I’ve had a pretty rough time lately with my workouts. I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve had a good week. I had a regular bad week, then it was my back issues, then feeling sick after my booster shot, and finally, my bad week returned again. I still was doing my workouts each week, but I kept having to modify things or go easy on myself. And because I’m stubborn, going easy on myself for an extended time isn’t easy for me. But finally, this week, I was starting to get a bit better. I had a bit of pain and nausea at the beginning of the week, but it was the best I had felt in a while.
On Monday, I was doing a lot better but I think my nausea was the worst this day compared to the rest of the week. But it was very manageable compared to how it can be and I had taken medication to help make it even more tolerable. And that really did help me a lot.
For cardio, we started with a 3 1/2-minute push pace followed by a 1-minute base pace. The push paces got 30-seconds shorter each time and the base pace stayed the same. And at the end, we had a 1-minute all-out. I normally don’t love long push paces, but I did this time. I was able to go at my own pace with the resistance level I use for my push paces and I tried to be pretty steady with how fast I was pedaling on the bike through all the push paces. I did have to take some rest during the push paces, but that’s normal for me at this point.
On the rower, we started with rounds of a 300-meter row and squats. That was a good length row for me because it wasn’t a sprint but it wasn’t so long that I needed to rest during my row. I know I have a ways to go with getting my rowing back to where it used to be and to get even better, but having good rowing challenges like this distance help. And we finished our rowing with 1-minute intervals of a base, push, and all-out.
And on the floor, we had 2 blocks. The longer block was all about working and resting so we were encouraged to rest after each exercise instead of doing them as a circuit. The exercises for that block were step-ups, rollouts on the straps, single-arm low rows with weights, and planks with toe taps. I did lunges instead of the step-ups and I used the bench for my hands for the planks since I knew that would help keep nausea from getting worse. And the second block was short but it was a tough core blast. We had planks and hollow holds and we just held each one until we couldn’t do it anymore and then we switched exercises. We had 2 minutes of that and I switched about every 30 seconds.
Tuesday’s workout was an interesting challenge for me. I was feeling better so I was pushing myself a bit more, but it was a harder workout so I noticed my limitations more. Because I’ve had so many bad weeks in a row, I know I’ve gotten a bit weaker. And it seemed most noticeable in this workout.
For cardio, we had rounds of a push pace followed by a base pace with an incline. Because my push pace on the bike is done by increasing the resistance level, I did my regular level for my push pace and went to the level between my push and all-out to do a base pace with incline so it would be a bit more challenging. We started with a 30-second push pace and 30-second base pace and the intervals went up by 15-seconds each round until we got through half the block and then they went down by 15-seconds each round. And we finished with a 30-second all-out. Because the base paces were technically harder for me than the push paces, it felt like we had no breaks at all during the block. I did try to limit any rest I needed to take to be during the base paces, but it wasn’t easy.
On the rower, we had all sprint rows. We started with 2 rounds of a 200-meter row and we were supposed to do butt kicks between each row. But I did high knees instead. Then we had 2 rounds of a 100-meter row that was supposed to be an all-out. And then we got to rest for however long it took to do each row. And then it was back to 2 rounds of a 200-meter row but we had high knees to elbows between each row that time. I did make it to the last row, but not the last exercise before we had a 30-second all-out at the end of the block.
And on the floor, we had one block with 2 mini-blocks. We were supposed to do the first mini-block 3 times before moving on to the second one. The first mini-block had chest presses with weights and push-ups. And the second mini-block had squats and bench step-downs. I did do the step-downs instead of modifying them to lunges for this workout. I have been hesitant to do step up or downs because of my back, but I think I’m finally better. I have occasional twinges in my back, but that’s probably pretty normal for me at this point. I’m not dealing with the same pain I had before. And for the last 30-seconds on the floor, we had a low push-up hold.
Wednesday’s workout was one that I had done earlier in the month, but it was when I was feeling much worse so it was nice to repeat it again. I was curious how much better I would do in the workout this time compared to before.
For cardio, we started with a 3-minute push pace followed by a 30-second all-out. Then we had a 3-minute recovery where we could get back to base pace when we were ready before doing another 30-second all-out. We repeated the recoveries and all-outs another 3 times before the block was done. My recovery resistance level on the bike is the same as what I use for my base pace, so I recovered by just making sure I was pedaling slower.
On the rower, we followed the same pattern as cardio starting with a 3-minute push pace and then the 30-second all-outs and 3-minute recoveries. But for all the all-outs, we did a crew row so we had to match the pace with someone else on the rower. When we were in our crew rows, we were pretty quick to get in sync with each other, so that was pretty cool.
And on the floor, we had 1 block with 2 mini-blocks. And you only did the first mini-block once before only doing the second mini-block for the rest of the time. The first mini-block had low rows on the straps, tricep extensions on the straps, and single-leg airplanes (which are like deadlifts without the weights). And the second mini-block built upon those exercises with reciprocating low rows with weights, dumbbell tricep extensions, and deadlifts. I did have to go a bit lighter with the weights than I would have liked, but I tried to get heavier with them during the block to push myself a bit more.
And Thursday’s workout was another repeat from earlier in the month for me. Again, I was curious how I would do compared to when my back was hurting.
For cardio, we had 2 blocks and both blocks had 1-minute intervals with a base pace with an incline and a base pace without an incline. The incline went up each round within the block, but they were higher in the first block than in the second block. And both blocks ended with a 30-second all-out. Because we were using a variety of inclines/resistance levels, I was using a lot of the levels I normally do for my push and all-out. And I realized that I might be ready to try increasing my push pace or all-out level soon. I don’t know if I’m ready to increase both, but it’s been a bit of time since I increased my base pace level so I might be due for a new challenge.
On the rower, we started with 2 rounds of a 400-meter row with lateral hops and high knees between each row. Then we had 2 rounds of an an 800-meter row with the same exercises. I was only starting to work on the second 800-meter row when we had our 30-second all-out row to finish out the rowing for the workout. But I felt like I did pretty decent with the first 800-meter row, even though it’s a longer row for me.
And on the floor, we had 2 blocks. The first block was designed to be a circuit so we were not supposed to rest between exercises. We had goblet squats, high rows on the steps, and push-ups. I really wanted to try to go heavier with my weight fo the goblet squat, but when I tried it I could feel my back tense up so I picked a lighter weight instead. And for the second block, we were supposed to rest between each exercise so we could challenge ourselves more. We had split stance bicep curls and jump lunges, which I did as regular lunges. And to end the block, we had squat step outs.
I felt like this past week of workouts was a good week to work on getting back to my old normal. I know I still have a lot of work to get back there and I do still feel a bit weak at times, but I think I had some good improvements this week. And I can only hope that I can improve even more this week.
You Might Also Like
Almost Having A Second Hell Week (or Just Pushing Through)
The Week I Expected (or Just Doing What I Can)
Just A Normal And Good Workout Week (or Using My Workouts To Get Out My Stress)
Benchmarks and Hard Work (or Having A Week Of Feeling Awesome)
Getting Through Another Bad Week (or Just Trying My Best)
A Short And Slightly Painful Workout Week (or Still Getting In My 3 Workouts)
