When gyms were shut down for over a year, I could tell that stress and other negative emotions were getting to me more than normal. There is no question in my mind that going to my workouts helps my mental health, and even when I have a good week I can use the workouts to get some stress out of my system. And that’s exactly what happened this past week. I had an overall good week, but I did need to work out some stress and anxiety and I think that led to my workouts being better for me.
Monday’s workout was a mix of endurance, strength, and power and it was a 2 group class. And even though there was some endurance work in the workout, I had a lot of opportunities to work on my power, especially on the bike.
For cardio, we had the same workout for blocks 1, 3, and 5. Those blocks were a 30-second push pace, 30-second base pace, and 30-second all-out. I really tried to push my speed on the bike for those all-outs since they were short blocks. And for blocks 2 and 4 we had a 2-minute push pace, 1-minute base pace, 2-minute push pace at an incline, 1-minute base pace, 30-second push pace, and 30-second all-out. Those blocks were a bit harder for the all-outs since it was after more intervals, including hills. But I was still able to push myself a bit more than normal for all the intervals.
And on the floor, we also had 5 blocks. This time, for blocks 1, 3, and 5 we had the same exercises. We had burpees, hip hinge low rows, and neutral thrusters. Each exercise was done for 30-seconds (timed out with the treadmills), but we did them in a different order for each block. For block 2 we had pull-ups on the straps (which I did as high rows), plank rotations, and a 150-meter row. And for block 4 we had chest presses on the straps, dead bugs, and a 150-meter row. I finally feel like I can push off on the rower properly with my heel again, so my rowing is almost back to normal. I just have to work on my form which got sloppy while I wasn’t able to row properly.
Wednesday’s workout was a power day. I was having a bit of a bad hip day due to how I slept the night before, but it wasn’t too bad and it was something I could manage pretty well throughout the workout.
For cardio, blocks 1 and 3 were all about 30-second intervals. We had a round of a push pace to an all-out and 2 rounds of a push pace to base pace to an all-out. And after each all-out, we had 30-seconds of a walking recovery which isn’t too long to recover. And in block 2, we had 2 rounds of a 30-second push pace to a 1-minute base pace with a 30-second all-out at the end.
On the rower, blocks 1 and 3 were timed with the treadmills with the 30-second intervals. Even though my rowing is getting better, I don’t have a huge difference between my base and push rows. For my all-out rows, I usually can go harder because I know I will have recovery time after so I can burn out a bit. And for the second block, we had rounds of 150-meter rows with high knees. I tried my best with the high knees, but I pretty much did them as static marching but I think it was a close modification.
And on the floor, blocks 1 and 3 were timed with cardio as well. For block 1 we had 30-seconds of a low row on the left side, 30-seconds of a low row on the right side, and 30-seconds of recovery time. And for block 3 it was the same idea but with single-arm clean to press instead of the low row. And for block 2, we had single-arm squats to upright rows and overhead presses with a rainbow arc (so you moved the weight from side to side).
Friday’s workout was an endurance workout and I was having a bit more hip pain than I did on Wednesday. It was a combination of some residual pain from Wednesday plus some pain due to the weather. But the pain was more about being uncomfortable than it was sharp pain like it can be sometimes. And for all sides of the room, we had a single 14-minute block.
For cardio, it was rounds of a push pace followed by a 90-second base pace. The push paces were 4-minutes, 2-minutes, 90-seconds, 1-minute, and 30-seconds. And we ended with a 30-second all-out. The 4-minute push was really more of a timed challenge so we didn’t have to do what we normally would do for a push pace. So I put the resistance level on the bike at the level between my base and push level. But for the other push paces, I did my normal push level.
The rower was probably the hardest section for me. It was timed with cardio and every time cardio had a push pace or an all-out we had a timed distance row. Rowing for 4-minutes isn’t easy to do no matter how I feel. And it was a bit harder than normal for me due to all my hip issues. I couldn’t do it without a break, but I tried to keep going whenever I could. And when cardio was at a base pace, we had squats and overhead presses with a medicine ball. We were supposed to do 15 of each exercise, but we only had 90-seconds to do it and I couldn’t get them all done so I usually did 10 or 12 reps of each.
And on the floor, we had 3 mini-blocks within the long block and we did each mini-block twice before moving on to the next one. The first mini-block was all about lunges, and I had to modify it to just be regular lunges for the exercises. The second mini-block had lateral lunges to suitcase squats (which I had to do as 2 separate exercises) and cossack squats. And the last mini-block had sit-ups with rotations and reverse crunches. I spent a lot of time on that last block since I usually don’t do sit-ups and do crunches instead, but I wanted to challenge myself and I took my time and did them.
Saturday was another strength day and another 2 group class. And this strength-based workout was based around doing drop sets on the floor, which I always like as a challenge.
We had 3 blocks for both sides of the room. And for cardio, every block had the same pattern. We had a push pace, a 1-minute base pace, hill work, a 30-second push pace, a 1-minute base pace, and a 30-second all out. Each block, the first push pace and the hill work got shorter. We started with a 2-minute push pace and a 90-second hill, decreasing the incline/resistance level every 30-seconds, and each block the push and hill were 30-seconds shorter. The hill work was pretty high for me with the resistance levels, but I could tell that I am getting stronger on the bike because they weren’t as challenging as they were before.
On the floor, every block had a drop set exercise plus one other exercise. And for the first 2 blocks, we also had a row. The first block had a 300-meter row and the second block had a 200-meter row. The drop set exercises were shoulder presses, tricep extensions, and single-arm low rows. And the other exercises were rollouts on the straps, mountain climbers, and plank shoulder taps. I know I didn’t do the heaviest I’ve done with drop sets before, but I also didn’t go as low for the lighter rep sets as I did before. So I think having a smaller difference between the sets of weights I used was a sign of improvement.
This past week honestly was a week I needed. I still don’t love how early I get up in the mornings, but I also feel so much better about things after I’m done with my workout. I need this mood boost in the mornings and I’m glad some of the negative things in my life were used for good with being able to push me more.
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