After so many bad weeks in a row dealing with pain and nausea, I was really hoping this past week would be much better. I’m so glad that it was and that I could really push myself. I have felt like I wasn’t doing a lot in my workouts lately since I was restricted with how I was feeling. But this past week, I really could see what I could do.
I got off to a good start to the week with Monday’s workout. I was motivated to work harder than normal and I was able to do so as well. My motivation and ability don’t always match up, so when they do I take advantage of that.
The 2 cardio blocks were similar, with a slight difference at the end of each block. We started with a 75-second push pace followed by a 60-second base pace. Then we had a 60-second push pace and a 45-second base pace. In the first block, we had 2 rounds of a 45-second all-out with 30-seconds in between, and in the second block we had 3 rounds of a 30-second all-out with 30-seconds in between. I wasn’t using higher resistance levels, but I could tell I was pedaling faster and I was able to get my heart rate up higher. And I was really tired by the end of the second block.
On the rower, we had one long block. We started with a 600-meter row and then we were supposed to do lunges with tricep extensions using the medicine ball. But because my hips were already a bit off, I skipped the lunges and just did the medicine ball work. Then we had 2 rounds of a 300-meter row with the same exercise in between. And at the end, we were supposed to do 4 rounds of a 150-meter row, but I was only able to complete 2 of them.
On the floor, we had two blocks and they each had some strength moves and some stability moves. I knew I would have to modify the stability moves, but I tried my best. In the first block, the strength moves were front squats and floor chest presses. And the stability moves both used the straps with lunges to squats and chest presses. I couldn’t do the lunges to squats as a single move, so I split them up but still did them with the straps instead of balancing against the wall like I normally do. The second block had single-arm shoulder presses and hammer curls for the strength moves and split squat shoulder presses and balance bicep curls for the balance moves. Unfortunately, by the end of the workout, I was really struggling to balance so I did the shoulder presses without the split squat and did the bicep curls as normal ones. But I did feel the burn in my arms at the end of the workout.
I was still feeling pretty great on Wednesday and continued to push myself in the workout. Although I might have pushed myself a little too hard since I was really feeling it after this workout.
For cardio, we had 2 blocks that were both timed on our own. The first block was a 6-minute distance challenge and we increased the incline/resistance level every .1 miles (or .4 miles for me on the bike). I was getting pretty high up in the resistance levels and was above my typically all-out, but since I was feeling good I wasn’t going too slowly for most of the challenge. And in the second block, we started at the level we ended the first block on and then decreased by 1 level at the same distance interval. And at the end of the second block, we had a 30-second all-out.
On the rower, we had one long block. Every row was 150-meters and we had different exercises between each row with a medicine ball. We had squats to bicep curls and deadlifts to overhead presses. I did have to split up the exercises so I did them separately, but that’s pretty normal for me now.
And on the floor, we had 2 blocks that were timed for us. In the first block, we had 45-seconds of lunges followed by 1-minute to do 12 uppercuts. Any time we had after the uppercuts, we could rest. But that usually was only about 15-seconds. In the second block, we had 45-seconds of alternating arnold presses and 1-minute to do 12 lunges and then we could rest. It was a lot of lunges for me and my hips were really feeling it at the end, but I also know I pushed myself quite a bit.
Because of how hard I pushed on Monday and Wednesday, I was definitely sore on Thursday. So I went a little easier while still pushing myself. I just was being mindful of how I was feeling so I didn’t make things any worse.
For cardio, we had 2 blocks and they were almost the same. For both blocks, they started with a 2 1/2 minute progressive challenge where we started at a base pace and ended with an all-out. Then after that all-out, we had 30-second all-outs. The difference was that in the first block we had 1-minute between the last 2 all-outs and in the second block we had 75-seconds between them.
On the rower, we had one long block and one short block. For the long block, it was all about doing stroke drills for 15 strokes. Then, we had different medicine ball exercises between each row. We had front raises, tricep extensions, and rainbows. The goal with the stroke drills was to keep the strokes per minute down but the wattage up. And I was able to keep the wattage above what I do when I’m rowing regularly. And for the second short block, we were times with cardio for the 2 30-second all-outs with the 75-seconds to recover in between.
On the floor, we had 2 blocks that had some power moves and some strength moves. In the first block, we had shoulder presses, high rows, lunges, and sumo squats to high rows. And in the second block, we had regular chest presses and chest presses with explosive tempo. And we ended the workout with 30-seconds of sit-ups.
I was so happy that I was still feeling good on Friday. I was still a bit sore, but compared to the past few weeks this past entire week was a good week for me. So I continued to be mindful while pushing myself.
For cardio, we had 2 blocks and the first block was similar to Thursday. We had a 6-minute distance challenge and started between a base and push pace and increased every 2 minutes. Then we looked at that distance to use in the second block. For the second block, we also had a 6-minute challenge, but we were supposed to stay at the same pace the entire time. For the second block, I keep the resistance level between my base and push pace and I was able to go further in the second block than I had in the first.
On the rower, the first block started with a 250-meter row. Then we were supposed to do side hops and high knees. I was only able to do the high knees, but I did more than we were supposed to do to make up for skipping the side hops. Then we had a 200-meter row and continued the pattern, decreasing the row by 50 meters each time. And in the second block, we started with a 1-minute all-out row. Then we had a recovery row before a 45-second all-out row. We ended the row block with 3 sets of a 30-second all-out row. I was getting a little sloppy toward the end of my rowing because of my hips, but when I could feel my form being off, I made sure to make corrections as quickly as possible.
And on the floor, we had 2 blocks and each block had only 2 exercises. So we were supposed to focus on going slowly and using heavy weights. The first block had single-arm low rows and step-ups. I did the step-ups as lunges. And the second block had single-arm chest presses and split stance deadlifts.
I have no clue how this week will be for me. It should be another good week, but I’m feeling a little uncertain since you never know when things might decide to change up on me again. But hopefully, I will continue to push myself and have hard workouts by choice.
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