I was looking forward to this past week of workouts because I knew I would be feeling better again. I always am happy when I get past the pain and nausea and can feel normal again. But as it has happened so many times, I was expecting a better week and then things took a twist.
Monday’s workout is normally a 3 group class, but it was a smaller class size for some reason so it ended up being a 2 group class. But because the cardio workout moved back and forth between cardio and the rowers, it still felt a bit like a 3 group class.
For cardio, we 3 blocks on the treadmills or bike and 2 blocks on the rower. The first block on the treadmill and bike was all about 30-second intervals going between a push pace and a base pace with an all-out at the end. Blocks 3 and 5 were all about the all-outs and had 30-second all-outs and either a 1-minute or 45-second recovery after. For the 2 row blocks, we had a 2-minute row for distance both times, but we were supposed to keep the strokes between 22-24 per minute the first time and 24-26 the second time. I was feeling pretty good on Monday, so all the cardio work went well for me. I didn’t do anything crazy, but it was so much better than the week before.
On the floor, we had some timed blocks and some regular blocks. For the first timed block, everything was 30-second intervals. We had single-arm low rows for one interval that were supposed to be on the straps but I used weights instead. And for the other, we had 8 squats and then we could rest for the rest of the 30 seconds. Blocks 2 and 4 were the same with core work. It was supposed to be on the Bosu, but I did them on the floor. We had bicycle crunches, alternating superman, and single-leg v-ups. Blocks 3 and 5 were also timed blocks. For block 3, we had close-grip chest presses for 30-seconds, and then for 1-minute, we had to do 12 lunges and then got the rest of the time to rest. And for block 5, we had step back low rows for 30-seconds and 45-seconds to do 10 skier swings and rest. The floor block felt like you never really had rest, but just like with cardio it was a good challenge.
Wednesday was not a good day for me. I was feeling better from the food poisoning I had, but I was still very weak and dehydrated. I debated about taking the day off and made my decision that morning. But I was feeling ok and knew I could do the workout at a lower intensity.
For cardio, we had 2 blocks that were similar. For the first block, we had a 2 1/2-minute hill climb where we increased the incline/resistance level every 30-seconds. The resistance level I ended on was 1 higher than what I normally use for my all-out, so it wasn’t too bad. Then after the hill, we had 1-minute intervals with a base pace, push pace, base pace, and all-out. The second block had a hill as well, but it was for 2-minutes instead. But since we started 1 level higher than the other hill, we ended at the same level. Then the intervals after that were 75-seconds each except for the all-out which was 45-seconds.
On the rower, we were timed with cardio and started the first block with a 2 1/2-minute row. Then we had either squats or a 1-minute row for the 1-minute intervals. We followed that same pattern for the second block with the 2-minute row to start and then either squats or a row for the 75-second intervals. I did my best with the rowing, but I took quite a few breaks because I was just feeling so weak.
On the floor, we had rep ranges for the exercises. For the first block, we had lateral steps, which I did as lateral lunges and single-arm bicycle presses. And in the second block, we had lunges and bird dog low rows. I did have to go much lighter with the weights I used for all the exercises, but I was able to do them.
Fortunately, while I was still a little weak on Thursday, I was doing significantly better than I was on Wednesday so I was able to do a bit more. The only downside was due to the very muggy weather we have been having, my hip was feeling really sore. But that’s much more manageable for me.
For cardio, we had a run/exercise block. We had a distance to do and then after each distance, we had 10 step-out squats. The distances weren’t too long, so most of them took me under 2-minutes for each one. And at the end of the cardio block, we had 3 all-outs that were 30-seconds each.
For the rower, we started with a 4 1/2-minute distance challenge. That would be a long challenge for me no matter how I was feeling, but when my hip is bothering me I know I can’t row for that long without breaks. But I didn’t need too many breaks, so I considered that to be a win. The second block was the same length, but instead of a distance challenge, we had rounds of a 45-second all-out row and 30-seconds of a recovery row. The goal was to match the distance from the first block, and I was surprised to see that I actually did about 50-meters more in the second block. I guess that recovery time really helped me. And the last block matched cardio with the 30-second all-outs.
And for cardio, all the blocks were timed. The first block had front squats for 45-seconds and bicep curls for 30-seconds. The second block had deadlifts for 45-seconds and shoulder presses for 30-seconds. And the last block had hand-release push-ups for 30-seconds and shoulder taps for 30-seconds. None of the blocks were super easy, but I think the hardest one was the last block because my arms felt like jello at that point.
By Friday, I was finally feeling like I had gotten past feeling a bit weak, but I did still have a bit of hip pain. But since that’s something that is a part of my everyday life, I was ready to try to push myself. And this workout had a lot of repeating blocks so I did get a chance to work on improving what I was doing throughout the workout. It was a 3 group class and each section of the room had 3 blocks. But we were switching between blocks so we were not in any part of the room for too long.
For cardio, all 3 blocks were the same. Everything was a 30-second interval including the recovery within the block. We had a push pace, a push/all-out pace, an all-out, and a walking recovery. And then we repeated that within the block. So every block had 2 push paces, 2 push/all-out paces, and 2 all-outs. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you only have 30-seconds to recover during the block it feels a lot harder.
For the rower, all 3 blocks were also the same. And we were timed with the cardio so again everything was a 30-second interval. We started with medicine ball work with good mornings, ground to presses, and squats to front presses. Then we had 30-seconds to get on the rower and we followed the same idea as cardio with the push, push/all-out, and all-out row. The medicine ball exercises were good and I only made minor modifications. But on the rower, even though we were only rowing for 90-seconds at a time, my hip was bugging me so I did have to take a few quick breaks.
And on the floor, each of the 3 blocks had 2 exercises. For one exercise, we had a rep range to work toward and for the other exercise, we had a set number of reps. In the first block, we had a range for uppercuts with power and we had a set number for walkouts to plank shoulder taps. In the second block, we had a range for clean to front squats and a set number for squats to high rows on the straps. And in the last block, we had a range for sumo squats with upright rows and a set number for cossack squats. I did a few random modifications on the floor when my hip was bothering me more, but nothing had to always be modified. It just depended on how I was feeling.
Considering that I had a weird setback during the week, I think I did pretty good with my workouts. I didn’t have quite the week I was hoping for, but I still was doing much better than I had the week before. And all I can hope for is that this coming week will be even better for me.
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