I knew this past week would be tough for me because I would likely be dealing with pain and nausea. Fortunately, that’s all I had to deal with this past week because the side effects from the new medication weren’t affecting me the same way as they did the week before. I have gotten into a good routine in the morning to make sure that I’m feeling ok and I’m glad it was working. Even though I would have loved to feel great during my workouts, at least it was only issues that I’m used to. And it also got me ready for Hell Week, which is starting this week.
Monday’s workout felt like more of an endurance day even though I know there were also strength and power elements in it. Maybe the way I get through workouts when I’m nauseous makes them seem more like endurance days.
For cardio, we had one long block but we had a lot of recovery time in it. We started with a 2-minute base pace and then had a 1-minute push pace and a 30-second all-out. After the all-out, we had 3 minutes to recover and get back to our base pace when we were ready. We repeated that pattern again and then we ended with a 1-minute all-out. Because my recovery and base pace resistance levels are the same on the bike, I did the recovery by pedaling very slowly and then increasing my cadence until I was at what I do for a base pace.
On the rower, we had one block with 3 mini-blocks in it. We were supposed to do each mini-block 3 times. The first mini-block had a 200-meter row and jump squats, which I did as squats with calf raises. The second mini-block had a 150-meter row and lunges. And the last mini-block had a 100-meter row and squat jacks, which I did as regular squats. I didn’t get through all of the rounds of the 100-meter row, but I got through most of it which is better than a lot of my recent classes.
And on the floor, we also had a long block with mini-blocks. The first mini-block had goblet squats and reciprocating rows with weights. And the second mini-block had deadlifts and leg raises. We were supposed to do the first mini-block twice before moving on to the second, and I was on my second round of the second mini-block when we were stopped to do a 1-minute finisher of hop overs, which I did as lunges.
On Tuesday, we had an interesting workout. We had 4 blocks at each section of the room and they got shorter each time. And the workouts within each block were either the same or very similar so we had a lot of chances to do each thing.
For cardio, the first block had a 2-minute push pace, 1-minute base pace, and 30-second all-out. For each block after that, the push pace got 30-seconds shorter so for the last block we only had a 30-second push pace.
On the rower, we were timed with cardio so we had the same intervals. We did push rows and all-out rows. But instead of having a 1-minute base pace, we had a minute to do forward and back hops, and then we could rest if there was any time left. I couldn’t do the hops, but I did do shuffle steps instead and I usually had about 15-seconds left to get back on the rower and ready for the all-out row.
And on the floor, almost everything was timed to be 30-second intervals. For the first block, we had squats to bicep curls, lunges, plank rows, bicycle presses, plank jacks, and squat jumps. The plank jacks were the only thing not done as a 30-second interval. For those, we had 1-minute to do 12 of them and then could rest for any extra time. And each block, we lost one of the 30-second exercises. There wasn’t any time between exercises like we sometimes have, so we were rushing to get from one exercise to another to make sure we didn’t lose too much time in the transition.
On Wednesday, my nausea was really kicking in and it was pretty hard for me to get through a lot in this workout. I was trying to manage it with medication, but it didn’t help me much this day. For each section of the room, we had 2 blocks.
For cardio, we started with a 2-minute push pace followed by a 1-minute base pace. Then we had a 30-second push pace to a 30-second all-out. Then we had a quick recovery before doing another 30-second all-out. For the second block, we started with a 1-minute push pace instead of a 2-minute push pace. We repeated the same pattern but we had 4 all-outs in this block instead of the 2 we had in the first block.
On the rower, the first block had distance rows with an exercise between each row. We were told to make sure we weren’t going too fast with the row because if you finished all 3 you were supposed to be in a squat hold. But I knew with how I was feeling, there wasn’t any worry that I would get through all 3. We had a 400, 300, and 200-meter row. And between each row, we had good mornings which are similar to deadlifts without a weight. In the second block, we started with small crew rows. We were paired with the person next to us and we were supposed to row together. I had the person I was paired with be the leader since I knew I would have to take a break at some point. But I only needed one break during a 2 1/2-minute crew row which is much better than I thought I would do. After the crew row, we did the same all-outs we had for cardio. I did better with those since they were short.
On the floor, both blocks had 2 mini-blocks and the first mini-block each time used the mini-bands. In the first block, we started with hip bridges and torso rotations using the mini-band. And then we had lateral step-ups and low rows. The second block started with toe reaches and single-leg bridges (which I did as regular hip bridges). And then we had shoulder presses and step-ups with bicep curls. I lowered the bench so I could do the step-ups. I didn’t go too heavy with any of the weights I used, but I’m glad I did try all the exercises as much as I could.
I was feeling almost the same on Thursday as I did on Wednesday, so it was pretty rough. But I still pushed through and did everything that I could.
For cardio, the first block was rounds of a 2-minute push pace and a 1-minute base pace. And the push pace had increasing inclines/resistance levels so each time it got harder. The second block had rounds of a 1-minute all-out and a 1-minute recovery and the all-outs had increasing inclines/resistance levels. I did get to use resistance levels higher than I normally would, but I was already struggling on the bike so I couldn’t really tell how much harder it was than normal.
On the rower, we were timed along with cardio. We did 2-minute rows in the first block and then had a minute to do forward and back hops (which I did as shuffle steps). I was happy to see that I was able to do the row without stopping each time and I actually got further with my distance each time. And in the second block, we had 1-minute all-out rows and then we were supposed to do jumping jacks. But I was getting really nauseous after the rows and I ended up using that minute to rest and let the nausea pass.
And on the floor, we had 2 blocks and each block had 2 exercises so we were supposed to go slowly and use heavy weights. In the first block, we had step-downs to toe taps and single-arm high rows. For the step-downs, I lowered the bench and did the first round without weights to make sure I had enough balance for it. But I did use light weights after that and it was a good challenge for me. And the second block had single-arm chest presses and crunches. Fortunately, those exercises weren’t too bad for me.
This week is the start of Hell Week and I should be earning my shirt during my workouts this week. But I also know I might have worse pain and nausea this week as well. So there’s a chance it will be a double Hell Week for me. I’ll just have to see how it goes.
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