Tag Archives: Orangetheory

Making Home Workouts Feel A Bit More Like Studio Ones (or I Do Still Wish I Was In-Studio)

Posted on July 13, 2020 | Comments Off on Making Home Workouts Feel A Bit More Like Studio Ones (or I Do Still Wish I Was In-Studio)

This past week was supposed to be the week I went back to Orangetheory to have in-studio workouts. I had been so excited to be going back, but I also understood when they had to announce that the re-opening had to be postponed. I’m so grateful that they are more concerned about safety and health than rushing to re-open so they can have business again. And as I get to 4 months of home workouts, I’ve got the routine down. I have gotten some things that make my workouts better, but for the most part, I have a system each time.

And I noticed that whenever I would start a home workout in the OTF app, it would try to connect to my heart rate monitor but couldn’t find it. I couldn’t figure out why because it was connected to my device and I was using it on another app. After the first few home workouts, I just gave up on it and didn’t bother. But for some reason, this past week I decided to figure it out and see what I could do.

It ended up being a really simple fix (even though my monitor was connected to my device, I needed it to also be connected to the app). And I’m so glad that I did it. Because now, when I do my workouts at home I can see my heart rate information on the screen. It’s so much more like being in the studio.

And this is really a big difference for me. Even though I have an idea of what my heart rate is or what zone I’m in based on how I feel, I like having the data and information to track it too. It holds me more accountable for my work and gets me to push myself if I’m close to the orange zone. I know that having it on the screen doesn’t necessarily change my heart rate, but it changes my work and that can change my heart rate.

I did really notice a change in my workouts this week. I was going harder. I was more aware of what I was doing and if I was pushing myself enough. It almost made me feel like I was being coached because there was no denying my heart rate numbers. If I thought I was doing enough but my heart rate was really low, I knew that I wasn’t doing what I should.

And just like the week before, I felt it after each workout. I was sweating so much and was sore after each one. I really tried to step things up a bit and seeing my heart rate on the screen really helped me to do that. And I’m glad I had 2 good weeks in a row because I’m coming up on when I will likely have bad weeks. As always, I’m trying to be optimistic and hope I’ll feel fine. But I’m also realistic. I know it’s very likely that I won’t be feeling great. But I’m also thinking that having my heart rate visible to me the entire workout will make me feel a bit better about having a harder time in my workout. It’s a sign of what I am doing even if I don’t feel like I’m doing much.

I’m still working on improving my home gym equipment and figuring out what I want to spend money on to have in my house. I have so many ideas. I’m just lacking in space and money and the inventory of some things is lacking too. But I’m dedicating some time this week to look online and make some decisions about what I really want to get. Hopefully soon, I’ll have some new stuff in my house to help my workouts. But at least for now, I have some equipment already here and now I have better monitoring of my heart rate.

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I Guess I’ll Be Working Out At Home A Bit Longer (or Working Out Hard Is Always A Good Thing)

Posted on July 6, 2020 | Comments Off on I Guess I’ll Be Working Out At Home A Bit Longer (or Working Out Hard Is Always A Good Thing)

Last week in my blog post, I wrote about how this past week of workouts was going to be the week I get myself ready to work out in the studio again. I was excited to get back to more normal workouts for me and I was ready to see my friends and my coaches again. I was a bit nervous about going back, but the excitement outweighed the nerves and I was feeling like this was going to be a good thing for me.

And when I started my workout week last week, that’s exactly the mindset I had. I was working hard during my home workouts. I feel like I was doing a lot more than I ever had. It wasn’t that I was necessarily slacking off while working out at home, but this past week brought things to a new level. I was sore, but that soreness made me very happy. I was counting down the days until this week when I was supposed to be back in the studios.

But I was still a bit nervous about going back. Cases of COVID have been increasing, but with the safety measures that Orangetheory was taking, it seemed like it would be as safe as possible. I even started to see some articles saying how going to the gym could be good as long as certain precautions were taken. And everything on those lists was things that OTF was going to do. Plus they were doing things above and beyond what was on the list. I was also starting to get a bit nervous because the workout-specific masks I ordered hadn’t arrived yet. I knew they might be delayed, but I wanted to have them in time for my first in-studio workout.

Then, things changed. First, I got an email that my masks wouldn’t be arriving on time. This was disappointing, but not the worst thing since I have other masks I could use for working out (they just wouldn’t be the most ideal masks to sweat in). Then, the rules about how gyms could reopen changed. Originally, they didn’t require masks. Then they said they would require them for the entire time someone was inside a gym. That was fine with me since it’s what I was planning on doing. But then they added a rule that full gloves would be required at gyms. I wear workout gloves, but they don’t cover my entire hand. My palms and fingertips are exposed. I know they make full-hand workout gloves, but I didn’t want to buy those. And wearing nitrile gloves while working out didn’t seem like something I would like. The sweat would get in the gloves and I could see how it could make holding onto things harder.

I started to wonder if I should go back to studio workouts. My original plan was to go 3 days a week and then do 1 day at home. Then I switched that around and picked 1 day to go to the studio and was going to do the rest at home. I figured I could see how I liked working out in the studio with the new rules and if I didn’t like it I would just go back to doing them all at home. But soon after the rule about wearing full gloves was announced for Los Angeles, I didn’t have to worry about if I should go to the studios or not. Because the reopening of the studios in LA was pushed back.

I know this was a hard decision for the owners, but it was the right choice. This is about the safety of the members and staff. And even with all the precautions, there is still a risk. And the safest thing to do would be to not reopen until they feel confident that they could reopen safely for everyone.

I was disappointed because I was so excited about getting back to my normal workouts, but I understood why they made this choice. It wouldn’t be easy for everyone to work out with a mask and full gloves. A lot of people don’t have gloves (and they aren’t easy to find right now) and they didn’t have a stockpile of gloves to give some to every member for every class. But most importantly, as I said, this was about safety. And I find it admirable that the owners care more about safety than reopening and making money (while the studios are closed, all memberships are frozen so we are not paying).

I’m still really proud of the workouts I did at home this past week. Even though I won’t be back in the studio this week to show off what I’ve been able to do at home, there are no negatives to working out hard. And I’m glad I pushed myself because I did need to do that. I haven’t had a lot of great workout weeks at home, so anytime I can have one I need to take advantage of it. And I’m hoping that this week I will have another great workout week at home.

I’m still hopeful that the studios will be reopening in the near future. Nobody knows when it will be safer for us to be back there and there is no timeline just yet for when they may try to reopen again. I know the owners are paying close attention to the numbers of cases and all the new policies that are being announced. And when they feel like they can open the studios and provide the workouts we are used to, then that’s when they will do it.

In the meanwhile, I’m looking again for ways to make my home workouts better. I found a way I could rent a water rower and have added myself to the waitlist for one. I would consider buying a rower, but they take up a lot of space and I don’t know if I’ll want one after I’m back in the studio. So renting would be a great option. Hopefully, they will have one available for me to rent soon. And I’m still looking at other options for different pieces of exercise equipment that would work in my house. I just want to figure out how to keep improving while staying home.

I think I was using the idea of the studios reopening as an excuse to not keep looking for better options. Now, I’m not going to think that way and just figure out how to make my home workouts the best they can. Especially because I’ll be doing these for at least a little while longer.

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Not The Workout Week I Planned On (or Starting To Prepare To Go Back)

Posted on June 29, 2020 | Comments Off on Not The Workout Week I Planned On (or Starting To Prepare To Go Back)

This past week of workouts was not what I expected. I thought it would be a pretty decent week for me, as far as my health goes. I wasn’t expecting to feel any nausea until the end of the week if I felt any. I was excited to see what I’d be able to do.

But my body had other plans.

I wrote about how I got my period very early, so the entire week ended up being pretty rotten. I will say that it was better than it usually is, but this was not what I thought the week would be like. The pain and nausea were there, but I was able to manage it with medication and other remedies I have. The fatigue hit me really hard and that wasn’t easy to get over. I had some serious struggles with the workouts each day, but because I knew what was causing the struggles I wasn’t too frustrated with myself. I wished I could have done better, but I also accept the reality of it.

And I did try to celebrate the workouts that I did do because this past week I completed my 100th Orangetheory class for the year! I’m on track for my goal for the year. Of course, I didn’t expect that I would spend several months doing classes at home. But those still count to me, so I’m excited that I’ve been making steady progress toward my goal for the year.

But soon, I might not be working out at home. As I’ve shared before, the studios are getting ready to reopen. The reopening date is a week away. And while I’ve been hesitant about if I’d go back right away, I spoke to my family who is in medicine and they think it should be fine with the precautions that the studios are taking. Classes were posted in the app at the end of the week last week so we could start booking classes, and I got myself into a few of them.

The class times aren’t the times that I usually go. They are doing a different schedule because they are allowing 30 minutes between classes to disinfect everything. And I have the flexibility with my schedule right now since I’m not working much. So I’m not doing classes as early as I normally go. But I probably will also need the extra time to get ready since I’m so used to only having to walk into my living room to work out.

My regular workout schedule is Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. And that’s the schedule I’ve kept while working out at home. But because I know things will be harder in the studio, I have decided to start with 3 days in the studio and 1 day at home. Hopefully, this helps me ease back into my workouts and I don’t get too overwhelmed or too sore.

I will have some new struggles when getting back to the studio besides being weaker than normal. Some of it will be the stress and anxiety about being back and being worried if I’m making the right choice. But I feel pretty comfortable that I am and I know that if anything changes that I can cancel the classes I booked and just do the workouts at home. But the thing I think will be the hardest will be working out in a mask. I did order some fitness-specific masks (I don’t want to use a cotton one as it will be gross when I sweat). And I have heard from people that it isn’t too hard working out in a mask, but you never know. Hopefully, the masks I ordered get here soon so I can do a workout at home with them first.

Since I plan on being back in the studio in a week, this week I’m really hoping to push myself. I want to be in the best place possible when I get back to the studio. I want to be proud of what I was able to do at home, even when I struggled. But no matter what, I am seriously proud of myself for not giving up when it would have been very easy to do so.

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Another Mixed Motivation Week (or I Might Be Almost Done With At-Home Workouts)

Posted on June 22, 2020 | Comments Off on Another Mixed Motivation Week (or I Might Be Almost Done With At-Home Workouts)

As much as I wanted this past week of workouts to be as good as the week before, it just didn’t happen for me. It wasn’t that I was dealing with physical issues (except that I might have tennis elbow again, but that wasn’t really hurting my workouts). I just wasn’t feeling the workouts. This feeling is something that I have struggled with the entire time I’ve been working out at home.

So much of what I love about going to Orangetheory is being with others. I’ve said this so many times in the past few months, but I crave having my friends and coach cheering me on and encouraging me to keep going or to do more. And it’s not just having the environment of a group workout because I’ve done other workout classes and never felt the same way I feel at OTF. There is something special there and you just can’t replicate it at home.

And I have to repeat again that I know that OTF is doing everything they can to help us with the home workouts. They have created challenges, made sure we had a variety of workouts posted online, and those videos have also been pretty funny with what they use instead of weights (like backpacks filled with things or oversized household objects). OTF was not designed to be done as a video workout, and they have done amazingly well with adapting things and taking suggestions from members and changing the videos based on what we were asking for.

I try to use the idea of going back to the studio as part of my motivation. I don’t want to be starting at square one when I get back there. I don’t think I will be as weak as I was when I started, but I know I won’t be anywhere near as strong as I was when the studios closed. I know my cardio ability is down too, and that’s going to be hard to get used to. So I keep reminding myself about those things to try to push myself harder.

But there is a chance that I won’t be doing all my workouts at home for much longer. I still am undecided about going back right when the studios open, but they do have a reopening date. It’s still 2 weeks away and other gyms are opening sooner, so I should be able to see if there are a lot of outbreaks at gyms. I need to make the choice that will make the most sense for me. For my physical health, I think it’s a coin toss between putting myself at risk and being able to work out better. For my mental health, no question going back to class is better for me.

I know that the studio owners aren’t taking the situation lightly. They have opened studios that they own in other parts of the country so they already had a plan about how to try to make things as safe as possible. I know that there will be empty workout stations so you are never next to someone else. Also, you will be the only person using the equipment at your station. Normally, for example, there is someone on treadmill 1, rower 1, and floor station 1. And when we switch you stay with your number, so 3 people use each thing per class. But when things open, if you are on treadmill 1, there won’t be anyone on rower 1 or floor station 1. They also are adding time between classes so they can do 30 minutes of disinfecting after each class. Originally they said that masks would only be required when you are coming into or leaving class. Now, since masks are required more in CA, I know they are working on changing that policy to be the best policy it can be. But for me, if I return I think I will wear a mask for the entire class. I don’t love the idea of having something on my face getting sweaty while I work out, but if that is what I need to do to feel comfortable working out I will do it. I’m not worried about breathing through the mask, it’s really just the idea of being sweaty that I don’t like.

When the studios open, hopefully I will know more about things so I can decide if I will go or not. I go back and forth on how I feel about it. But I need some actual numbers and evidence from other gyms being open for me to know which way is best for me. I also know that if I decide to go when they open that I don’t have to go for all 4 workouts a week. I will still have the option to work out at home. So maybe I’ll do 2 workouts there and 2 at home. I really don’t know. This is what I have been wanting but at the same time, I’m unprepared for it and don’t know what to do.

Now that there is a real date for when the studios will open, I hope that I feel a bit more motivated at home this week. I know when I could get back into class, and I want to be ready for that. I know that this might not be enough motivation for me to do exactly what I want to do, but I’m going to use it if I feel low at all this week. And hopefully, in a few weeks, I’ll be able to write about having a mix of studio and home workouts. And one day in the future, I know I’ll be back to writing my normal workout recaps and they will be all studio workouts!

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Feeling Like I Worked Hard (or At Least I’m More Used To This)

Posted on June 15, 2020 | Comments Off on Feeling Like I Worked Hard (or At Least I’m More Used To This)

I’ve been doing my workouts from home for a quarter of a year now. That’s crazy to me. It feels like it’s been forever and not that long at the same time. I never thought I’d be away from Orangetheory for this long, even when I was planning on my liver surgery. It still seems so crazy that before I went to Orangetheory, this time away from the gym wouldn’t have felt that crazy to me. But now, it’s a huge part of my life that feels gone.

Technically, gyms in LA can start to reopen, but the studios I go to won’t be reopening until they can make sure they have the safest environment for the staff and customers. I appreciate that they are doing that and not rushing to get people back in there. I still am hesitant about going back as cases are still rising right now, so I’m glad I don’t have to decide what to do just yet.

I do want to be back in the studio and back with my coaches and friends. Especially when I have bad weeks where I know I would have done better if I was in class and not at home. But this past week of workouts was actually a really good one for me so it made it a bit easier on me missing things. I did have a little bit of nausea to deal with, but nothing like what I had been experiencing the week before. And most of the modifications I made were to work around my hip issues, not nausea. Somehow, that makes things better in my mind.

And what was the best part about this past week of workouts was that I really was feeling like I worked hard. I was sweating so much (and it was just due to the weather because I was running my a/c while working out). I know I went hard and the dripping sweat was proof. I do know that I’m still weaker than I was while working out in the studio, but at least I can feel like I’m putting in the work. I even had some muscle soreness this past week. I know that’s not necessarily a good thing, but I see it as one. I also missed the feeling of being sore after a good workout, so it was a nice reminder for me. I wish I had different weights to use so I could feel like I am improving, but weights aren’t easy to find to buy and I don’t want to spend the money right now since I am feeling like I’m working hard with the weights I have right now. But if this continues for a while, I might have to figure out a new plan so I can find a way to get stronger instead of just maintaining where I am.

I’ve got my home workout routine down by now. I have a plan for what I do and how I do it. I have a routine to my workout mornings and it does give me a bit of that sense of routine that I crave right now in such a crazy time. Sometimes I am sad because I’ll do something that makes me miss the studio more than normal or wish I had my friends to joke around with, but it’s getting better.

It took me a while to get into a groove with the home workouts, but I’m glad that I’m finally there. When I get back into the studio, I don’t think it will take me as long to get used to it. I might need some time to be used to the new policies to keep people safe and to get back to what I know I used to be able to do, but that’s something I think everyone is expecting to do. And if things reopen and then have to close again (compared to things closing down before they are able to reopen, because I feel like another closure is ahead), hopefully I have an easier time getting to this point in my comfort with my home workouts.

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Missing My Normal Workouts More Than Ever (or I Needed Someone To Push Me This Week)

Posted on June 8, 2020 | Comments Off on Missing My Normal Workouts More Than Ever (or I Needed Someone To Push Me This Week)

I knew going into this past week of workouts that it would be a tough week. I was expecting it to be a week of pain and nausea, and that’s exactly what it was. My body was reacting to stress so things were a bit delayed, so I’m still dealing with pain and nausea this week as well (I was hoping last week would be the end of it). And as it has been during the time I’m dealing with this, my workouts were just so much more difficult than normal.

I am getting a bit better at finding how I can modify things at home, but a lot of those modifications are also not as good as they could be. For example, some things I modify by sitting instead of standing or bending over, and I know sitting down isn’t that great in the workouts. But I don’t have much else I can use to help.

I’m also used to having my coaches and friends in class encouraging me and pushing me. Funny enough, it’s my male coaches that I think support me the most. They both know me well enough to know when I’m having one of my bad weeks and I think they pick up on it so quickly. And they are very open to finding new solutions for me so I can try to modify things without making them easier. Having that support means the world to me and I never knew how much I needed it until I didn’t have it. And my friends in class also know me pretty well so they are always there to cheer me on and try to make me feel better. I can do that over text with them, but it’s really not the same.

I did have a few good moments in my workouts this week when I had a few minutes where I felt totally fine. And I tried to maximize my efforts in those moments to try to get something closer to a normal workout. Sometimes that backfired and made the nausea worse, but it was worth the try. I went into each workout knowing that I was just going to try my best and that’s what I did, even if my best was a fraction of what I know I can do when I feel normal.

As motivated as I am to try to do the at-home workouts the best that I can, I will say that the motivation is starting to slip. If it was good enough for me to do workouts at home, I wouldn’t be a part of Orangetheory. I crave the coaching and community around the workouts. And fortunately, it seems like we are getting closer to being back to that.

The governor has said that gyms can start to reopen as long as they have certain guidelines. I don’t know what exactly those guidelines are, but there are Orangetheory locations that have opened in other states and I’m guessing the ones here will be following similar plans. For example, having smaller class sizes and 2 stations empty between each person. My locations commented saying that they are reviewing the guidelines and will be updating all of us when they expect to reopen and what we can expect when we go back to class. I’m a little hesitant to go back since people are still getting sick, but I think once I see how things go I will feel better about it.

And I really do want to get back to class for all the reasons I said above. I miss what I have there and I really need it back in my life. I need a sense of normalcy and I know going to my workouts will give me that. Knowing that I can be back in class hopefully soon was the motivation I used last week to push myself. And I’ll be using that again this week.

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Modifying Mayhem (or A Good But Challenge Week Of Workouts)

Posted on June 1, 2020 | Comments Off on Modifying Mayhem (or A Good But Challenge Week Of Workouts)

With all of the at-home workouts, Orangetheory is trying really hard to make them as fun and unique as the regular in-studio workouts are. I really appreciate the effort that they are making and I feel like they are doing a great job considering that they didn’t have this plan in place before the pandemic started. The workouts aren’t necessarily as hard as they are when we have someone coaching us, but I think that also has something to do with what efforts I put in when I’m home alone compared to when I’m in class.

But this past week of workouts was made extra hard. One of the things that Orangetheory does is have a challenging week called Mayhem. It’s similar to Hell Week, but during May. These workouts are very tough and they usually push you to try to do more than normal. I love having these challenging weeks because it does help me believe that I can do more than I normally do in workouts. And since almost all the studios around the world are still closed (very few are open, but more are getting ready to open), they made Mayhem part of the at-home workouts this time.

You can usually get something for completing Mayhem in-studio. I think it’s always a hat (Hell Week is always a shirt). This time, you could pre-order the hat to have it after completing Mayhem. I think you were supposed to do 4 of the 6 workouts, but because of the timing of when the workouts were I only got 3 done. But I still pre-ordered the hat and used it for motivation during each of the workouts.

The first part of the week of workouts was much better than the second part of the week. I didn’t have too many issues with pain and nausea on Monday or Wednesday. But Friday and Saturday were really bad. I had to make so many modifications in my workouts to be able to get through things. But I still tried to make the workouts harder for me in my own way. I did focus as much as I could on working on strength/weight-lifting exercises since those don’t always make me feel worse.

What I did notice while doing that was that I do feel weaker than I did before. I have known that this would be a possibility as I’m not able to work as hard at home as I do in class, but it was hard when I really thought I was trying. But I just have to keep going because that’s the only way I can limit how much of a set-back I have. I know when I get back to class (hopefully at some point this summer they can reopen safely) I will have to not have any expectations of what I will be able to do. I might struggle in the workouts the way I did when I start. But I also know that I might have a faster time getting back to where I was since I had already been there once. I honestly don’t know what it will be like when I get back to class, but having few expectations will probably be best for me.

Even though I know that this Mayhem wasn’t as hard as past ones were, I still am proud of what I did. I tried my best. I worked as hard as I could. I pushed through pain and nausea when I could. And I did have harder workouts than the other workouts have been.

I know this week is likely to be a struggle, mainly due to pain and nausea, but I’m still figuring out how to do workouts the best that I can. It’s not as easy to modify things at home, so I’m still figuring out what options work for me. I’m doing a lot of completely different exercises instead of modifications due to what equipment is available at my house. So I’ll have another week of practicing how to modify things for myself this week.

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Finally A Good Workout Week (or Continuing To Build My Home Gym)

Posted on May 25, 2020 | Comments Off on Finally A Good Workout Week (or Continuing To Build My Home Gym)

When I wrote my last workout recap, I had dealt with multiple bad workout weeks in a row. I was dealing with different issues and it felt like when I got over one thing I had another to deal with. And some of the things I dealt with were expected (like nausea) and some were random and unexpected (like cutting my finger or getting cellulitis). Having so many bad workout weeks in a row really were taking a toll on my mood. I knew I was in a worse mood than I had been. I was fighting that feeling, but I couldn’t help feel really down on myself.

And when I writing my last recap, I said that this past week would be the week my nausea likely would kick in again and I was frustrated that I was going to have to have yet another bad workout week. But I don’t know if I mixed up what day it was or what else got me confused, but I had the wrong week for when my nausea would most likely start. That’s actually going to be this week, so last week’s workouts actually were much better than expected.

I did have to still deal with a few issues like my finger still healing (so it’s not really too flexible) and the tail end of taking antibiotics and those making me a bit sick. But overall my workout week was a good one and I really did need that. I still was making modifications to things, but there were few modifications needed and I really was able to get into the workouts.

I think some of the motivation to do more was from knowing that there are some studios in other states starting to open up. I know we aren’t ready for that (and I do wonder if the other states might have done it too early), but it gives me hope that gyms and fitness studios in California will be opening up sooner rather than later. I have no clue if it will be this summer or this fall, but I feel like it is coming and that is making me really excited. And adding to the fact that some states have been able to open their studios, they have been starting to say that if things continue the way they have been going that maybe we will start reopening more by the 4th of July! I would love it if that could happen. I know it’s not really soon, but it’s a date to keep in mind that might be when things start turning around. And if that is approximately the right date, then we are past the halfway mark of quarantine (I know I’ve said that before, but every time there is a new date I think of if I’m past halfway).

There is no real substitution for working out in the studios, but I’ve really tried to make my home workouts the best I can be. I have gotten a lot of different equipment for my house. If I had more space and money, I’d probably buy a lot more. There are a lot of things that I wish I had (like a rower, weight bench, and more weights), but I have a pretty good setup for my house. I know that when I get back to the studios that I might not be able to lift as heavy, row as hard, or bike as fast; but I will not be losing all the progress I’ve met. And as I’ve been doing the home workouts, I have found that there are some things I wish I had at my house more than others.

One thing that I wished I had was a BOSU ball. While the home workouts aren’t using them, I use them a lot for modifications and it would be nice to have them for that. Plus, I do like some of the balance work that we do on them and I know that balance work is something that can help my hips. BOSU balls aren’t difficult to buy, but they aren’t cheap and they take up a lot of room. But when I was looking online at them, I saw something called BOSU Pods that looked like mini-BOSU balls. And that’s pretty much exactly what they are.

You can’t do everything on BOSU Pods that you can do on the full-sized ones, but for what I was hoping to do I could get a lot done. The only thing I wouldn’t be able to do would be to use them to help me with incline plank work or as a replacement for a workout bench (they just aren’t high enough for that). But they would help with plank work by adding some difficulty. I also could use them for balance work like squats and lunges, plus they could be used for step-ups since they do add a bit of height and they are not going to slide on my floor as my step ladder does. So I ordered them and they arrived at my house just in time for my Saturday workout.

They are pretty cute, just like miniature BOSU balls. And they are much easier to store in my home gym collection than the full-sized one would be. In Saturday’s workout, there was only one exercise that really could use them (we had hip bridges so I put my feet on them for an added challenge), but after I did the home workout I did a little extra just so I could use them. I only did squats on them, but I could tell right away that it was making squats so much harder and my body was working a lot more to do them. That’s exactly what I was hoping they would do and it proved to me that I can work on regaining some of the strength and muscle that I have lost.

I’m excited to keep using the BOSU Pods in my workouts and finding ways to continue to challenge myself. This week I’ll also be able to test them with if they do help enough with plank work when I’m nauseous. I’m not expecting them to be enough, but you never know. I’m in a much better mood and have a much more positive mindset after this past week so I’m hopeful that I can make things work for me.

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Why Can’t I Just Have A Normal Week? (or Another Bad Week Of Workouts)

Posted on May 18, 2020 | Comments Off on Why Can’t I Just Have A Normal Week? (or Another Bad Week Of Workouts)

I was really looking forward to being able to say I had a good week of workouts. I knew that it should be one of my good weeks. My finger was finally healed to the point where I could finally start bending it. I was excited to do my workouts because I finally had some motivation and was really to work hard. And then I got cellulitis.

Monday was the day I went to urgent care, but I tried to work out that morning. It was a pretty pathetic workout attempt. I had to sit down for almost everything. I did a lot of core work and stuff with my arms. I had to modify all the exercises because the swelling in my leg was so bad that I couldn’t do a lot of things. And I broke down crying because the pain was so intense. I think that workout was the push for me to go to the hospital because I realized how bad things had gotten.

Wednesday was similar to Monday because the swelling hadn’t really gone down much. I had the same amount of pain, but I had a bit more flexibility in my leg and was able to do a few exercises standing up. But still, nothing like what I normally could do. And what was so frustrating was that my mind wanted to do more. But my body just couldn’t.

Friday and Saturday were better because my leg was almost normal. Still, I had to do a lot of modifications because there were things that caused me pain that normally wouldn’t. But it was nice to be able to do a bit more and to feel like I had some proof that my leg was getting better. I was worried that it wasn’t getting better because I was still dealing with so many issues, but my workouts did prove that I wasn’t struggling as much as I had earlier in the week.

Even though by the end of the week I was doing ok, it was still such a frustrating workout week. I am tired of having a bad week after a bad week. I really need a good week, and I don’t know if that will happen soon. This week, there is a chance my nausea will kick in. And my leg still isn’t totally better. So I might be struggling again. And the struggle physically combined with dealing with quarantine/isolation is really taking a toll on me. I know that there are some OTF studios starting to open up, but the ones here might not be open for a few months. It’s been over 2 months since my last in-studio workout. That’s such a long time. And even though before I was trying to stay positive and thinking how I just have to do the same amount of time again, the longer I’m away from my workouts the harder it is. But at the same time, if the studios in LA opened, I don’t know if I’d go right away. There are still so many things unknown about reopening and I want to see what happens before I take the risk.

Even though this past week of workouts was pretty bad, I do just keep reminding myself that I at least tried the workouts the best that I could. It’s better than doing nothing. And there were times when I was wondering if I should just skip it. I’m glad I did something because I probably would have felt worse if I didn’t do it. But I just want to have a good workout week again. I feel like I’m owed one by now.

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My Workouts Are Never Simple (or I Need To Keep Working On Modifications)

Posted on May 11, 2020 | Comments Off on My Workouts Are Never Simple (or I Need To Keep Working On Modifications)

I knew going into this past week that my workouts weren’t going to be my best. I was going to be dealing with nausea and I was still struggling with losing some motivation. I’m not going to lie and say working out when feeling like this is easy. It’s not even as easy as it is when I’m in the studio (when it’s really not that easy). Pushing myself when I’d rather be lying in bed is tough when there’s nobody expecting to see me at a workout. I could easily lie and say I worked out when I did, but I know that would just make me feel worse.

What I wasn’t expecting going into this past week of workouts was dealing with the injury to my finger. That caused an entirely new set of issues for me. Of course, I knew I didn’t want to stress my finger as it was starting to heal because I didn’t want to delay the healing process. I always bandaged up my finger when working out because I wanted to protect it. And part of that protection involved not allowing myself to bend it that much. Bending my finger stresses the injury and can damage any scars or scabs on it. So I had to be as careful as possible.

Even though I knew I was bandaging my finger to prevent it from bending, I guess I didn’t think through how much that would affect my workouts in terms of being able to hold or lift anything. Monday’s workout was the worst for that. I tried to lift even the lightest things, and I couldn’t get a grip on it. Even though I was using the rest of my fingers, it was like I lost my grip strength because I was not able to use my middle finger. It might have been how I wrapped my finger or it might have been how new the injury was. Lifting things was a struggle through the rest of the week, but it did get easier as the week went on. I think it’s still going to take a few weeks before I’m completely healed and able to use it. The healing process is going much faster than I expected, but the lack of movement in my finger is almost the same as it was when it happened. I have no clue how long it will take to get that back.

And the pain and nausea were also worse toward the beginning of the week, so at least all the tough things were easing up through the week. I continued to struggle with figuring out modifications for the plank work, which was made harder by the limits I could do with my finger injury. I’ve tried so many types of chairs and ladders to be similar to a weight bench, but they don’t work. And the things I have found online that could be good are either out of stock or cost too much. I know that people are hoping the studios can open up again in about 2 months, but that’s still 2 months of home workouts that I want to have as much success as possible. So I need to figure this out.

Even though I would say that this past week of workouts was probably the hardest one I’ve had since starting the home workouts (possibly the hardest workouts I’ve had in years), I still got my 4 workouts in for the week and I still tried my best. I took a lot of breaks and rests for various reasons, but I did remember to pause the workout video sometimes so I didn’t use workout time as break time. And I just keep telling myself the same thing over and over again. I am doing something. I am trying. I am not giving up and saying I’ll just get back into my workouts when the studios open up again. I have prioritized my workouts and that is a win to me. I just look forward to when things are a bit easier for me so I can feel like I’m making progress or getting some wins in my workouts each week.

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