Tag Archives: Orangetheory

Considering the things I was worried about regarding this past week of workouts, I’m pretty happy with how things went. I knew that my pain and nausea might be kicking in, which is always a challenge. I also was going to work with a new workout schedule and had no clue if I’d be able to manage that. But even with those challenges, I think this past week was a real win!

Monday’s workout was a strength-based class. It was also the first class with the new class schedule. While I like that the class I attend is a bit later so I could sleep a little longer each morning if I wanted to (but I haven’t done that yet), it does make it a bit close for having time to get ready before work. My new class time ends 30 minutes before I have to log in for work. So I decided that if I left before stretching, I could test out if the new time worked or if I had to find a new time for a bit.

The cardio had 2 blocks, both with hills. The blocks were almost identical starting with a push pace, going to a hull, and ending with an all-out. The difference was that the inclines/resistance levels in the first block increased during the hill and in the second block they decreased. I did use the correct resistance levels for the hills, even though it was really hard for me to pedal at the highest levels.

On the rower, we also had 2 blocks. The first block started with a 1-minute row followed by lunges with overhead triceps using a medicine ball. Then the row decreased by 15 seconds each round. And the second block started with a 15-second row followed by lunges with rainbows using a medicine ball. Then the row increased by 15-seconds each round. This was a good challenge for me to work on my rowing endurance, but it was still tough to do the longer rows. But I can feel like I’m getting back there.

And the floor also had 2 blocks, with a focus using the Bosu. The first block had shoulder presses, pullovers, and bicycle crunches all on the Bosu. I was struggling to balance for the shoulder presses, so I kneeled on the floor for them. The second block had single-arm presses on the Bosu, standing upright rows, and Spiderman planks.

And like I planned, I rushed out of class before the stretching and did have just enough time to shower and get dressed before logging in for work. It did cut it close, but I think this will work until the next time the class times change.

Wednesday’s workout was extra special because it was my first post-pandemic workout with one of my pre-pandemic workout buddies! My friend Erin, who has been doing my hair for a little over a year, was returning to OTF and was in the same class as me. I’ve already shared how happy I am to have some of my normal routine back in my life, and having a friend in class is an added bonus and makes things feel even more like they used to!

The workout was a mix of endurance, strength, and power and everything was about 45-second intervals.

For cardio, we started with a 45-second push, 45-second base at an incline, 45-second all-out, 45-second recovery, and a 45-second all-out. We repeated this a total of 3 times but the incline went down each round. And all the end we had one more 45-second all-out. I liked the short intervals because I felt like I could really push myself with the resistance levels and go fast for the all-outs. But the recovery times were short and I was really tired at the end.

The rowing started with a 45-second row followed by another 45-second row where we were supposed to keep the wattage the same but slow down our rowing speed (focusing more on power from our legs). Then we had 45-seconds to recover followed by 45-seconds of squat jacks. The squat jacks were tough for me. My hip popped out, which isn’t that unusual. But I couldn’t get it popped back in again which was frustrating. We repeated this pattern for a total of 3 rounds.

And on the floor, it wasn’t exactly 45-second intervals but it was a mix of 45-second intervals with 2 1/4 minute intervals. For the 2 1/4 minute parts, we had lateral lunges, deadlifts, and plank low rows. When that time was done, we stopped wherever we were and had 45-seconds of speed skaters. Then we had another 2 1/4 section where we picked up where we had left off. My hip continued to bug me while I was on the floor, but this is something I have dealt with for so many years, so I know how to work around it.

Friday’s workout wasn’t a bad hip day, but I started to have to deal with nausea. I did take my medications before the workout, but they weren’t really kicking in. The workout was strength-based, so I knew there would be a lot of work with the resistance levels for the bike. So I focused more on that than anything else.

The first cardio block was on our own. We had a distance to do on a hill and then repeated it with a bigger hill. I only made it through 3 rounds before that block ended. The second block was similar, but we were timed instead of doing the distance on our own. We had 3 hills and they went down each round.

The two row blocks were similar, with a focus on doing 100-meter rows. The first block had the rows with squat to presses, front raises, and regular squats using a medicine ball. The second block had the rows with bicep curls, tricep extensions. and calf raises with a medicine ball. My rows weren’t that great, but I tried to use as much power as I could. And for my last row of the second block, I went all out and got my wattage to be higher than it’s been since I started back and close to one of my highest numbers ever!

And on the floor, we had a focus on the upper body. The first block had single-arm chest presses, pullovers, and plank pull-throughs. The second block had single-arm low rows, push-ups, and shoulder presses. For any of the face down exercises, I used the bench so that I wasn’t feeling extra nauseous. It helped, but it was still tough getting through the floor blocks.

I was feeling a little better on Saturday, but I was still pretty nauseous. I knew that it would be another workout where I had to use a bunch of modifications and take it easier than I would like to. But I still managed to find ways to challenge myself a bit.

The cardio work had 3 blocks that were all 4 minutes long. Each block had a push pace, base, all-out, recovery, and all-out. But the push got shorter with each block and the base and recovery got longer with each block. I tried to pedal faster for the push and all-out segments, but I think I was really pedaling about the same speed the entire time. I tried to be ok with that and told myself that it was important to just keep moving, but it’s hard when I know I want to keep improving.

The rowing was also 3 blocks that were 4 minutes each. Each block started with a row and then had squats and lunges. The first block was a 400-meter row with 16 squats and lunges. The second block was a 300-meter row and had 2 rounds of 8 squats and lunges. And the last block had a 200-meter row with 3 rounds of 6 squats and lunges. And after the squats and lunges, we were supposed to row for distance. I only made it to the row for distance part in the first block, but I am proud of myself for rowing every distance without needing a break. And for the 200-meter row, I decided to fully go for it and was able to do the row only 7 seconds longer than my PR! I think that was the closest I’ve had to my old rowing ability since I started back!

And the floor was one long block. We had single-arm snatches, pullups on the straps, plank jacks, sit-ups, hammer curls, and bridge rows on the straps. I didn’t go super heavy on the weights because the 200-meter row from the row block really took it out of me. But I did try. And for the plank jacks, I used the bench for my hands so I wasn’t face down. I had to modify both of the strap exercises, both for nausea reasons and because my hip was starting to bug me again. But considering what I thought I’d have to do, I didn’t do that many modifications and that was a nice feeling!

This week will probably be another week with pain and nausea and I’m trying to see if I can do anything to make it easier on me. I am working on taking my meds before class and seeing if the timing of the medications might change anything. And I’m going to continue going to the class time that is a little later, even though I have to rush to get home and logged in for work. I’ll probably keep that time until they change the schedule again (and I hope they make the class either back to the other time or split the difference). I can make it work even though it’s not ideal. But even with any changes I have to make to make that time work, it’s completely worth it because I’m still so happy every time I get to go into the studio to work out.

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I’m really feeling like I’m back in my routine and groove with my workouts. Most of my fears about being back at Orangetheory are gone. I do still struggle with feeling like I should be doing more or better, but I’m getting used to my current abilities and finding ways to challenge myself to get back to where I was a year ago. And like I’ve said so many times, having this routine has been so good for me both physically and mentally. Even with having a tough workout week this past week, I still feel so accomplished with what I did.

Monday’s workout had a bit of a surprise for me. One of my coaches from before the pandemic, Tyler, was back! I had no idea that he was back and coaching that morning, so it was a great surprise for me and I loved that it made the workout even more familiar to me. It seems like each week I have something else that makes the workouts feel more like they did before and having a familiar coach did that on Monday.

The workout was power based and we had 3 blocks at each section of the room. For cardio, we had a lot of all-outs with each block that were either 1-minute or 30-seconds. I didn’t do too much with the resistance levels because I wanted to work on getting my cadence up more, and I felt like I was really close to my old speed at some moments.

On the rower, the first two blocks had rows with medicine ball exercises. The first block started at a 100-meter row and increased 50 meters each round. And the second block started at a 250-meter row and decreased 50 meters each round. And between each row, we had squats with medicine ball front presses. And the last block matched the treadmills with a 30-second all-out, 30-second recovery, and 30-second all-out. And for that last 30-second all-out, I was finally able to get my wattage above 100. That’s been a challenge for me and I was so happy that I had a few moments when I was able to make that happen.

And on the floor, it was a lot of burpee work. The first block had burpees with hop overs, step-ups with weights (which I did as lunges with weights), and mountain climbers. The second block had rolling burpees (which I split into sit-ups and regular burpees), full thrusters with weights, and power sit-ups. And the last block, which was 90-seconds, was just all burpees. I did all the burpees using the bench, which helped a bit, but there were a lot and they were tough!

Wednesday’s workout was a benchmark workout: the 2,000-meter row. This is probably the hardest benchmark for me to do and I knew that I was going to struggle a lot. I didn’t look at my past times for the benchmark and I knew that there was no chance I would randomly PR. I just wanted to do what I could and take it from there.

Before the benchmark, I had cardio. But they kept the cardio a bit easier to make sure we weren’t too tired by the time we were on the rower. It was a single block where the treadmills had .25 mile runs (for me on the bike, it was 1 mile each time). And then we had a minute to recover after each time. I know I could have gone harder or faster, but I also didn’t want to burn out before the rower.

When I got to the rower, I had a few goals in mind. My biggest goal was to see if I could do the entire row without taking a break. My slightly easier goal was to only take breaks every 500-meters. And my easiest goal was to complete the row before the block ended (but I knew I could keep going if I wasn’t finished in time). I knew that doing the entire row without a break was going to be close to impossible, but I was proud of myself that I waited until I passed the 500-meter mark before taking my first break. But after that, I couldn’t maintain only taking breaks every 500-meters. I honestly took more breaks than I would have liked. But I was struggling so much and I needed to get myself together before rowing some more. In the end, I did finish before the block was done, so at least I met that goal. I was about 2 1/2 minutes off of my PR, which I don’t think is that bad. I was away from the rower for over a year and only back for a few weeks. I don’t know if I could have expected much more than what I did.

And on the floor, things weren’t too crazy (since some people had the floor block before rowing). We had lunges with weights, alligators on the straps, plank taps, sit-ups, and side lunges with upright rows. I was really tired after the benchmark, so I was taking a lot of breaks on the floor too. But I tried to take breaks only after I finished all the reps for one exercise. And I was able to do that so I consider that a win too.

Friday’s workout was a struggle. I was feeling really lightheaded and had a stomach ache. I wasn’t sick, but I wondered if maybe I had eaten something the night before that didn’t agree with me. But between that and feeling like I still needed to recover from the 2,000-meter row, I took the workout a bit easier than normal. Each section of the room had 4 blocks. 2 blocks were 4 1/2 minutes, 1 block was 1-minute, and 1 block was 30-seconds.

For cardio, the longer blocks had push paces with base paces after. And we had an all-out to end the block. The first 4 1/2 minute block had a 1-minute all out and the second had a 30-second all-out. I didn’t do too much with the resistance levels, but I did increase for the push paces in the first block. The 1-minute block was a 1-minute all out and the 30-second block was a 30-second all-out.

On the rower, the longer blocks were a mix of rowing and squats. The first longer block had timed rows and we did either a 1-minute or 30-second row. And the second longer block had distance rows with either 300-meter or 150-meters. Between each time or distance row, we had squat jacks, which I modified to be regular squats. And just like with cardio, the 1-minute block was a 1-minute all-out row and the 30-second block was a 30-second all-out row. I was having a lot of trouble catching my breath on the rower. I was coughing a lot (something I’ve dealt with for several years now) and I took breaks when needed when I was feeling a bit more light-headed. I also made sure to drink more water than I normally do in a workout in case I was dehydrated.

And on the floor, the first long block had lateral lunges with either a single-arm thruster or a hop plus plank punches. And the second long block had goblet squats, regular squats, and plank rotations. The goblet squats were probably my favorite because I know I can use a heavy weight for those. It wasn’t my best weight for those squats, but I did get to pull the weight from the heavy weight rack. And the 1-minute block had frogger squats and the 30-second block had jump squats. I modified both of those to be calf raises instead of the jumps.

Saturday’s workout was a mix of power and strength. Whatever issues I had on Friday were gone so I was able to push myself a lot. And I had multiple opportunities to do that for cardio.

The cardio block was pretty much on our own. We were supposed to start at an incline/resistance level and then bring it down each round. And each round was a mix of all-outs and recoveries. We started with a 30-second all-out and 30-second recovery. Then we had an all-out for as long as we could hold it before another 30-second recovery. Then one more all-out for as long as we could go before having a 1-minute recovery and then bringing down the incline/resistance. I did start the resistance level higher than I normally do for my all-outs when I use the resistance for them. And when I did the all-outs for as long as I could go, I typically went about 45-seconds before needing to recover. I think that’s pretty good and it was nice testing out a lot of different resistance levels on the bike.

For the rower, it was all about sprints and recovery. We had rounds of 10 all-out pulls on the rower before having 5 pulls of a recovery. After doing that a few times, we had either overhead presses or front presses with the medicine ball. I really tried to go hard with my all-outs rows since I knew they were going to be over really quickly. I didn’t go as hard as I would have liked to, but I was getting better at making sure I focus on pushing back with my legs and not using my back as much.

And on the floor, we had 2 blocks that each had 2 exercises. The first block had rows with weights and then chest presses on the straps. And the second block had chest presses with weight and rows on the straps. And for both blocks, the exercise with the weights was done until we couldn’t do them anymore. We were supposed to push ourselves and then take a little break before pushing some more. I was trying to go a bit heavy with the weights, so I usually had to stop after 5 or 6 reps. But I felt really good about what I did because I pushed myself with the weights.

Even though I feel like I’m in a good routine again with my workouts, just like it always happens, my routine is going to have to change. The workout times are shifting a bit at the studio, and right now I’m not sure which morning class I’ll be taking. As you all are reading this, I’m trying to see if the morning class that is closest to what I was doing will work for me to get home and shower before work. It’s going to be really close. If that doesn’t work, I may have to start going to workouts at 6am! I’m hoping I don’t have to do that because I don’t want to get up that early. But I will do it if that’s what it takes. I guess I’ll report back next week on how this week goes!

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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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This past week of workouts was my first full week back at Orangetheory in the studio! After having 2 workouts in the studio the week before, I was excited to be back for all 4 workouts. I had some moments I was worried that doing 4 would be too tough (for a while in the beginning, I was only doing 3 workouts a week at Orangetheory before bumping it up), but I also knew that I had been doing 4 workouts a week at home. So I wasn’t starting over and couldn’t really compare things to how I felt before I took my first Orangetheory class ever. I did have a little bit of soreness from the week before, and I knew this week would also be the week I would be starting to deal with pain and nausea. But I was ready for it and jumped into the week full force!

Going in for my workout on Monday was such a great way to start my week. Even though I’ve been working out at home on Mondays, going into the studio is a different feeling. And this time, I also got to work out with a coach that I used to work out with before the studios shut down! There’s something awesome about having a coach I knew and having the class be even more like what I was used to before.

The workout was an endurance-based class and it was a real challenge for me. I know that building up my endurance is so important, but I’m just not where I wish I was during the workout. The cardio and rower did the same plan. We had 2 blocks and each block had 3 rounds of 90-second endurance challenges. On cardio, the last 90-second challenge of each block was actually a 60-second push and 30-second all-out. The rower didn’t have the all-outs.

I’m still getting used to being back on the bike, so I had to take breaks to stand on the bike and not have some of the pain I feel sitting on it. I did try to increase the resistance for some of the pushes, but I focused more on my cadence than the resistance. And on the rower, I really just tried to row as long as I could each time. I wasn’t always able to do the full 90-seconds each time, but that was the goal. I tried to work on my form a bit more too since I know that wasn’t something I have been able to do in a while. I think that my form was a bit better than the week before, and I expect that it will just continue to get better as I have more classes back.

And on the floor, it was also 2 blocks. Things were pretty focused on lower body work. We had a lot of lunges and deadlifts of different styles. I had to test out a bunch of different weights to see what felt right to me. I also want to make sure that I’m pushing myself too. It’s a tough balance to figure out what is heavy because it’s pushing me and what is heavy because it’s too heavy and my form will be bad. But I was better at not judging myself as much for not being able to use the weights that I’m used to.

Wednesday’s workout was interesting for a few different reasons. First, it was my first workout back where I had to deal with pain and nausea. Even though I have been dealing with it for my home workouts, it’s different dealing with it when I’m in the studio. And also, I bought some mask brackets to see if it would make working out in a mask a bit easier. It hadn’t been hard to work out in a mask, but there were plenty of times that I felt like I was eating my mask and I didn’t like that feeling.

The workout was a power day and there were 3 blocks for cardio and rowing and 2 blocks on the floor. For cardio, we had 2 blocks that started with a push to an all-out pace and then 2 more all-outs after that. And the last block was 3 all-outs that decreased in length each time. I focused mainly on cadence and pedaling fast and didn’t worry about using the resistance on the bike. I’m slowly getting more and more comfortable on the bike, so I think it won’t be that much longer before I’m back to working with the resistance more often. And overall, I felt really great about the work I did on the bike. I know I pushed myself more than I had in the past few workouts and I lucked out that my pain and nausea didn’t really affect that part of the workout too much.

On the rower, the first block was increasing rows with jumping jacks between each row. We started with a 100-meter row and increased by 50 meters each time. And my 100-meter row went really well! I wasn’t as fast as I was pre-pandemic, but I wasn’t that far off. I impressed myself quite a bit! The jumping jacks had to be modified because my nausea really was hitting me during the row. The second block was decreasing rows and I didn’t do as well as I did in the first block because I still don’t have rowing endurance. But I tried. And the last block was working with the treadmills and again, my lack of endurance on the rower affected what I could do. But I still noticed that I was doing better than I over the past week, so that was good.

And on the floor, I really struggled because my pain and nausea really kicked in. I didn’t take any medication before my workout and I really should have done that. But I still tried my best. The first block was upper body work with single-arm presses and bicep curls, which went ok for me. The second block had push-ups, bench sit-ups to squats, mountain climbers, and triceps on the straps (my first time using the TRX straps in over a year!). I had to take a lot of breaks to deal with the pain and nausea, but I still got 2 full rounds in and a bit of a 3rd round done before time was called and the workout was over.

Even though my pain and nausea were worse on Friday, I remembered to take my meds before my workout. They didn’t kick in right away, so my workout started feeling really rough but it did get a little better throughout class.

The workout was a strength workout with lots of incline work for cardio. We had no walking recovery during the entire cardio time, which also made things a bit harder. We did have some flat incline work, but that’s not the same as recovery. We had 3 rounds of hills. The first round was 1-minute at each incline, the second round was 45-seconds at each incline, and the last round was 30-seconds at each incline. So it did get a little easier each round even though the inclines went up a bit each time. And I did work with the resistance levels on the bike. It made it tough with the nausea, but I’m glad I did it because it was a good challenge for me.

On the rower, it was all about stroke drills. We always had 15 strokes every time on the rower with a medicine ball exercise between each round. The medicine ball exercises were supposed to be done while balancing on one leg, but I wasn’t able to do that so I did them with both feet down. We had tricep extensions and front presses. For the stroke drills, I was pretty good at doing these before the pandemic and I was glad to see that I’m still pretty decent at them now. It can be tough to make sure I go slow enough to fully take advantage of the exercise, and while I wasn’t as slow as I know I can go I was doing ok.

And on the floor, it was also one long block but broken into 2 sections. The first section had chest presses on the bench, chest presses on the straps, and bird dogs on the floor. And the second section had regular squats, single-leg squats on the straps, and alternating leg lifts. I did have a little bit of trouble with the bird dogs since those aren’t as easy to modify, but I was able to modify the leg lifts so I did them on the bench and they didn’t make my nausea that much worse. And while I wasn’t using the same weights I used to use before the pandemic, they are getting closer to what I used to do!

And on Saturday, we had another strength workout. And I was feeling a bit better than I was on Wednesday and Friday, so that was good. I still took meds before my workout just in case, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be that day.

For cardio, we had 2 pretty similar blocks. They both had 3 different inclines for 1-minute each. But the first block was increasing inclines and the second block was decreasing inclines. And again, just like on Friday, I did work with the resistance levels on the bike. They were getting a bit easier the more I use them, but I also am noticing more soreness as I use them. So I’m still finding the best way to get back to what I used to do on the bike. But it’s really nice that I’m seeing a lot of progress after just a week back!

The rower also had 2 similar blocks. The first block was rounds of a 300-meter row at specific stoke rates with 2 medicine ball exercises between each row. We had ground to presses and isolated squat raises. I was using a lighter medicine ball than I’m used to, but that wasn’t something I planned. I didn’t notice how light the medicine ball was until I was almost done with the second block. And the second block was just like the first except the rowing was for 1-minute instead. I’m slowly noticing my endurance on the rower getting better. I still struggle at times when I know I used to be able to row longer, but it’s getting better each class. I know we have a 2,000-meter row benchmark coming up (although I don’t know if I’ll be at class that day) and I would love to be able to do that with minimal breaks if I could.

And the floor was also 2 blocks. Both blocks were all weight work. The first block was uppercuts, chest flys, and pullovers. And the second block was bent over rows (which I modified to use the bench for my weights), scaptions, and tricep extensions. My arms were definitely sore after this workout, but I really am proud of being sore without hurting. It’s a sign that I’m working hard and pushing myself but not overdoing it. And that was something I was worried about before I was back to the studio.

For being my first week back in the studio, I think I did a great job! And considering that I spent most of the week dealing with pain and nausea, I’m even more proud of myself! I had what could have been a really tough week and I didn’t let that hold me back. I still pushed myself and I know I worked hard. And seeing my progress in such a short time is such great motivation for me. I will still possibly be dealing with some pain and nausea this week, but I’m already looking forward to what I will be able to do. Each class is making me feel more and more like my old self, and it’s a feeling that I’ve needed for so long. And I’m so grateful to be back. Every time I see my name on the heart rate board, it makes me smile because I know I’m doing something amazing for myself and it gets me ready to work hard!

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This past week of workouts was pretty much like what the last several weeks of workouts were like. I still did the same basic weightlifting routine that I’ve been doing. I’ve been making little tweaks and changes here and there, but I’m following along pretty closely to what the plan says. I’ve said this before, but it’s basic but easy for me to accomplish. And I can make modifications when I need to or when I feel like doing a different exercise.

And like I’ve said several times before, while this isn’t necessarily the best workout plan for me it is one that I am doing. And doing something is much better than doing nothing. And I have been continuing to do 4 workouts a week, which is something that I know I should be proud of. Keeping up a regular workout routine is hard enough at times. Keeping it up when I’m doing workouts at home when nobody is holding me accountable is even harder. But I don’t want to make it seem like I’m doing anything really great. I know that I’m not pushing myself that much. I know that my workouts are a fraction of what I probably should be doing. And I know that when I get back to Orangetheory, it’s going to be a hard adjustment to get back to such tough workouts.

And I’m really hoping I’m going to be back at Orangetheory very soon!

The studio is going to be reopening at the end of this week! This is the news I’ve been waiting on and have been hoping for. When I was writing last week about how I hadn’t started the outdoor workouts, I was hoping I wouldn’t be waiting for that much longer before my studio was open again. I knew that more studios would be opening soon, but there are a lot of studios in LA and there was no way for us to know which locations were going to be the next in line to open. But last week, they announced that the Culver City studio would be opening up this week and I was so excited!

The fears I had about maybe not wanting to go back because of how hard the workouts would be didn’t happen at all. And I was waiting for the schedule to be posted to see when I could figure out the best workout times for me. As I’m writing this post, I know what times I want to work out, but there is some glitch not allowing me to sign up for classes. I’m hoping this will be fixed soon so I can get into class. And I know there is a chance that the times I would prefer to go won’t be available, but I also have some options that I can do even if they aren’t the most ideal time for me.

In a perfect world, as soon as the studio is open I would do all 4 workouts each week there. But I don’t know if that will be possible just yet. Partially due to how I’m going to feel (I might want 1 day a week at home to ease into things), but also partially due to how many others are signing up for class. Even with the flexibility that I have, there is still a possibility that there won’t be options that work for me and I’ll only get into a few classes in the studio. But I know that I can make that work if I have to.

Hopefully, everything works out and I’m able to get into the classes that I want to. And my post next week will be some home workouts (before the studio is open) and then some studio workouts! I have missed my workouts and coaches so much and I can’t believe that I might be back soon! I’ve been waiting on this for over a year now, and it’s so exciting that it’s almost here.

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This past week of workouts was a weird one. I did have a little pain and nausea that I had to deal with at the beginning of the week, but that was tolerable and normal enough for me to deal with. But for a good chunk of the past year, I told myself that I would go back to the workouts at Orangetheory (whether they were in the studio or outdoors) once I was considered fully vaccinated. And as of Sunday the 4th, I’m considered fully vaccinated. Yet, I’m still working out at home.

First, a quick recap on my workouts. I’m still doing the same weightlifting/strength plan that I’ve been doing for a while now. I am making some modifications and adding different exercises from time to time. One great thing about my history with Orangetheory is that I know a lot of different exercises that I’ve done in workouts. So while I don’t have a perfect knowledge of all exercises, I have a lot that I can pull from. So if I don’t feel like doing one type of squats, I know a ton of other squats I can do instead. And I’ve been trying to get through this workout routine in about 30 minutes each time. This isn’t to get it over with, but to make sure I’m moving quickly and not taking a lot of breaks. This way, I can get my heart rate up and get a little cardio in with the weightlifting.

I’m happy enough with this workout plan. It’s not great or perfect, but it’s doable. It allows me to not have to think too much each morning. And not having to plan and think about my workout is something I love about Orangetheory. They do all the planning work and I just have to follow along. And I know that I could do different workout videos that I have saved on a playlist, but I also would have to pick which one to do. So not having to make any decisions before I start is working for me. I do feel a bit stuck, but that feeling isn’t too bad and I think it’s worth having that feeling for the ease I feel sticking with this routine.

But I am very ready to get back to Orangetheory. I miss so much about my classes. I miss feeling like I’m working hard and part of a community. I miss my workout friends (although sadly, some have moved away so they won’t be in class with me when we are all back). I miss the transformation I was feeling in my body. I miss feeling like I’m doing something great for my physical and mental health. So that’s why for so long I said that as soon as I was fully vaccinated I would be back.

Then this week happened and I still wasn’t back.

And honestly, the reasons I’m not back are excuses that I could work through. There are 2 locations that are open not too far away from me that are open. One of them is doing outdoor workouts and one is now in the studio. But they aren’t the studios near my house and the times I’d have to work out would be affected by the drive there and back. I don’t feel like I want to work out at 6am to get a workout in before work. And while I might have to accept one day that I need to do afternoon workouts again, doing an afternoon one at the open studios would mean I would have to deal with rush hour traffic going home. The drive to those locations in normal time would probably be about 15 minutes. In rush hour, it can be over an hour. I could deal with that, but I don’t want to. They haven’t announced when the studio by my house will be opening, but I’m hoping it will be later this month. If it isn’t open soon, then I know I will have to figure out a way to make those workout times work for me.

But I’m also a bit scared to go back. I’ve shared several times before that I know I’m not in the same shape that I was a year ago when things shut down. I understand that this is not the worst thing ever and that a lot of people had the same problem. But I’m still embarrassed and ashamed about this. And when I go back to the workouts, I will have to confront this feeling head-on. It’s easier for me to ignore this when I’m doing my workouts at home because they are different from Orangetheory. But when I’m doing what I used to do, I will be comparing myself to myself a year ago.

And I think I also don’t want to deal with another change right now. If my regular studio was open, I would feel like I was getting back something that I didn’t have the past year. Even though the workout is the same, going to a new studio is different and I’m worried that I might still have the feeling that I’m missing my regular studio and routine. I know this one is a bit of a stupid excuse, but there are so many things we’ve all given up this past year and are hoping to get back. I just want to have my regular studio back. I want my old routine back (even though I know it will have to change because of my new work schedule).

So for now, I’m in a bit of a holding pattern with my plan to go back. I could go back whenever I feel ready. Right now, I’m feeling like that will be when the studio near my house is open. But if that one opens and I still have excuses, then I will need to work through this a lot more. That would mean I’m avoiding things and I don’t want that to be true. But I don’t really feel like I’m avoiding Orangetheory, I just want to have things feel normal and what they were like before.

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