This past week of workouts was a pretty typical bad week for me. I always hate how I feel during these weeks and it’s even worse when I try everything I can to feel better and nothing seems to work. I’m grateful that it’s not as bad as it could have been, but it was close to unbearable at times with the pain and nausea I was experiencing. I even had a few times that I had to leave class because I was worried I would get sick. And because of how I was feeling throughout the week, I made the decision not to go for the Dri-Tri. I know it was the best decision for me because I would have pushed myself really hard and I know I would have regretted it. But I did spend this past week doing my workouts with the possibility that I might do it, so I pushed myself however I could.
Monday’s workout was a Dri-Tri prep day. This workout was focused on the floor work for the Dri-Tri, specifically the floor work for the strength version of the Dri-Tri. The strength Dri-Tri is something that is new and I think it would be a fun challenge to do when I am feeling up for it. It splits up the rowing a bit more so it’s not just a 2000-meter row to start things off. But you have weights for the floor work instead of just doing body weight exercises.
For cardio, we had 4 blocks that were close to identical. Each block was just under 3 minutes long and we had a distance challenge to see how far we could get in that time. We started at a higher incline and lowered the incline each block. For me, I started with the resistance level just below what I use for my all-out level and went down by 1 each block. It wasn’t easy because when the resistance level is high, I can’t pedal that fast. So it was easy for me to improve my distance every block.
On the rower, we also had 4 blocks. Each block had a row distance and 2 medicine ball exercises. We did the row distance, the exercises twice, and then rowed for distance if there was any time left over. Every block had bicep curls and overhead presses with a medicine ball, but the reps started at 10 in the first block and went down by 2 each block. The row started at 50 meters and went up by 50 meters each block. I’m glad the row segments were short because I was able to do pretty decently with them and didn’t feel too nauseous on the rower.
And on the floor, we had one long block. We started with doing 4 reps for each exercise and it went up by 2 reps every time we went through them. We were supposed to use the same weights for each exercise, but I had to modify them a bit and wasn’t doing exactly that. We had burpees, hand-release push-ups, tap squats, hammer curls to shoulder presses, and lunges. I only used the weights for the squats and hammer curls to shoulder presses. And I did go lighter with the weights than I normally would do because I knew it was going to get harder as we increased the reps. I think that was the right choice for me and I think I did ok with what I accomplished in that block.
Tuesday’s workout felt a bit more like an endurance workout for me. This was also the day this past week when I was the most nauseous and had to leave class a few times because I was worried I was about to get sick. I’m glad that didn’t happen, but it’s always a horrible feeling when it happens. But I know it’s always better to leave class for a few minutes to let things settle than to do something that might make things worse that last a lot longer.
For cardio, we had rounds of a 3-minute push pace with a base pace in between. The base paces were 1 minute, 90 seconds, and 2 minutes long. I used my normal push pace resistance level for all of them, and I was proud of pushing myself to do that. I did go a bit slower for my base paces than I normally would do to allow myself to recover a bit more, but I think that was the better option than changing my push paces.
On the rower, we started with 3 rounds of a 1-minute all-out row. We were told to rest as long as we needed to between each row so we could really push ourselves for each row. After those 3 rows, we had squats to calf raises. We repeated this pattern but the rows got 15 seconds shorter each time. I was starting to work on the 30-second rows when the block was done, so I got a lot further through everything than I expected I would be able to do.
On the floor, we had both upper and lower body work with back-to-back sets. We had reverse-grip low rows, bicep curls, and tricep extensions for upper body. And we had lunges, pulsing half squats, and hip bridges for lower body. I did pretty decent with the exercises and tried to use my normal weights for all of them, but I did have to go lighter toward the end of the block since I was getting tired.
I was feeling a little better on Wednesday, but not much better so I still had to go easy. I was still debating about going for the Dri-Tri at this point so I was pushing myself a bit. But by the end of this workout, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do it, and was glad that I at least tried my best in the workout.
For cardio, we started with a 30-second base to push pace, a 1-minute push pace, and a 30-second all-out. Then we had a long recovery before doing rounds of a 30-second all-out with a 2-minute recovery. The idea of the long recovery was to get back to a base pace within those 2 minutes, so I used my base pace resistance level as my recovery and just pedaled slowly and got faster within those 2 minutes. I think that was a good plan for me and I felt like I was at a base pace about a minute into each recovery.
On the rower, we started with a 100-meter row followed by tricep extensions with a medicine ball. We increased the row by 100 meters each time and continued the pattern of rowing and medicine ball work. I was a bit worried about how I would do with the longer rows, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was slow and didn’t get really high wattage on my rows, but they also were not the worst that I’ve done.
And on the floor, we had shorter timed blocks. We started with lunges and squats to y raises on the straps for a short block. Then had a block with each exercise timed for 30 seconds. We had bench hopovers (which I did as lunges), bicep curls to front squats, and single-arm snatches. Then we did something similar with 30 seconds of uppercuts, single-arm clean to presses, and skater lunges. And we went back and forth with those various timed blocks for the entire time we were on the floor.
On Thursday, I was feeling like I was finally over the hump of feeling horrible. I was mainly dealing with pain and not nausea, so that helped me feel a bit more normal. I still was struggling a bit, but it’s always nice to feel like you are doing the best you have done in several days.
For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block had increasing push paces with 1-minute base paces in between. The push paces started at 30-seconds and went up to 75-seconds. The second block was similar but all the base paces were 45 seconds and we decreased the push paces each time. I was worried that the second block would be a bit tough for me with the pain I had, but it went really well and I didn’t feel like I had to take too many breaks within the block.
On the rower, we also had 2 blocks. The first block started with 3 rounds of a 200-meter row where we could rest as long as we needed between each row. I ended up resting for about 45 seconds each time. After the row, we had lunges and front and back hops until the block was done. The second block started with 3 rounds of squats and lateral hops and then we did rounds of a 30-second all-out row and rest as long as you need between each row. I think I liked the second block a bit more because it was nice to end things with the row and not the exercises.
And on the floor, we had work and rest mini-blocks. We did each mini-block twice before moving on to the next one. We started with low rows and close-grip chest presses on the bench. Then we had sumo squats and sumo deadlifts. The last mini-block was with mini-bands and we had knee tucks, side plank leg lifts, and high plank toe taps. I struggled a bit with the mini-band work, but I think it was more about feeling awkward and weird and not an issue with the exercises.
At the end of the week, I felt more settled about my decision to not do the Dri-Tri this time. I do feel a bit like I’m missing out, but I also know how frustrated I would be with myself trying to do it and not feeling like I could do my best or really push myself. I’ve experienced that before and I know I always feel accomplished but sometimes I feel like I really didn’t go for things the way I should. And I’m okay with allowing myself to miss something when I know that is probably the better option. There will be more Dri-Tri events for me in the future, and I know that I will do them when I can and hopefully, I will feel so amazing when I get those done.
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The Week Before The Dri-Tri (or I Hope I’m Going To Be Ready)
Dri-Tri Prep Workouts (or The Beginning Of My Workout Week)
It’s Almost Dri-Tri Time (or I Was Prepared For This To Be A Hard Week)
A Week Of Nauseous Workouts (or Still Unsure About Doing The Dri-Tri)
Getting Ready For The Dri-Tri (or Working My Way Through The Workouts)
Feeling Better About My Progress (or Coming Back From The Dri-Tri)
