt a bit more motivated to do my workouts this past week. I’m still not as motivated as I was a few months ago, but I always seem to be more motivated when I’m not feeling as awful. I’m sure that seems to be obvious, but sometimes when I’m feeling my worst I do forget that. When I’m upset about not being motivated, a new week might be just what I need.

Overall, this past week of workouts went the way they seem to go these days. The days I did the video workout were good. I didn’t feel like I was slacking off too much, but I know that being coached that way doesn’t push me as much. I try to push myself as much as I can, but there are limits to that. One of those limits will hopefully end because my new weights just arrived! I didn’t get them in time for my workouts last week, but I’ll be using them this week!

And the highlight of my workout week was my Zoom workout on Friday. Being coached live and seeing my friends on the screen really make this workout significantly better than the other ones. This workout as also the one hardest on me because of pain issues, but I know that’s just because it was the toughest workout. My coach knows about what I’m dealing with, but there’s no way to avoid all upper body stuff. And I know that I do need to work my arms out to make things get better. So I do what I can, I eliminate weights when I need to, and when I really hurt I take a break. It’s something I’ve done a lot and doesn’t seem that weird to me.

There is one thing that I haven’t gotten back to and that’s using my jump rope. I want to do it again and I’m planning on trying this week. But I can’t use it when I’m nauseous and I noticed it was aggravating my arm. So I took a break from it recently. I haven’t been using it for that long, so I haven’t made a lot of progress with it. But I still don’t want to feel like I’m starting over when I get back to it. I’ll just have to see what happens.

I’m just so glad that I’m feeling much better. I know it’s only a matter of time before I feel off again so I’m going to appreciate my good weeks when they are here.

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The Motivation Struggle Is Real (or Nausea Really Kicked My Butt)

Posted on August 24, 2020 | Comments Off on The Motivation Struggle Is Real (or Nausea Really Kicked My Butt)

I knew going into this past week of workouts that it was likely to be a tough week. I knew I’d be dealing with pain and nausea, but I never know exactly how it will hit me. Sometimes I have a few really horrendous days and sometimes I spend the entire week with minimal but constant nausea. It’s usually a mystery until the nausea ends and I can reflect back on the week.

As I’ve said every time I’ve dealt with a bad week while working out at home, I really am struggling with my workouts. It’s one thing to go to the studio to work out and to try my best. It’s another to be home when I’m struggling and it’s much easier to slack off. And I’m almost embarrassed how much I slacked off this past week.

Monday and Saturday were the worst days for me. I know I didn’t really do the workouts. I tried and I did little bits and pieces of it, but I wasn’t doing most of it. And I wasn’t being good about figuring out modifications or other exercises I could do. I ended up spending a lot of time laying on my workout mat and waiting to feel better. If I was thinking more about it, I would have paused the workout when I needed to do that and continue when I was feeling better. But I didn’t have that thought at the time.

Wednesday was slightly better and I was able to feel like I at least tried to do the workout. It still was not the full workout or doing what I feel like I should be able to, but it was better. Again, pushing myself to work out when I feel so awful is such a struggle. But I can’t go easy on myself because it would be too easy to just start skipping workouts or not trying when I am feeling ok.

Friday was my Zoom workout. This is always my toughest workout of the week. And this past week was no different. It was the toughest workout and I tried my best. I had to take several breaks during the workout to let the nausea pass. Fortunately, the coach that does our Zoom workouts knows me and understands what I deal with each month, so she wasn’t freaked out when I started to look off. She knows that sometimes I just need to let the nausea pass and she doesn’t make a big deal out of it (because I have told her I am used to it). It was nice to have my workout with my friends as a nice distraction for when I was feeling so sick.

I’m hoping this week will be a bit better. I’m still not completely over the nausea, but it should be ending within a day or two. Then hopefully I will find my motivation a bit so I can feel strong when I write my recap next week.

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