I’m very happy with how this past week of workouts went. Not all of my workouts were great, but I had some really great moments. And I honestly thought it would take a lot longer before I felt like I had some accomplishments or that I was feeling more like my old self. There are still a lot of moments when I feel my lack of strength or endurance, but it was wonderful to also have some moments when I felt very powerful.
I was finally starting to feel a bit better for Monday’s workout. I still was dealing with some pain and nausea, but I was over the worst of it. And I’m glad I was starting to get better because this workout was a tough one! It was considered an endurance/strength/power workout, but for me, it felt like it was a lot of endurance.
For cardio and rowing, we had 4 blocks that had similar ideas but they were each a little different. For cardio, we started with a 3-minute distance challenge. I was actually impressed with myself with how far I could get in 3 minutes. I know that it’s not my best, but it’s very close! The second block was 5-minutes long and the goal was to beat our 3-minute distance. But the challenge was that we had all incline work. I think I might have set the resistance level a bit too high to start, but I lowered it a bit. And every minute of the 5 minutes, we decreased a bit more. I was able to tie my original distance. The third block was a 90-second distance challenge and the goal was to beat half of what the 3-minute distance was. And the last block was a 45-second distance challenge, and we were supposed to beat half of the 90-second challenge. I managed to beat my distance goals for both of the last distance challenges.
On the rower, we also started with a 3-minute distance challenge. This was the longest I’ve rowed since I have come back, and I wasn’t able to make it the entire time. I did make it for about half of it before I needed my first break, but once I took that first break I felt like I lost a lot of my endurance. I didn’t get as far on the rower as I hoped. The second block was 5-minutes and we were supposed to be our distance, just like we had on cardio. But this time, we rowed for 30-seconds and then had jump squats between each row. I did squats with calf raises instead. And just like with cardio, we had a 90-second and 45-second challenge. But for those last two, I was able to beat my distance goals.
On the floor, we had 1 long block that was split into 3 different mini-blocks. We were supposed to do each mini-block for 3 rounds before moving on to the next one. The first mini-block had squat jacks and push-ups to plank jacks. The second mini-block had ground to press and burpees. And the last mini-block had triceps with weights and pull-ups on the straps. I did struggle a bit with the exercises that had me face down, so I got the bench out to use so I wasn’t all the way to the ground and that helped a bit. But I think some of the struggling was also because this was a really tough workout! I loved how tough it was, but it also was a reminder of where I want to be able to get back to.
I was finally feeling better in time for Wednesday’s workout. It’s always a relief when I get past when I feel nauseous and can focus on the workout again. And for this workout, I knew I wanted to work hard because I was going to have a tough class on Friday.
Wednesday’s workout had the same timing for cardio and the rowers. Everything was in a 2-minute chunk. For cardio, we had push to all-outs that changed in length (but always equaling 2 minutes) with different inclines/resistance levels. And the rower was also the idea of a push to all-out on the rower for 2 minutes and while cardio was doing a walking recovery the rowers had medicine ball work. The medicine ball work was bicep curls, shoulder presses, and overhead triceps. I did pretty decently on the cardio. I’m noticing that I’m getting back to what I was able to do before on the bike a lot faster than everywhere else. But on the rower, I really struggled to row for 2 minutes without stopping. I know I’ll get there eventually, but it’s hard when it seems so far to be where I was.
On the floor, we had one long block that was split into 3 mini-blocks. And we were supposed to do each mini-block for 5 rounds before moving on (it was a Cinco de Mayo theme). The first mini-block had deadlifts and plank Spidermans. The second mini-block had chest presses and squats. And the last mini-block had low rows with weights and plank shoulder taps. I didn’t make it through it all and never really got to complete a round of the shoulder taps. But that was ok because for all the weight work, I was trying to go heavier than what I was using before. I sometimes could only do half the reps and then had to switch weights, but it still is progress!
Friday’s workout was my first signature workout back. And this time, we had Orange Everest! I have done this a few times and I think I’m having a better time doing it on the bike than I did on the treadmill, but it’s still a tough one. And since I only started back a few weeks ago, I wasn’t going to look at what I was able to do before and try to beat it. I only wanted to be able to finish it.
For Orange Everest, every minute the incline or resistance level goes up for the first 7 minutes. And for the last 7 minutes, we bring it back down one minute at a time. I knew the resistance levels were going to get really heavy for me on the bike and it would feel like I was biking in Jello or concrete. And it did feel that way for some of the highest resistance levels. But I managed to make it through with minimal breaks (I have to stop in order to sip water). And I did take a photo to remember what I did because we weren’t able to enter things into the tracker during class. But when I had a bit of a break, I looked at the app to see what I had done with Everest in the past and I realized that I PRed! The one below in my photo that says PR is my old PR. The distance I got done in this workout is the screen of the bike.
I wasn’t expecting this at all considering how far it seems I have to go before I’m as strong as I was. I was so shocked that I managed to do this and I asked my coach if there was a way to add it into the tracker because I want my PR there, so he was going to work on doing that for me.
On the rower, we had decreasing rows. We started with a 500-meter row and it was going to go down by 100 meters each time. And between each row, we had lunges with a medicine ball. I knew that rowing for 500-meters without stopping was a big challenge for me. I struggled to row for more than 90-seconds and I knew a 500-meter row would take at least 2 1/2 minutes. But I decided to go for it and not focus on the wattage on the rower or how long it took me. And I was able to row the entire thing without a break! This gave me a huge confidence boost because I’ve been worried a lot about the 2,000-meter row challenge coming up. I know that will still be really hard, but to know I can row for 500-meters without stopping is a great sign that I am making progress. I only got to work on the 300-meter row when the block ended, but I did also do the 400-meter row without stopping too!
And on the floor, we had a focus on upper body (since a lot of people were going to be doing the floor before Everest). We had low rows with weights, tricep extensions with weights, leg raises, chest presses, hammer curls, and bicycle crunches. I wasn’t lifting anything super heavy, but they were close to what I used to use for all the exercises. I was a little tired from Everest and my rowing to test out using heavier weights for a bit, but I figured that was ok. I was still able to do a lot of good work on the floor and I left this workout feeling so amazing!
Saturday’s workout ended up being a bit of a recovery day for me. I didn’t want to take the day off, but I was a bit sore from Friday and the work I had done in that workout. So I went a little easier on myself while still pushing a bit.
The cardio was one long block with no recovery time in it. We started with a 3-minute push pace to a 3-minute base pace. Then we had a 2-minute push and 2-minute base. And we ended with a 4-minute distance challenge. I went a bit easier for the 2 push paces than I did for the distance challenge. But for those last 4 minutes, I really tried to go hard and see how far I could bet. I set my goal based on doing a little less than I knew I was able to do before in that time. And I was able to beat that distance! I really felt like that this completed an amazing week on the bike. The bike has been the place I have felt like I have come back the quickest, and I think this workout proved me right.
On the rower, we had rowing with dumbbell exercises between each row. The first set had 300, 200, and 100-meter rows with single arm deadlifts with a weight. And the second set was also 300, 200, and 100-meter rows but we had split stance low rows with the weights. I got through all of the first set and completed the 300 and 200-meter rows for the second set before time was done with rowing.
And on the floor, we had 2 blocks. The first block had squat to reaches on the straps, squats to I-raises on the straps, and low rows with a medicine ball. And the second block was a core blast. We had crunches, plank punches, and mountain climbers. And for the last minute, we were supposed to hold a plank. I wasn’t able to hold my plank for the full minute, but I tried to stay up as long as I could before taking a bit of a break.
Even though I didn’t get amazing things done in every workout, I feel like I’m really seeing progress. I was so worried it would take a long time for me to feel like I’m getting back to the old me, and I’m glad I was wrong. I do still think it will take at least a few months to be back to where I was before the pandemic, but I’m happy to see that I will notice progress as I get there. I can still celebrate the accomplishments even if it’s not quite what I was able to do in the past.
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