Coming back to working out after taking a week off the week before was tough, but I noticed improvements in my strength and endurance as that week went on. So I was hoping that this past week would continue to go that way. I knew that getting back some strength would be more complicated, but I wanted to push myself to try to see if I could do most of my workouts with the weights that I’m used to.
Monday’s workout was a bit different for me since I had the day off and could go to the workout later than normal. So I was in a 2 group class instead of a 3 group class and didn’t have as much rowing as I’m used to. But it gave me a lot of time to work on my cardio and weights.
For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block had 2-minute push paces and 1-minute base paces for the entire block. And the second block had 1-minute push paces and 30-second base paces until the end of the block when we had a 30-second all-out. I did notice it was a bit harder than normal, but I didn’t know if that was endurance issues or just because it was more cardio than I normally do in class.
On the floor, we also had 2 blocks. In the first block, we had single-arm step-downs, push-ups, lunges, and then went to the rower for a 15-stroke push row. I don’t always do step-downs, but not only did I lower the bench but I did use the weight like we were supposed to. That was really pushing me and I was so proud that I tried. The weight was one of the lightest ones, but it was still better than doing it without weight. The second block was timed with cardio. First, we did 3 rounds of having one minute to do 12 hip-hinge swings and 24 mountain climbers. If there was any leftover time we could rest. And then we had 30 seconds to do bicycle crunches. After 3 rounds, we did the same pattern again for 3 rounds with a minute to do push presses with weights and hop overs (which I did as squats) and then 30 seconds to do plank punches. And in the end, we had another 90 seconds of work and we could choose which option we wanted to do. It was a lot of work and I only had a few seconds to rest each time, but it was another good challenge.
I was back to my normal schedule on Tuesday, and that workout was a switch class so we moved between each block. Switches and tornados are rare, but they add some extra challenge to the workout since you have to work extra hard when you are working to make up for the time you take switching during the class. We had 2 blocks for each section of the room and the first block was a bit longer than the second one.
The first cardio block had 1-minute base pace intervals at an incline and 1-minute base paces without an incline. The inclines went up each time and I started at my push pace resistance level on the bike and went up from there. The second block had 30-second intervals at an incline but we did all-outs this time. And we had 30-second recoveries between each one. I started with the resistance level one higher than I did for the first block plus I tried to pedal faster.
For the rower, the first block started with a 100-meter row and then we had 12 shuffles after the row. Each time we went back to the rower, it increased by 50 meters. The second block started with a 250-meter row and we had in and out steps after the row. And the row decreased by 50 meters each time. I didn’t get that far in the second block, but I did my best and I tried to keep my rowing consistent with the wattage each time so I didn’t burn out.
The first floor block started with the first 2 exercises and we added another exercise each time. I only made it through 4 exercises so I did lunges, high rows with weights, squats, and hip bridges. For the second block, we started with all 5 exercises and took away an exercise each time. So I also had plank toe taps along with the exercises in the first block. I did try to go heavy with my weights for the high rows and hip bridges, but I ended up going between what I normally use and one set of weights lighter.
Wednesday was a tough day for me because of not sleeping well the night before, but I continued to try to see if I could be close to what I know I can normally do. I really wanted to take advantage of this week because I know it’s one of my good weeks and I’ll regret not trying hard when I have a bad week.
For cardio, we had 3 blocks, and blocks 1 and 3 were the same. We had rounds of 45-second push paces and 45-second base paces with a 30-second all-out at the end. In the second block, we had rounds of a 30-second all-out with a 45-second recovery and I really tried to limit the breaks I took during that block since there wasn’t a ton of time we were working.
On the rower, for blocks 1 and 3 we were timed with cardio so we had the same push rows and base rows. I did struggle a bit in the third block because I was getting tired and needed to take a break during some of the base rows, but I tried to get back to rowing as quickly as possible to get in as many meters as I could. In the second block, we were off of the rowers so we did exercises and were timed with cardio. We had 30 seconds to do squats and 45 seconds to do lunges. The lunges were really tough for me, but I did my best to balance myself so it wouldn’t be harder than it needed to be.
And on the floor, we had one long block split into 3 mini-blocks. For each mini-block, we did 2 rounds before moving on to the next one. We had seated low rows with weights and single-arm squats, chest presses with weights and single-arm deadlifts, and chest presses and high rows on the straps. I actually was able to get through all the rounds with the mini-blocks so I then started to work on the exercises as a single block. And for the last 30 seconds, we got to pick any of the exercises to do for our finisher and I decided to do chest presses on the straps since I don’t do them that often.
Thursday’s workout was a tornado class, so we had 3 blocks in each section of the room and we switched between every block. It was very odd to have a switch workout and a tornado workout in the same week, but I just did my best. Every block for the entire workout was 3 1/2 minutes long so we had to work hard to maximize every minute. And each of the 3 blocks for each section had a different focus between endurance, strength, and power.
The first cardio had 2 rounds of a 1-minute push pace and a 30-second all-out with a 30-second recovery between them. The second block had 30-second intervals and the incline or resistance level went up by 1 every interval for 90 seconds and then we had a 30-second recovery before doing another 90-second hill. And the last block had 30-second intervals with a base pace, a push pace, and an all-out with recovery before repeating that pattern again.
On the rower, the first and third blocks matched with cardio so we had the same intervals and I really tried to be mindful of the wattage on the rower to increase for my push and all-out rows. For the second block, we did the same 30-second intervals but we tried to stay within specific strokes per minute rates for each interval. I was going a bit slower than the intervals we were supposed to do, but the increases were the same amounts as what we were told so I figured that worked well for me.
And for the first and second floor blocks, we had 2 exercises for each. In the first floor block, we had rollouts and squats to high rows with the straps. And in the second block, we had lunges and plank low rows. For the last block, we only had single-arm neutral thrusters until the last 30 seconds when we had high knees as our finisher. I really wanted to use heavy weights for the weights, but my arms were feeling a bit weak and I knew that proper form was more important than heavy weights.
Considering how I felt the week before (or even the week before that when I was sick), I was very happy with how this past week of workouts went. It wasn’t exactly what I was hoping to do, but it was close and I felt like I made some really good attempts to do what I know I normally can do. Of course, I’m tough on myself and wish I could have done better, but I know that I didn’t go easy on myself and that when I’m having another bad week I will look back at this week as a really good one. And I’m hoping to continue to make improvements and maybe be even better than before in the next week or so.
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