Tag Archives: treadmill

Second Week Of My Orangetheory Challenge (or I Guess I’m Tougher Than I Thought I Was)

Posted on July 14, 2014 | 2 comments

Last week was week 2 of my Orangetheory challenge and I feel like I rocked the week!

I went to my usual Monday, Wednesday, and Friday class. Which if any of you want to join me for a workout, I’d love to have some blog readers there with me! Anyone who comes with me to a workout gets to go for free! Let me know in the comments if you want to come!

Anyway, back to my week. Monday was interesting. I was a little tired from the week before. My body is getting adjusted to working out so much in a week (but I know that this is good for me to go through). I’m still not loving the treadmill, but that’s why I know I need to do it.

I was able to increase my incline on the push and all out sections of the treadmill time this week. So during those times, I was at 10% or 15% incline instead of 6% and 10%. I consider that a major improvement. I’m also getting more comfortable with the TRX straps, which as I mentioned before, I had never done before going to Orangetheory. And of course, I had to take an awesome photo after my Monday workout.

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Wednesday was a crazy tough workout, but I loved it! The class was small so instead of having us workout in 2 different groups, we all worked out together. I actually liked that a bit more, but I know that that won’t be the norm.

The cardio section of the workout that day was so tough. We went from treadmill to rower and back again several times. My heart rate was so high and I was dripping sweat the entire time. But I did it and even though I felt that I might pass out from trying so hard, I didn’t.

I wish I could remember the strength section that day, but the cardio section wore me out so much that I don’t remember too much after that. I also got a picture with the cardio workout of the day so that helped me remember a little too.

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What that board means is we ran (I technically walked) .1 miles and then did a 100 meter row. Then we went .15 miles on the treadmill and rowed 100 meters and so on. Then after that we did a 200 meter row and 30 seconds on the treadmill (with me walking at 15% incline). Rowing is so hard, but I’m really starting to like it. I remember at my first class how difficult rowing was for me and how my body just didn’t want to go the right way. Now, while I’m still not perfect (my weight does affect that a little), my form on the rower has gotten so much better!

Friday was a big incline day on the treadmill. We did so many hills that I thought I would pass out. I would say a majority of my 30 minutes on the treadmill were spent at at least 6% incline. I was only down to 3% for brief breaks from the crazy incline. I’m working on getting my speed up as well, but that’s going a little slower than I’d like. I’m able to do a lot of the workout at 3mph and occasionally I kick it up to 3.1 or 3.2, but toward the end of the 30 minute treadmill section, I have to go down to 2.7 or 2.8. My goal is to do the entire 30 minutes at 3.0 or faster. Ultimately, I’d like to get it to 4.0, but I know that that is going to take a long time.

For my workout picture on Friday, I decided to put it out on social media to see what shirt people think I should get when I lose enough weight.

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Everyone except one person voted for the orange shirt. Anyone else want to vote on it? I don’t know when I’ll be able to fit into one of their shirts, but I hope it’s before my 8 week challenge is over!

Overall, I think I had a pretty amazing week at Orangetheory. The best part about it for me is I’m starting to realize how tough and strong I really am. At SoulCycle, while there is a weights portion of the workout, I never felt like I was really strong. Now when I’m lifting 16 pounds while doing squats or when I’m doing pull-ups on the TRX straps, I can really see what my body is capable of. And I know that with time I’ll continue to get stronger and stronger.

I’m a quarter of the way done with my challenge and to be honest, time is flying by! I can’t wait to see how I’m able to push myself this week!

 

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Posted in Fitness, Fun Stuff, Health, Weight Loss

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Week 1 Of Orangetheory (or Wow, I’m 1/8 Of The Way Done With My Challenge!)

Posted on July 7, 2014 | 2 comments

Before doing my recap of my first week at Orangetheory, I want to mention that today is the 8 year anniversary of my hip surgery. Each year that passes is a huge milestone for me because since my surgeon discovered the same defect in my left hip, he said I wouldn’t make it more than a few years without needing my next surgery. While I’m definitely in more pain this year than I was last year, I’m still not to the point where I need my next surgery. And I think that my first week of my Orangetheory challenge proved that I’m tough and my hip is still strong!

I was very nervous going into the first week. Like I had said before, it’s been a while since I’ve done 3 tough workouts in one week. Honestly, I haven’t done that since I was skinny. But I tried to go into the week with a positive mind and think that this is a challenge and I need to prove to myself that I can do it.

Before going to my first workout, I took a series of before pictures (part of my deal is to have before/after photos as well as photos after each workout). I shared my before photos on social media and got a pretty positive response from people. They were proud of me for starting a challenge and they were cheering me on.

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Fortunately, that first workout was similar to the other workouts I had done at Orangetheory. So that helped with the nerves and I was able to get a good strong workout in for my first day.

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My workout on Wednesday was a bit tougher. I was still a little sore from Monday (although nothing like my very first workout). So I took a painkiller and went to class. I was able to really do some good work on the rowing machine (something I had never used before going to Orangetheory). And during the treadmill segment, I did my fastest mile since December! That was pretty amazing!

And since I have to take a photo after each workout, I decided that I want to be creative with the photos. It wouldn’t be fun if every photo was just a sweaty selfie. So I got one on the rowing machines with the trainer from that class, JZ and the guy who help set up this challenge for me, Jonathan.

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Workout 3 had a new challenge for me. Since it was on 4th of July I couldn’t take my usual afternoon class. I had to go in at 8am. And since my body takes a while to wake up and not feel stiff, I had to wake up earlier than I like to. But that’s ok. I was able to get my workout in before having fun that afternoon (I’ll post about that tomorrow).

I challenged myself even more on the treadmills on Friday. During the treadmill segment, there are 3 levels that you workout on. You have your base pace which is something you can do for 30 minutes, you have a push pace, and you have an all out sprint. For runners, you increase your speed for push and all out. But for walkers (like me), you increase your elevation on the treadmill. During all out, walkers are supposed to be at 10-15% incline. I usually have it at 10%, but this time I went for 15% and was able to do it!

We also had a 5 minute distance challenge. I knew as the only walker I was not going to win that challenge, but I decided to see what I could do if I only had to do it for 5 minutes. I went faster than I had before and was able to do a quarter-mile in under 5 minutes! I’m usually walking at a 21 or 22 minute pace, so a quarter-mile in under 5 minutes is pretty amazing!

Friday’s photo was all about the TRX straps. I had never used these before Orangetheory and to be honest, I was intimidated by them. But by using them (as well as some of the other equipment available), I’ve realized how strong I really am!

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After working out 3 days in the week, I really felt it by Friday afternoon. And I’m glad I had the weekend off. But now it’s time to start week 2 and see what else I’m able to push myself to do!

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Posted in Fitness, Fun Stuff, Weight Loss

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