Tag Archives: Orangetheory

This past week of workouts wasn’t exactly the same as they normally are, but for the first time in a long time, I think the difference was a positive thing. My classes were during the same times, but I had one that wasn’t what it normally was and a surprise sub coach.

For Monday’s workout, I was glad I was feeling normal. Like I had said before, it’s always tough when I’m expecting to feel awful. It’s so much worse when it’s not expected. But I was ready to work out on Monday and push myself like I know I can.

For cardio, we had 2 blocks and they both had rolling hills. That meant we had 1-minute at an incline and then 1-minute without an incline. And each time we added incline, it went down 1%. Both blocks had 3 1-minute intervals with inclines and the second block was a bit lower than the first. I used the resistance levels I should have been using for both blocks and tried to pedal a bit faster than normal to push myself.

On the rower, we had 1 long block. We started with 1 round of a 600-meter row. After the row, we had high knees. Then we had 2 rounds of a 300-meter row with the same exercise between each row. The last part was 4 rounds of a 150-meter row with the same exercises, but I didn’t get through all those rounds.

And on the floor, the first block was all about tempo and doing the same exercise with different tempos. We had 3 different tempos of a sumo squat and a chest press. And in the second block, we had all single-side alternating work. We had low rows with weights, shoulder presses, and plank reaches. And at the very end of the workout, we had pop jacks as a finisher.

On Wednesday, I had a nice surprise when I showed up for the workout. One of my coaches from the Brentwood studio, Lal, was subbing for that class. I hadn’t seen Lal since before the pandemic and it had been even longer since I was able to take one of his classes. It was so exciting to have him coaching me again and I knew I was going to be pushed hard.

For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block started with a 4-minute distance challenge that had a 1-minute all-out at the end. Then we had a minute to recover before a 90-second progressive challenge. And in the second block, the goal was the match or beat the distance from the first block. But this time we started with the 90-second challenge and ended with the 4-minute one.

On the rower, we were timed along with cardio. But for the 4-minute challenge, we had different stroke goals for each minute. And we increased the strokes per minute each time. That was a bit more of a challenge for me since it’s hard for me to be super steady at times with how quickly or slowly I’m rowing. But I tried to stay in the right range each time. I did have to take some breaks for both of the 4-minute challenges, but I tried to keep them quick and get back to rowing.

And on the floor, we had 1 block. I had to make a bunch of modifications because the floor work had a lot of balance exercises in it and I can’t do those properly. We were supposed to do half-kneeling shoulder presses to stands, but I did regular lunges and then shoulder presses separately. We were supposed to have single-leg deadlifts, and I did regular deadlifts. We had balance bicep curls and I modified those to be on my toes on one foot so I did a bit of balance work. And we had bear planks which I did as bird dogs. I didn’t love modifying so much of the floor, but it was the best option for me and I did essentially the same movements, just in slightly different ways.

And of course, I had to get a photo with Lal since it had been so long since we had seen each other.

Thursday had an interesting way to do the cardio work. Normally, after an all-out, we have a walking recovery. This time, we went from an all-out to a low base pace. For block 1, we had rounds of a 45-second push pace into a 15-second all-out. Then we had 90-seconds at the conservative base pace. For me, I kept the resistance level for the base pace at the same level I normally use, I just allowed myself to pedal a bit slower. But since I also use that same level at times for my recovery, I made sure I wasn’t going as slow as I would for a walking recovery. For block 2, it was the same idea but we had 30-second push paces into 30-second all-outs with 2-minutes at a conservative base pace.

On the rower, we always had 200-meter rows. But we had different exercises for blocks 1 and 2 between each row. For block 1, we did lunges and overhead presses with a medicine ball. And for block 2, we had squats with a front press and bicep curls. I’m glad the row wasn’t too long because I have been dealing with so much hip pain lately and the long rows are really hard on me. But I was able to do pretty well with 200-meters.

And on the floor, we had 3 exercises for each block. Block 1 had goblet squats, hip bridges, and sit-ups with rotations. And block 2 had seated low rows, bench pullovers, and mountain climbers. The only modifications I made on the floor were skipping the Bosu ball for the sit-ups and mountain climbers. But I was able to do everything else.

On Friday, we had Lal as our sub again, which was really nice since I didn’t realize I’d see him again after seeing him on Wednesday. I figured this class might be small since a lot of people would be away for the long weekend, and I was right. And since it was a smaller class, we had a 2 group class instead of a 3 group class.

For cardio, we did a lot of work with inclines. For the first block, we started with a 2-minute push pace at an incline with a 90-second base pace at no incline. Then we repeated that pattern by increasing the incline each time and decreasing the time we were in the push pace. The inclines/resistance levels got really high, but fortunately, we weren’t spending too long at the higher inclines. And the first block ended with a 45-second all-out where we could pick which incline we wanted to use. I went with 1 level higher for the resistance level on the bike compared to my normal all-out. And in the second block, we started at the highest incline and worked our way down without the flat road base paces in-between. We did the same thing with keeping the time shorter with the higher inclines and increased the time as the incline went down. But they were base paces instead of push paces. And again, we ended with a 45-second all-out where we could pick the incline.

And on the floor, the first block had 2 mini-blocks. The first mini-block had lunges and deadlifts to low rows. We did that 3 times before moving on to the next mini-block which had hammer curls to bicep curls and Arnold presses. And the second block had squats, lunges, and a 250-meter row.

I’m really happy with how this past week went. Things weren’t what I necessarily expected, but it’s nice to be reminded that this can be a good thing. And I know that this week will be a little different since today is a holiday, but maybe I’ll have some other surprises that make the week really awesome again!

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After getting through Mayhem, I was hoping for a bit of an easier week this past week.  I know they make the Mayhem (and Hell Week) workouts extra tough, but sometimes the regular workouts are just harder than normal too. And I feel like this past week was definitely tougher than normal, but it allowed me to really push harder.

Because Monday was a holiday and I had the day off of work, I went to a later class than I normally go to. It was actually the class time that I used to go to before the pandemic, but it seemed like everyone was in a class later than they normally do because most of the people in my class were the ones I see each week. And because this was a later class, it was a 2 group class. I forgot that it would be 2 groups and not 3 groups until our coach was doing the intro, but since it was a run/row day it felt similar to a 3 group class.

For the run/row, every time we were on cardio we had the same distance. For the treadmills it was .4 miles, for me on the bike it was 1.6 miles. After the cardio, we headed to the rower. The first row was 300-meters and then we took as long as we needed to recover and then we had another 300-meter row. The first row was supposed to be a push pace and the second was supposed to be an all-out, but for that distance, they were about the same for me. The second time we went the rowers we had 2 rounds of a 200-meter row and the third time we had 2 rounds of a 100-meter row. For those distances, I was able to do better on my second row and make it a bit more of an all-out.

On the floor, we had 3 blocks. For each block, we started with a buy-in exercise of doing roll-outs on the straps. After doing one set of that for each block, we focused on the other exercises in the block. The first block had chest presses, y-raises, and reverse grip low rows on the straps. The second block had chest flys, single-arm shoulder presses, and high rows with weights. And the last block had chest presses, hammer curls, and single-arm low rows with weights. I did try to go heavier with some of the weights because I know my upper body is getting stronger. But I kept my lighter weights at my station because I did have to switch back and forth as I got tired during each block.

Wednesday’s workout was back to my normal schedule and my normal 3 group class. And while I know that now all classes have a mix of endurance, strength, and power in them, this class felt a lot more like a power class to me.

For cardio, we had 3 blocks. The first 2 blocks were the same. We had 1 minute between our base and push paces, 1 minute at our push pace, 1 minute between our push and all-out paces, and 1 minute at an all-out. So I started my resistance level exactly between my base and push paces and then going up by one every minute worked out perfectly for what we were supposed to do. The last block was a 1-minute base pace, 1-minute push pace, and 1-minute all-out.

On the rower, we also had 3 blocks and in each block, we had one row distance and one exercise and we went back and forth until the end of the block. The first block was 200-meters and halos with a medicine ball. The second block was 150-meters and lunges. And the last block was 100-meters and tricep extensions with a medicine ball.

And we had 3 blocks on the floor as well. Each block had 2 exercises. For one we had a range for the reps and for the other we had a set number of reps. The exercises that had a range were single-arm shoulder presses, suitcase deadlifts, and double crunches. And the set rep exercises were dead bugs, plank bird dogs, and back extensions. Because the blocks were short, it didn’t feel like I was repeating each exercise too many times because I used heavy weights and that took up time.

Thursday’s workout was a bit tough. I thought it might have just been me because I didn’t sleep well the night before, but one of my friends in the class said after class that this workout felt harder than Mayhem did. So I guess it was just a really hard class.

For cardio, we had 3 blocks. The first and third blocks were the same and focused on 45-second intervals. We started with a 45-second push pace followed by a 45-second base pace. We had 2 more rounds of that but each push pace had an increase in the incline/resistance level. And then we ended with a 30-second all-out. In the second block, everyone on the treadmills did power walking and nobody was running. This was all about the incline work for 30-second intervals. For me on the bike, I worked with really high resistance levels. I started at what is normally my all-out level and increased the level every 30 seconds. I have worked with these much higher levels more often lately, but they are still very difficult for me and it feels like I’m barely moving.

On the rower, we also had 3 blocks and the first and third blocks were the same again. For those blocks, we started with a 500-meter row. Then we were supposed to do foot exchanges and high knees, but I was only able to do the high knees. Then we rowed until the last 30-seconds of the block and did that as an all-out. The second block was a similar pattern, but we had a 250-meter row instead of a 500-meter row.

And on the floor, we had one long block with 3 mini-blocks. For each mini-block, we were supposed to do the exercises twice before moving on to the next one. And again, we had a range for the reps we were supposed to do so I tried to go heavier and went back to my normal weights if I needed to. We had single-arm low rows and tricep extensions, hip hinge swings and lunges, and push-ups and bench pullovers. I did make it through the entire floor workout and was working on the first mini-block again when the workout was done. I know I probably could have gotten through the exercises faster if I used lighter weights, but the challenge was good even though the workout was already hard.

Friday’s workout was an interesting challenge. I could really tell which sections of the room were which type of workout and that allowed me to focus on the workout in a different way.

For cardio, it was very clear that it was all about power. The first block had all 30-second intervals. We had a few rounds of a push pace to a base pace and then we ended with an all-out. The second block was all 30-second all-outs with 1-minute walking recoveries between each one. And the third block was all 30-second all-outs with 45-second walking recoveries between each one. It was nice to not have to work with any higher resistance levels for cardio so I could really focus on trying to pedal faster during the all-outs. I still want to get better, but I did notice that I was going faster than I have been pedaling recently.

On the rower, we were focusing on strength rows. We had all timed rows and we were supposed to keep the stroke rate below 24 strokes, which is just a bit slower than I naturally go. We had a 4-minute, 2-minute, 1-minute, and 30-second row. I was very happy that I was able to keep rowing the entire time for all the rows and I didn’t need to take any breaks. That’s totally a sign that I’m finally getting some of my endurance back with my rowing. Between each row, we had medicine ball exercises that I had to modify. We were supposed to do lunges with halos and squats with bicep curls and front presses. I didn’t do the lunges or squats but did the upper body part of each exercise.

On the floor, we had 3 blocks and it was about endurance. The first block was all about core work. We were supposed to do bicycle crunches and v-ups on the Bosu. I modified these to be side crunches and regular crunches but I did still do them on the Bosu. And for the next 2 blocks, we were timed with cardio. So for the second block, we had 30-second and 1-minute intervals. For 30-seconds we had close-grip chest presses. And for 1-minute we had to do 6 lunges on each side and then we could use the rest of the minute to recover. And in the last block, we did low rows with weights for 30-seconds and we had 10 skier swings to do and then we could rest for any time in the 45-second interval that we had left.

I’m seriously so happy with how I did this past week. I challenged myself more than I thought I would and I feel like seeing the progress was a nice surprise. And because there is a chance that this week will be tough for me toward the end of the week, I’m glad I got this boost before heading into a week where I might be feeling down about what I can do.

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After what felt like a million weeks of tough or painful workout weeks, I finally had a week where I felt really great. It wasn’t all perfect, but honestly, it was so much better than the last few weeks. And when I did have pain issues, it was mainly my fault because I had been working out so hard.

Monday’s workout was a good and challenging one. We had 2 blocks for each section of the room and the first block was about 11 minutes long and the second block was only 2 1/2 minutes long.

For cardio, the long block was all about working with inclines. We had rounds of 2 minutes at inclines with 1 minute recovering without incline. During the incline work, we did a lower incline for the first minute and increased it by 1 for the second minute. And we just kept working up the inclines each time we got back to them. I did get higher with the resistance levels than I normally do, but they weren’t super high compared to some of the workouts we’ve had. And in the shorter block, we had 30-second intervals with all-outs and recoveries. Those weren’t with an incline, so I was able to get much faster on the bike than I had gotten in the first block.

On the rower, the first block was all about 400-meter rows. We had a row and then we had rainbows with a medicine ball. Then we had another row followed by halos with a medicine ball. We went back and forth for the entire block and we were supposed to try to get the row to be a push row. And in the second block, we were timed with cardio and did the all-outs with recoveries after.

On the floor, the first block had exercises and we had a range of reps that we were supposed to get to. We had single-arm low rows with weights, push-ups, and step-ups (which I did as lunges). And for the last block, we were timed with the rest of the room and did kneeling hammer curls and static planks. I tried to go heavy with my weights since we had a range of reps to do, but I think I’m almost between the weights we have options for because one was too easy and the other was too hard. But I know I’ll get there.

Wednesday’s workout was a benchmark day. We had the 200-meter row, which I feel like I haven’t done as a benchmark in a long time. I think pretty much all of my PRs are from before the pandemic, and I know I’m still working back to what I was able to do then. So I went into this workout just hoping I would be able to be close to my PR.

I started with cardio and it was a pretty simple workout since we were supposed to save our energy for the benchmark. We had 3 blocks that were 4-minutes long. In the first 2 blocks, it was a distance challenge and we were told to do something close to a push pace. In the last block, we did the distance challenge for the first 3 1/2-minutes and then had an all-out for the last 30-seconds. I kept the resistance level on the bike at my push level for the blocks, but I didn’t pedal as fast as I probably could have.

On the rower, the first block was to prepare us for the benchmark. We had rounds of a 200-meter row with squats after each row. We were supposed to focus on form and make sure we were warmed up for the benchmark. The second block was the benchmark, and I was pretty disappointed in myself. I felt like I just couldn’t get into a good rhythm and I did a lot worse than I should have. So I was grateful when we were given another chance in the last block to do the benchmark again. I did it and I took almost 2 seconds off of my time (which is a lot for a short benchmark). I’m still not back to my PR, but I’m 1 1/2 seconds off which isn’t that bad!

On the floor, we also had 3 blocks. The first block had low rows on the straps, tricep extensions on the straps, and plank punches. The second block had sumo squats to upright rows and pull-ups on the straps (which I did as high rows). And the last block had single-arm shoulder presses and single-arm low rows with weights. And for the last 30-seconds, we had squats to finish out the workout.

I was surprised at how ready I was for Thursday’s workout. I was afraid I would be tired or sore from the benchmark, but I lucked out. It turned out that I needed that energy and enthusiasm for the workout because this one was a tough one in the best way!

For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block was timed on our own. We had different distances to go and as the distances went down we were supposed to increase our speed. So the first distance was supposed to be between a base and push pace. The second distance was supposed to be at a push pace. The third was between a push pace and all-out. And I did set the resistance levels on the bike to match those guidelines. Between each distance we were supposed to do, we had step out squats and lunges, which were a bit harder for me to do. The second block was timed by our coach and we had rounds of 30-second all-outs and 45-second walking recoveries.

The floor and the rower were timed together for all 3 blocks. And all of the blocks had intervals that were 30-seconds and 45-seconds. For the first 2 blocks on the rower, we had push rows for 30-seconds and base rows for 45-seconds. The stroke rates were on the lower end so we were supposed to make sure we kept the rate below a specific number. And in the last block, we had 30-second all-out rows and then 45-seconds to do 10 lunges, and then we had the rest of the time to recover.

On the floor, we had 30-seconds of an exercise and then in the 45-second intervals we had a specific number of an exercise to do and then we got to use the rest of the time to rest. The first block had sumo deadlifts and hand-release push-ups. The second block had goblet squats and plank side reaches. And the last block had burpees and plank jacks. All of the blocks felt like they were never-ending, but the floor was crazy tough! But I really enjoyed it and felt like I was able to really push myself for the first time in a while.

While I wasn’t sore after my benchmark workout, I think I overdid it a bit on Thursday because I was sore for Friday’s workout. It was mainly tightness in my hips, which can mean so many different things for me. I do think it was due to the workout and not something more serious because I was getting some relief as I stretched when I could during and after the workout. Being sore did affect the workout a bit for me, but it wasn’t as bad as what other pain has done to me.

For cardio, we had 3 blocks and they were all focused on doing all-outs. The first block had 4 rounds of a 30-second all-out with increasing walking recoveries between each one. The second block had 3 rounds of a 45-second all-out with 45-second recoveries in between. And the last block had 2 rounds of a 1-minute all-out with 1-minute recoveries in between. For the first two blocks, I was fine with doing my normal resistance level for my all-outs. I was struggling a little, but it was a good struggle and what we should have to deal with during an all-out. But for the 1-minute all-outs, I really noticed it hurting me more so I decreased the resistance level on the bike to make sure I didn’t push myself a dangerous amount.

On the rower, we had 1 long block. We started with a 3-minute row and we were supposed to keep our stroke rate below 28 strokes per minute. This wasn’t too hard for me since that’s basically what I normally row at. After the row, we had tricep extensions and lunges with a front press with a medicine ball. I modified things so I didn’t do the lunges since my hips were so sore and I just did the front press. But I did use a heavier medicine ball than I normally would to make up for that. After the exercises, we had a 90-second row and a 45-second row with the exercises in between each one. And for the last minute of the block, we had a 1-minute all-out row along with the treadmills.

And on the floor, we also had 1 long block with 3 mini-blocks in it. We were supposed to do each mini-block twice before moving on to the next one. We had leg lifts with the straps and lateral lunges, squats to y-raises and hip hinge reverse fly, and plank blast-offs and suitcase squats. I didn’t finish the second round of the last mini-block before we got to the last minute of class where we were supposed to do a minute of push-ups to knee tucks. I tried doing those but I really was hurting and my hips were really stiff so I just did push-ups and then held a plank once I couldn’t do any more push-ups.

Even with the few struggles I had during this past week, I really had one of the better weeks I’ve had in a while for my workouts. I needed this. I’ve had enough struggles lately and needed a week where I didn’t have to do so much to work around my limitations. I know I’ll have another bad workout week soon when I have to deal with nausea, but I’m glad I got a break from that feeling. And hopefully, the way I feel after this past week will help me get through the harder weeks I might have soon.

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Because I knew during this past week of workouts I should be pretty much done moving stuff from my house to the condo, I assumed it would be a good week. For the most part I was right, but of course, life always has plot twists.

Monday’s workout was one that I did not do in the beginning half of the month. Just like I have felt for a lot of this month, I was a bit sore from doing some moving things, but at least I was feeling better than I had the week before.

For cardio, we had one long block. We started with a 3 1/2-minute push pace and then had a 1-minute base pace. We then had a 3-minute and 2 1/2-minute push paces with 1-minute base paces after each. And we ended with a 1-minute push pace and a 1-minute all-out. The longer push paces were tough, especially with only 1-minute base paces after. So I had to be a bit more mindful of how I was feeling during the push paces to make sure I could get back to my base and not need to rest or do what is usually my recovery speed on the bike.

On the rower, we had 2 blocks. For the first block, we had rounds of 300-meter rows with squat jacks after each row. We weren’t supposed to reset the rower while working and we noted our distance at the end of the block. In the second block, we did our rows times with the treadmill with a 2 1/2-minute push, 1-minute base, 1-minute push, and 1-minute all-out. And the goal was to beat the distance from the first block in the second block. We also were supposed to focus on strength rows and keep the stroke rate between 22 and 24 for the entire time.

And on the floor, we really only had 1 block but we had a 2-minute finisher at the end. In the block, we had lateral step-ups (I did lunges instead), roll-outs on the straps, single-arm low rows with weights, and plank step-outs. And for the finisher, we had 1 minute of bicycle crunches and 1 minute of holding a plank. I was pretty shakey during the plank, but I tried to just keep adjusting between being on my toes and knees so I could at least maintain some sort of a plank for the entire minute.

Wednesday’s workout was another new one for me. And it was a really tough day. I was recovering from food poisoning (or whatever else I had) so I was pretty weak and I know I was dehydrated. But I wanted to go and try to do whatever I could do because that would be better than doing nothing. But I was frustrated with how I was feeling because I really was hoping that this would be a good week for me.

For cardio, we had an interesting workout. It started with a 3-minute push pace and a 30-second all-out. Then we had 3 minutes of recovering and going back to a base pace before another 30-second all-out. We repeated that pattern with the 3 minutes to recover and get to a base pace before an all-out for a total of 3 times. Those 3 minutes were both recovery and base, which I don’t think we have ever done before. So we really had to focus on how long we would recover since we weren’t told when to be back at a base pace. I tried to keep my recovery time to about a minute each time and then really try to be at a base pace. I know I didn’t always do that because of feeling weak, but I at least tried.

On the rower, we had a 14-minute row. Honestly, this was brutal for me. I think this would be difficult no matter how I was feeling, but this day it was even worse. I knew I couldn’t row the entire time, so I just rowed and rested when I needed to. I know that I didn’t do great and my end distance was much lower than it should have been. But I also know that I didn’t give up and I was really trying.

And on the floor, we had one long block that has 2 parts to it. The first part was only done once. We had low rows on the straps, tricep extensions on the straps, and single-leg airplanes (which are similar to single-leg deadlifts so I did them while balancing on the wall). After doing those once, we moved on to the rest of the workout. For the rest of the time except for the last 30-seconds, we had alternative hip hinge rows with weights, overhead tricep extensions with weights, and deadlifts. We were supposed to go heavy with the weights and I did go heavy for my rows and deadlifts. They weren’t the heaviest I’ve ever used for those exercises, but they were heavier than what I normally use. And for the last 30 seconds, we had a v-up hold. That was really tough for me with my hips, but I kept my knees bent which does help. And when I fell out of the hold I just got back into it.

By Thursday, I was still feeling a bit weak and I know I was dehydrated but I was doing better than I was on Wednesday. And it’s a good thing I was doing better because this workout was a benchmark challenge day. It was the 12-minute distance challenge, which I’ve done a few times before. I still haven’t gotten back to my pre-pandemic PR, but I have been getting closer. I knew that because of how I felt I wouldn’t be getting a PR, but I just wanted to see what I would be able to do.

Since it was a 3 group class and the challenge was 12 minutes long, the challenge took up almost the entire block. We did start with a 1-minute warm-up and 1-minute recovery before we all reset the machines to start the challenge. I kept my resistance level at my base pace level and tried to do intervals with pedaling faster for a bit and then going a bit slower to recovery. I did need to take some breaks to drink water, but I really didn’t take that many. And when we were done, I actually tied my distance from my last attempt which was much better than I expected!

On the rower, we started with a 400-meter row and did lunges after that. We continued to alternate between rowing and lunges but we decreased the row by 50 meters each time. The row wasn’t supposed to be too hard since people who started on the rower would be doing the row before the benchmark, and I was glad that it wasn’t too hard so I could feel like I could do it.

And the floor was also a bit easier since 2 groups in the class would do it before the benchmark. We had one long block with 3 mini-blocks of 2 exercises each in it. We did each mini-block 2 times before moving to the next one. We had mini-band walkouts and squats to leg lifts, lunges to plank walkouts, and step downs and toe taps. For the step downs, I was able to lower the bench so I could try to do them instead of doing a different exercise. I still went really slow and had to take time to find my balance, but I’m glad I went for it.

Friday’s workout was a repeat class I had done in the first half of the month. I will say, I do like this format with repeating workouts so I can compare how I did a few weeks ago to now. I might not have a ton of improvement, but I do notice where things are better for me or where I was able to push myself a bit more. And this class had an extra bonus. One of the coaches that I have known since almost when I started at Orangetheory but who I hadn’t seen in years was taking class! It was so awesome to get to see him again and I was so happy to have a little random mini-reunion!

For this workout, we had 2 blocks for cardio with hill intervals. Everything except the all-outs were 1-minute long. For each block we had 3 rounds of a 1-minute hill and then 1-minute with no incline but they were all at base pace. And the hill/resistance level increased each time. But the first block was a slightly higher hill so the second block was a little easier. And after 3 rounds of the intervals, we had a 30-second all-out at the end. The hills were mostly at resistance levels that are higher than what I usually use, but since I’ve had to do that a lot recently, it was a bit easier. It’s still really tough, but I can see how I might need to increase the levels I use soon.

On the rower, we had one long block. We started with 2 rounds of a 400-meter row with lateral hops and high knees after each row. Then we had an 800-meter row, which ended up being the last thing that I got to do in the block. I was feeling a lot better and I think I’m almost fully recovered, but my rowing is always the part of the workout where I feel I have the most setbacks and hardest time getting back to where I was.

And on the floor, we had 2 blocks. The first block had push-ups, squats, bicep curls, and pull-ups on the straps (which I did as high and low rows on the straps). And the second block had chest presses and squat jumps (which I did as squats with calf raises). I did my push-ups as reverse push-ups so I made sure my chest touched the floor, which makes them harder. And I did try to go heavy with the weights for my chest press.

I’ve now done a full month with my workouts being on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday becuase of my move; and I think I’m going to stick with this for a bit longer. There is a week coming up where I will have to adjust things based on my schedule, but I am liking having all my workouts done during the week and not feeling like I’m using up so much of my Saturdays with a later workout. If the workout was a little earlier (or I didn’t work on Saturdays), maybe I would feel different. I know I was going back and forth with doing all weekday workouts and I’m glad I was almost forced into it for this month so I could really see how I feel about them.

And hopefully this coming week will have even less pain during my workouts and I can really feel like it’s a normal workout week again.

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