Tag Archives: workout

Christmas Week Workouts (or Hitting Milestones and Missing Traditions)

Posted on December 28, 2020 | Comments Off on Christmas Week Workouts (or Hitting Milestones and Missing Traditions)

This past week of workouts was my last full week of workouts for 2020. Christmas week has always been fun for me at Orangetheory because of some of the traditional things that happen during those workouts. Sadly, since we are all doing the workouts at home, some of those traditions couldn’t happen this year.

For example, I love the Christmas Eve workouts and the Naughty or Nice stockings. I have always enjoyed the workouts that are luck of the draw and the Naughty or Nice ones are so fun. They can be really tough and sometimes that makes me feel a bit crazy during the workout, but after the workout is done I’m always happy.

And along with the workout on Christmas Eve, I have a tradition of taking a photo with one of my coaches. This would have been the 7th Christmas Eve that I was at Orangetheory, and we’ve only missed one photo together. But sadly, that photo had no way to happen this year and we’ll just have to make up for it next year. But I will probably add something funny to our collage to represent this year.

And this year, I didn’t even work out on Christmas Eve. I always have before because Orangetheory is closed on Christmas. It’s the only day the studios are closed. So if Christmas falls on a day I normally work out, I make sure I go on Christmas Eve instead. This year, if things were normal, I would have done that. But because all the workouts are online, I decided to keep my normal workout schedule. So I worked out on Christmas this year. And in a year that has so much that doesn’t feel normal, keeping my normal workout schedule was a good thing.

But there was one tradition that I didn’t miss. Almost every year, I have hit my workout goal. And this year, there was a brief moment when I thought the time I took off when I was sick with vertigo would ruin my chances of doing that. Fortunately for me, my math was just very off and I was still on track for getting to my goal before the end of the year. And I did exactly that this past week.

I still have a few more workouts this year, so I will be over 200 workouts by the time the year is done. And yes, over 75% of my workouts were done at home and not in the studio. But I think that it should still count. I do hope that I have more workouts in the studio next year, but we have no idea when it will be safe for the studios to reopen. So at least I know that I can hit my goals while working out at home so I won’t let that be an excuse for me.

As far as the workouts went, this past week was pretty good. I had a few things that made it tough on me (like being in a lot of pain for a few reasons), but I was in a much better mood than I had been in recently so I was able to push through. I had a few moments of working out hard enough to feel sore, which still makes me happy.

All of my workouts were online videos. It’s actually been this way for a while now. Sadly, because of my schedule with my new job, I can’t do the Zoom workouts anymore. I do miss my Zoom workouts and how those felt so different from the online videos. But I have to prioritize my work schedule, especially when there are other options for doing the workouts at home. And maybe another one of my coaches will do Zoom workouts that fit into my schedule. But for now, it’s just the online videos for me.

This week will close out my workouts for 2020 and kick off my workouts for 2021. I still need to think about some workout related goals to set for myself. But I will be setting them with the assumption that at least a portion of my workouts will be at home. I need to find goals that will work for both home and studio workouts. But I feel like I’m kicking off the end of this year on a good note and proud of what I’ve done so far. And that’s an amazing feeling.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailHitting A Workout Milestone In Isolation (or Still Working Toward A Goal) Default ThumbnailMissing My Normal Workouts More Than Ever (or I Needed Someone To Push Me This Week) Default ThumbnailAlmost Missing An Entire Week Of Workouts (or Another Issue With Vertigo) Default ThumbnailNot My Usual Thanksgiving Week Workouts (or Trying To Keep The Tradition Going) Default ThumbnailSome Holiday Workouts (or Back On The Treadmill This Week) Default ThumbnailAlmost End Of The Year Workouts (or Hitting A Milestone And Debating A New Plan)

Comments Off on Christmas Week Workouts (or Hitting Milestones and Missing Traditions)

Posted in Fitness

Tagged , , , , ,

An Up and Down Workout Week (or a Weird Week and a Weird Milestone)

Posted on December 21, 2020 | Comments Off on An Up and Down Workout Week (or a Weird Week and a Weird Milestone)

As expected with this past week of workouts, I spent part of it dealing with nausea. It was actually split in half for me. I was feeling awful on Monday and Wednesday and felt much better on Friday and Saturday. And fortunately, it seems like my vertigo is almost completely gone so I didn’t have to deal with that as well. I still have moments of vertigo, but it’s not that frequent and it’s not always triggered by the same exercises. So even with having moments of vertigo, it’s not causing that many issues in my workouts.

As I’ve dealt with so many times in recent months, motivation has been hard to find sometimes. I really want to feel strong and like I’m working hard, but then when I’m working out I just can’t push myself. I think it’s not just about the workout, it’s just the state of the world and feeling not like myself. And I will continue to try to figure out what I can do to get over this, but I don’t know if that will change until I’m not doing my workouts at home anymore.

And speaking of workouts at home, this past week marked 9 months since I’ve been doing workouts at home. Every time I hit some sort of milestone with working out at home, I’m shocked. When things shut down, nobody thought we’d still be shut down 9 months later. I remember thinking about how hard it was going to be to miss a month of Orangetheory. Missing 9 months of Orangetheory was just unimaginable to me. And I can only hope that it will not take 9 more months before I can do workouts outside of my house. But that does seem like a safe hope.

I could technically go to the outdoor workouts now, but I’m still just not ready. I want to make sure it will be safe for me. I don’t know if that will mean I need to be vaccinated before I feel safe or if the cases just have to go down for me to feel that way. I am not going to push myself to go until I feel safe because I know if I’m worried about things I won’t be able to get everything out of the workout. I want to feel safe now, but I can’t force myself to get there.

I am also worried about how much weaker or out of shape I might be when I go back. That fear is a little easier to deal with because I know that it’s inevitable and I just will have to get over that. But no matter how far I’ve fallen from where I was before, I know I’m stronger than I was when I first started going. And hopefully, it will be easier to get back where I was once I am back in a class (whether it is an outdoor class or back in the studio).

But I am still just reminding myself every workout that at least I did something. I could have skipped them. It would be very easy to just not work out. Nobody is forcing me to work out. I am motivating myself and that is something to be proud of. And even if I’m not maxing out what I can do in every workout, there were moments this past week where I felt like I worked really hard. They were only moments and not entire workouts, but it still felt amazing.

The next 2 weeks of workouts will be a bit odd. I’m working with both trying to do my typical holiday workouts and a new work schedule. And my work schedule is not what it will normally be because of the holidays. So I will be doing a mix of my normal workouts at normal times and weird workout times or days. But I’m still hoping I will get at least 3 workouts in a week.

And once it is the new year, I will most likely no longer be able to do my workouts at home in the morning. I will be working every day starting at 9am. And I could wake up earlier than normal and try to get a workout in first (which I am still debating). But I will be done with work around 1pm so it shouldn’t be too hard to do an afternoon workout. It’s not what I’m used to and I don’t know if I’ll like doing that, but that’s kind of how this year went with my workouts. I am not used to home workouts and I don’t love them. But I still did them. And I have figured out how to make it work. And I’ll do the same with the new schedule in the new year.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailA Weird Workout Week (or Election Week Workouts) Default ThumbnailJust A Bad Workout Week (or I Need To End The Year Better Than This) Default ThumbnailHitting A Workout Milestone In Isolation (or Still Working Toward A Goal) Default ThumbnailI Hate Not Having As Much Motivation (or A Week Of Workout Struggles) Default ThumbnailFirst Week of Workouts After The Challenge (or Weird Workout Times) Default ThumbnailThis Does Feel Like A Normal Routine (or Another Full Workout Week)

Comments Off on An Up and Down Workout Week (or a Weird Week and a Weird Milestone)

Posted in Fitness

Tagged , ,

Just A Bad Workout Week (or I Need To End The Year Better Than This)

Posted on December 14, 2020 | Comments Off on Just A Bad Workout Week (or I Need To End The Year Better Than This)

This past week of workouts was just bad for me. There’s no real way to make it sound better. I can say that I at least did something, but I don’t know if I can say anything more positive than that. And honestly, I wonder if doing nothing would have been better for my mood. I know it wouldn’t have been better physically for me, because something is better than nothing. But mentally, maybe I wouldn’t be so down if I didn’t work out at all compared to feeling really horribly about how I did.

I knew this past week was going to be tough. My nausea wasn’t as bad as it has been in the past, but it was still affecting me a lot. I really worried that I would throw up several times in the middle of the workout. I’m glad I didn’t, but it really made me hesitant. So I was already not doing my full ability and then this gave me a mental roadblock too. I wanted to try to push myself, but I was terrified to do so. And it felt like whenever I did push a bit more, that’s when nausea kicked in. It felt like an endless battle and at the end of each workout I was feeling pretty defeated.

I also had a bit of a weird schedule this past week because I was working around the schedule for my new job. Right now, my schedule isn’t the same every day because I am training and working at different times lets me see different parts of the job. This is only temporary and once I’m fully working on my own I will have a schedule that should be the same every day. It will still change when I’m used to working out unless I find a way to work out a bit earlier than I’m used to. That might be possible, I just have to see how it goes.

But I’ve gotten so used to having my workouts be one of the first things I do each day. Even if it’s not as early as I like to work out, I try to get it done first before moving on to other things with my day. But once I’m working my new schedule, there is a chance that I will be working and then working out after. Again, I may be able to work out before I work, it just depends on a few things. But that also may change if I end up doing the outdoor workouts because I will need to take driving time into account. But I’m not going to worry about that just yet.

As much as I want to do the outdoor workouts and I know that I will probably feel so much better about my workouts if I did those, I just don’t feel ready to do them yet. It’s not just not feeling like I’m ready to get back to hard workouts (which I don’t feel like I am), but it’s about how the number of cases is going here. I know that working out outside where everyone is spaced apart and people are required to wear masks is one of the safer things you can do. With contact tracing, they have shown that most cases are coming from people having gatherings in their homes. But I’m still a bit hesitant. And if I’m nervous about that, I don’t feel like I should force myself to go. It’s not like I’m trying to get myself to work out at all. I am still doing them (even this past week when it felt like I didn’t). I just need to feel like it’s safe enough for me to be able to focus on the workout and not be panicking while I’m there.

At this rate, I don’t think I’ll be doing any outdoor workouts before the new year. This means I will likely be ending my 2020 workouts by doing them at home. And I don’t want to end my 2020 workouts the way I feel now. I want to feel proud of myself for what I did. I want to be happy that I didn’t let a pandemic stop me from trying to achieve my goals. Working out from home for 9 months of the year wasn’t my plan, but it was my reality. And I want to make sure that is a positive memory and not a negative one.

I don’t know if I’ll be feeling better this week or not. I’m guessing at least part of this week will still be days I’m dealing with nausea. But I’m hoping that at least toward the end of the week I will be feeling better. And then I can work on finishing out the year with some of my best workouts at home of the year. I would love to end this year feeling really awesome and how I used to feel doing workouts in the studio. I know that might be possible, but it’s what I’m hoping for and I want to at least try to make it happen.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailI Hate Having A Hard Workout Week (or Not My Usual Workout Recap) Default ThumbnailNot My Usual Workout Recap Post (or I Survived A Bad Week) Default ThumbnailA Bad Workout Week For A Different Reason (or I Guess I Was Too Optimistic) Default ThumbnailRinging In The New Year With Workouts (or A Rare 5 Workout Week) Default ThumbnailNot The Workout Week I Planned On (or Starting To Prepare To Go Back) Default ThumbnailAnother Hard Workout Week (or A Repeat Of The Last Week In More Ways Than One)

Comments Off on Just A Bad Workout Week (or I Need To End The Year Better Than This)

Posted in Fitness, Tough Stuff

Tagged , ,

Back To The Same Workout Debate (I Don’t Know What To Do)

Posted on December 7, 2020 | Comments Off on Back To The Same Workout Debate (I Don’t Know What To Do)

Ever since Orangetheory closed, I figured I’d want to be back as soon as I could. When they announced that they were going to re-open the studios, I was hesitant but decided to go for it. I didn’t end up going in because they had to cancel the re-opening. Then they announced the outdoor workouts. I couldn’t go when they started those because I was doing a full quarantine. Then I got vertigo. And now, I’m wondering if I should start doing them.

I’m having the same issues that I’ve had for a while with my workouts at home. I’m doing them, but I feel like they aren’t the same and I question if I’m pushing myself enough. This past week was my best week in a month because I was finally feeling better (just in time to start feeling nauseous again this week). But it still wasn’t as tough as I know I could do.

I know that the outdoor workouts won’t be the same as the regular studio ones, but I feel like they would be better than the ones I do at home. But at the same time, I’m scared to take the risk of doing them. I know they are doing everything they can to keep them safe. They are outside. People are being kept apart. They have sanitizing wipes (which they have always had). Masks are required. The classes are probably safer than going to the grocery store. But I’m still scared.

I think this year has given me a lot of new anxiety, and I’m trying to not let that dominate my life. But at the same time, we are so close to being through this and I don’t want to be the person who catches this the week before I could be vaccinated or something like that. I want to say that until I feel fully ready to be back, I shouldn’t go. But at the same time, I know pushing myself is something that I need to do. It’s a debate that I can’t figure out what side I’m actually on.

I’m really hoping that something will change for me soon. Maybe I’ll be able to push myself more during my workouts at home and I won’t be as worried about going to the outdoor workouts. Or maybe things will start getting better and I will be more comfortable going to an outdoor workout. I’ve been watching them to see what happens, and they do seem safe. Nobody has gotten sick from a workout which is good. I haven’t heard of any issues with people following the rules. They are doing everything they can to make it safe and for people to feel comfortable. I just don’t know if I’m there yet.

It would be amazing to be able to be back to a slightly more normal workout by the end of this year. But if it takes until next year for me to be able to do that, I will be ok. This is not me trying to avoid workouts or anything like that. It’s me dealing with a pandemic and circumstances that nobody has experienced before. I just have to figure out what the balance is between wanting to go and being safe and then I know it will be figured out.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailI Hate Not Having As Much Motivation (or A Week Of Workout Struggles) Default ThumbnailThis Does Feel Like A Normal Routine (or Another Full Workout Week) Default ThumbnailHitting A Workout Milestone In Isolation (or Still Working Toward A Goal) Default ThumbnailShort and Sweet Workout Week (or Taking It A Bit Easy) Default ThumbnailNot My Usual Thanksgiving Week Workouts (or Trying To Keep The Tradition Going) Default ThumbnailI Hate Having A Hard Workout Week (or Not My Usual Workout Recap)

Comments Off on Back To The Same Workout Debate (I Don’t Know What To Do)

Posted in Fitness

Tagged , ,

Not My Usual Thanksgiving Week Workouts (or Trying To Keep The Tradition Going)

Posted on November 30, 2020 | Comments Off on Not My Usual Thanksgiving Week Workouts (or Trying To Keep The Tradition Going)

This post is mainly going to be about my Thanksgiving workout. But I did have my 4 workouts this past week. I changed up my schedule a bit to work around Thanksgiving, but I still got the 4 in. I’m still dealing with vertigo a bit and have to modify things, but I’m noticing that it is getting easier each workout.

I’m still trying to push myself so that I can start doing outdoor workouts soon, but I’m also starting to wonder if I should do them. I know they are doing everything they can to keep things safe, but cases are increasing and I have to keep that in mind. Also, things are starting to lock down here again, so I’m not sure if that means outdoor workouts will have to close. Right now, it seems like they can stay open. So keeping the idea of going to an outdoor workout as a goal is a good one. Even if I don’t end up doing one for a while, it still will help me push myself.

But my 3 non-Thanksgiving workouts this past week were pretty normal for me. Or at least as normal as things have been lately. So that’s good.

And my workout on Thanksgiving Day was the one that was special.

Ever since I started at Orangetheory, my family has had a new tradition to do an OTF workout on Thanksgiving morning. It’s not always the same members of my family at each workout, but we always have a few of us there. This year, when the pandemic started, I was hoping that we would still be able to continue the tradition. But as time went on, I knew that there was no way that we would be together for Thanksgiving. So we wouldn’t have our workout as a family.

But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I was still determined to do something connected to our tradition. I knew that I would be doing a workout on Thanksgiving Day on my own. My plan was to do the OTF At Home workout like I normally do. But I tried to see if there was another option that maybe would allow my family to work out together. But because we all had very different schedules, coordinating a workout wasn’t possible. So I asked everyone in my family to send me photos of their workout that day and I would do something with it.

Some of us did video workouts, some went skiing, some did chores that doubled as cardio, and some just made sure they got out and moving. I love the photos I got from everyone. And an added bonus to us doing workouts on our own was that 2 dogs got to be in the photos too! Tucker was “helping” my mom shovel snow and Graham decided to be a part of my Aunt Cindy’s video workout.

It’s not what our post-workout photo usually looks like, but I think it’s perfect to represent what our 2020 Thanksgiving workouts were like. We weren’t together, but we were still keeping a tradition alive on our own. And of course, I had to add this photo to the collage with all of our workouts.

If nothing else, we will never forget what this year was like for us. It will be the one oddball photo in the collage for as long as we are able to keep this tradition going. And while I know I would have preferred for us all to be together and to have a photo that fits in with the others, it still makes me happy that we didn’t give up on something that we love to do and we have something to represent this year.

I hope that by next year, it will be safe for us to be together. I missed being with my family this year (more on that later this week). I missed our traditional workout. I’m glad we had something, but it’s not the same as working out as a family. Just like how working out at home isn’t like being at the studio in class. I missed how much fun we have at our family workout. I missed the competitiveness between me and my dad (it seems to mainly be between us). I missed feeling like we did something special together. But as I’ve said several times about things this year, we had to stay apart and stay safe this year so we can be together for so many more years in the future.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailThanksgiving Workouts (or Continuing A Tradition) Default ThumbnailThanksgiving Workouts (or Getting My Family Involved) Default ThumbnailMy Short Workout Week (or 6 Years Of Family Workouts) Default ThumbnailPre-Burning Thanksgiving Calories (or Working Out In LA and San Diego) Default ThumbnailA Short Workout Week (or 3 Workouts In 3 Different Locations) Default ThumbnailAlmost Missing An Entire Week Of Workouts (or Another Issue With Vertigo)

Comments Off on Not My Usual Thanksgiving Week Workouts (or Trying To Keep The Tradition Going)

Posted in Family, Fitness

Tagged , , ,

Being Emotional At OTF (or It’s Weird Seeing The Studio Like This)

Posted on November 27, 2020 | Comments Off on Being Emotional At OTF (or It’s Weird Seeing The Studio Like This)

I’m going to do a recap of my Thanksgiving next week (as I am writing this post, I haven’t had Thanksgiving yet). But I wanted to share something from a bit earlier in the week. After completing Hell Week, my Orangetheory studio let us know that they would notify us when we could come and get our shirts. There was no question about me going to get my shirt, so I was very excited to find out when I could pick it up. Unfortunately, the first pickup date was during the worst of my vertigo, so there was no way for me to drive over there.

But they had told us there would be more pickup dates and there was one earlier this week. I knew I’d be able to drive over to the Culver City studio (where the pickup was going to be) and I was excited to get to see the studio again. My last workout there was about 8 1/2 months ago, and I’ve missed it so much. I miss the workouts a lot, but even just being at the studio was something I missed too. Being in that space is something that makes me so happy. The same with the Brentwood studio (where I actually have done more workouts than Culver City). There’s something special about the studio and I was happy I’d get to be there, even if it was only to pick up a shirt.

What I didn’t expect was how emotional it would be for me to be in there. As soon as I walked in the door, it hit me so hard how long it had been since I was there and how much I miss things. The studio didn’t look that different, but it was different. It was dark, quiet, and nobody was there except the staff who was there to help give out our shirts. It was sad to see a space that means so much to me not feel the same.

But even though it didn’t feel the same, it still made me happy to be inside the lobby. I only stood in the doorway, but that was enough to remind me that the studio is still there. During a time when it seems like the world isn’t there anymore, it’s reassuring to see that the studio is going to be ready to be back as soon as it is safe. We can’t be there now, but we will be there again. I know it sounds crazy to need a reminder that something still exists, but that’s exactly what it was and what I needed.

Of course, I was also sad about how much I have been missing the workouts. I joked to my friends that I wish I could have found a way to borrow a rower so I could have almost the OTF experience at home. I’m still hoping that I can do the outdoor workouts in Marina del Rey soon, but I need to be feeling a bit better to be able to do that. I want vertigo to not be an issue anymore and I know I need to work on my endurance. But more than going to the outdoor workouts, I just want my regular studio workouts back. It has been a huge part of my life for so long and I miss it. I miss the routine of going there 4 days a week. I miss feeling sore after a good workout. I just miss my old life.

I know that as soon as it is safe to reopen, the studio will do just that. Things might not be exactly the same for a little while, but it will be more like what I’m used to than what I’m experiencing now with my workouts. And there’s no question that I will appreciate those workouts more than ever. I never thought about how much I would miss it if I couldn’t be there for a long time. Even when I thought I needed my liver surgery, I was assuming I would only be out for maybe a month. And with that, I was mentally preparing myself for it. I wasn’t prepared for this. I never thought it would be so long with me doing the home workouts.

All I can do is to continue to work out at home and keep myself safe and healthy. So when the studio is open again and full of life like I’m used to, I’ll be here to experience that and I’ll be ready to get back to my normal workout routine.

You Might Also Like

Default Thumbnail6 Months Of Home Workouts (or I Still Miss OTF All The Time) Default ThumbnailMaking Home Workouts Feel A Bit More Like Studio Ones (or I Do Still Wish I Was In-Studio) Default ThumbnailA Routine Workout Week (or The Multiple Studio Life) Default ThumbnailTrying Other Types Of OTF At Home Workouts (or Adding More Variety) Default ThumbnailFeeling Like I Worked Hard (or At Least I’m More Used To This) Default ThumbnailAnother OTF Hangout (or Discovering A New Local Wine Bar)

Comments Off on Being Emotional At OTF (or It’s Weird Seeing The Studio Like This)

Posted in Fitness, Tough Stuff

Tagged , ,

Slowly Working My Way Back (or Continuing To Have Dizzy Workouts)

Posted on November 23, 2020 | Comments Off on Slowly Working My Way Back (or Continuing To Have Dizzy Workouts)

It’s been over 2 weeks since I started having vertigo, and it’s slowly getting better. I’ve had minimal setbacks, but the progress also isn’t as fast as I hoped it would be. I am still noticing that things are getting better for me each day, but I still have a ways to go before I’m 100% back to normal.

For the most part, I’m not doing much and just trying to rest. The one big exception to that is doing my workouts. My workouts are still not near what they normally are, but I am trying to do the best that I can and to continue my routine. That’s what I was able to do the last time I wrote a recap and that’s what I did this past week as well.

I’m still modifying my workouts a lot. I’m limiting things that are face down since I notice those are making me a bit more dizzy. It might have to do with getting up and down so much, but it’s easy to just try to skip those when there are a lot of those exercises. I also rearrange the exercises if I need to so all the standing exercises are bunched together and all the floor exercises are bunched together. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s helping and I keep finding new things that I can do or ways to work around being dizzy.

I’m also still sitting down for some exercises when I can and I hold onto the wall for several standing ones. But I’m noticing that I can test not holding onto the wall or that I’m not feeling as bad after each block. Just like my overall progress, my workout progress is a slow journey and I just have to be patient and only try to push myself a little bit each time.

I know I’ve dealt with this situation before. I’ve had to come back from different injuries and from when I’ve been sick before. I know I can do it again. It’s always just tough for me to remember how slow the progress might be. I’m frustrated when I can’t do what I want to do or what I feel like I should be able to do. And it’s harder now because I’m not working out in the studio with my coach and my friends encouraging me. Working out alone is something that I’m used to, but it’s still not something I love. And I think seeing how it feels trying to get back to my old self is another thing to put on the list of what I don’t like about working out at home.

I’m still considering doing the Orangetheory outdoor workouts in the future. It’s something that I think will help with the motivation and to get me back to feeling like I have my normal workouts again in my life. I can’t do them just yet because I am not driving just yet (hopefully tomorrow I’ll feel up to driving) and I want to get my endurance and strength up a bit more. I know that the outdoor workouts will be harder than what I’ve been doing for the last 8 months, so I want to be more to my normal self before I push myself like that. But it also depends on how bad the cases get around here. I have to still decide if it’s worth the small risk. I know that it’s much safer than many workout places are because it’s outside, everyone has to wear a mask, and people are kept apart. But it’s still a risk that I have to be totally on board with taking. Since I’m not ready to try those workouts, I still have time to decide what I want to do.

I hope that this week, I will continue to make progress and get better. I’m ready to feel a bit more like me and to feel like my workouts are really good and tough. I want to feel strong again. And I want to not have to worry about feeling dizzy in the middle of a workout. I know I’m getting there and I’ll get there eventually. I just would really love for that to happen this week.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailMy Own Type Of Hell Week (or Working Through Some Tough Workouts) Default ThumbnailWorking Through The Workouts (Modifications Are Harder At Home) Default ThumbnailWorking Through Physical Challenges (or Not Letting Feeling Bad Ruin My Workouts) Default ThumbnailMy Workouts Are Never Simple (or I Need To Keep Working On Modifications) Default ThumbnailThanksgiving Workouts (or Continuing A Tradition) Default ThumbnailContinuing To Get Better (or Still Finding Wins In My Workouts)

Comments Off on Slowly Working My Way Back (or Continuing To Have Dizzy Workouts)

Posted in Fitness

Tagged , ,

Almost Missing An Entire Week Of Workouts (or Another Issue With Vertigo)

Posted on November 16, 2020 | Comments Off on Almost Missing An Entire Week Of Workouts (or Another Issue With Vertigo)

When I wrote about how I thought this past week of workouts would go for me, my big concern was how I was going to deal with nausea during my workouts. Even though I’ve been having to deal with monthly nausea for 4 years now (almost exactly 4 years to the day), it never really gets easier for me. I have learned tricks to manage it, but it’s still something I have to push through and that causes me to not be able to do my full workouts.

What I didn’t expect was having to deal with vertigo instead. In one way, I guess it’s nice I didn’t have my usual nausea (although vertigo did cause some). But I know how to deal with nausea. I don’t know how to deal with vertigo. And I especially don’t know how to deal with vertigo that is as severe as it was for me. I’ve never had vertigo that lasted more than maybe a few hours. Dealing with it for a week is unheard of for me. And not only did it last really long, but it was also really severe for a lot of that time. And there was nothing I could do about it.

My workouts weren’t necessarily a priority for me while I was dealing with vertigo, but it was something I was thinking about. I knew on Monday that there was no way I could work out. I was barely able to walk that day. So doing more than walking from my bed to my couch was unimaginable for me. Honestly, that walking felt like a huge workout. I never knew trying to find my balance could be so strenuous. Wednesday was a little better than Monday, but workouts were still not an option for me. I tried to do a little more walking around my house, and that was enough for me. I know it’s not a real workout but it’s all I could do.

Friday was a bit of a better day. I actually thought I might be able to work out. I knew I couldn’t do the Zoom workout I normally do on Fridays, but I was hoping I could do the OTF at Home workout that was posted on their app. So that morning I put on my workout clothes when I got dressed. But after getting dressed I got very dizzy again. The vertigo had been getting better, but it hit me really hard and I was a bit surprised by it. I thought maybe I could rest a bit and it would go away, but it never seemed to do that. It did get a bit better, but not to the point where I felt comfortable trying to work out. It did feel really weird to spend my entire day in workout clothes, but I was trying to be optimistic and think that maybe I could do an evening workout.

Saturday was another day that I felt like a workout would be possible. It’s tough to judge if I’m really doing better or just telling myself that I’m better even if I’m not. But again I tried to be optimistic. I got into my workout clothes and didn’t have a lot of extra vertigo. I did feel a little bit more, but I also think now that it might have to do with just getting dressed. So I sat down for a few hours to try to get things feeling better and this time it worked! So I finally could work out again!

The workout on Saturday was not like a normal workout for me. It wasn’t even like a normal workout when I’m nauseous. I was dealing with being weak from not working out at all for a week plus the vertigo issues. I’m grateful that I wasn’t really nauseous on top of all that, but I did have a little nausea to deal with. I had to do a lot of modifications to the workout. If a block had some floor stuff and some standing stuff, I rearranged it so I did all the floor stuff back to back and all the standing stuff back to back. For one block, I actually skipped the floor stuff so I didn’t have to get on the ground again. I was slow and cautious with all my movements because I didn’t know what might trigger vertigo. And I had to take a lot of breaks. I tried to be good and pause the video when I took a break, but that wasn’t always possible.

I did experience vertigo during the workout. Many times, if I was doing something while standing up, I had to hold onto a wall to stay balanced and upright. On the ground, I had to sit up a lot to let vertigo happen and go away. I never knew that crunches could cause vertigo, but I guess they do. And just like earlier in the week, just being balanced was a workout in itself. I was sweating so much just standing. But I’m glad I tried because I was able to do a little bit of a workout. Most of the sweat was probably related to vertigo and not the workout, but at least I know I did something.

And I added a workout on Sunday. I did this for a few reasons. First, I was continuing to feel better so I wanted to do another workout. Also, I figured if I added a Sunday workout, I only missed 2 workouts and not 3 over the week. And finally, I had a minor freakout after my Saturday workout when I tried to do the math about getting to my goal for workouts this year. I don’t know what math I was doing, but somehow it made it seem like I had to do 5 more workouts than I would normally do to make up what I missed (I’ve since figured out my math was very off and I don’t know exactly what happened).

Sunday’s workout went very similar to Saturday’s. I did a lot of modifications to do some exercises while holding on to a wall. I also limited floor work because there was no way to do those without triggering vertigo. I was able to do a bit more than I had the day before, but I also am being gentle with myself and trying to listen to my body more than normal. I know that if vertigo hits me really hard, I am somewhat safe at my house. There are not a lot of things that I would fall onto or trip over if I started to stumble. But I still don’t want to trigger vertigo if I can help it. It’s going to be a lot of trial and error to see what makes it worse and what doesn’t until I’m back to normal. And that plan might change each day that I work out. But I’m willing to try and I’m glad I did the Sunday workout because it did make me feel better.

It wasn’t easy to not workout when I really wanted to this past week. My body wasn’t up to it but my mind was. And as I’ve said before, my workouts help my mental health so it was really hard on me to miss them. I am glad that it seems like my math was wrong and I am still on track for my workout goal. Of course, I’m still going to keep checking on that because I’m paranoid now that my math is still wrong. But I only missed 2 workouts this past week and over the rest of the year, I haven’t missed that many. And I can miss 8 workouts a year and still hit my goal.

Originally, my plan was to try to maybe get to an outdoor workout at one of the studios this week, but I don’t think that will be possible. I’m still recovering from vertigo so my workouts are still hard on me. And because of vertigo, I’m not ready to try to drive yet. I might be safe to drive, but I want to wait until I feel a bit more sure about it. So I’m hoping that this week I can just do my 4 workouts at home and that will be a victory for me!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailA 4 Workout Week (or Only A Few More Weeks Of 2015 Workouts) Default ThumbnailMy Own Type Of Hell Week (or Working Through Some Tough Workouts) Default ThumbnailStill Dealing With Vertigo (or This May Take A While To Recover From) Default ThumbnailMissing My Normal Workouts More Than Ever (or I Needed Someone To Push Me This Week) Default ThumbnailWhy Can’t I Just Have A Normal Week? (or Another Bad Week Of Workouts) Default ThumbnailBirthday Workouts (or Just Having A Good Week Of Workouts)

Comments Off on Almost Missing An Entire Week Of Workouts (or Another Issue With Vertigo)

Posted in Fitness

Tagged , , ,

A Weird Workout Week (or Election Week Workouts)

Posted on November 9, 2020 | Comments Off on A Weird Workout Week (or Election Week Workouts)

I think everyone can agree that the past week was a weird one. There were so many moments of heightened emotions and many of us didn’t get a lot of sleep. I know at least I didn’t sleep much. And the week and the events going on definitely affected my workouts. Sometimes in a positive way and sometimes in a negative way.

The most normal workout this past week for me was on Monday. While I was already nervous about the election, there wasn’t much I could do about it. I had been making sure all my friends were going to vote and that was that. So my workout was pretty much what I expected. I still have struggled with trying to push myself a lot, but I’m getting better at it. I am starting to modify the workouts a bit more than normal and replacing exercises that I’m more excited to do. I still try to have lots of variety, but sometimes I need to switch it up so I’m not dreading an exercise. It’s not ideal, but it’s how I’m managing.

Wednesday’s workout was a bit of a sluggish one. I didn’t sleep much at all the night before. I was exhausted and emotional. I was also stressed and a little obsessed with checking the news. I tried to look at the workout as a break from the news because I needed it, but taking a break also was stressful because I wanted to see what was happening. I didn’t know if something would be actual breaking news (not just how cable news was calling races too close to call breaking news) and I didn’t want to not know. But I was able to keep my phone face down while working out and I didn’t check social media once during the workout. I know that I was still a bit distracted, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

Friday was my Zoom workout. I think all of us were really tired that morning. So much had happened overnight and I didn’t get a lot of sleep because of being excited about what was going on. But when I have a Zoom workout, there’s no way I can be distracted. I know my coach would call me out if she saw me on my phone or if I disappeared and wasn’t working out anymore. It was a good break for me and the first real forced break I had from the news since Tuesday. And I know I needed the break and the hard workout. I could tell how much better I was feeling as soon as I was done. Also, as soon as the workout was done and we were stretching I did check social media and updated everyone on how the election was going. I think we all were feeling better knowing that things continued to look good for us and more likely that Joe Biden would be announced President-Elect.

And on Saturday, my workout happened after the announcement had been made. I actually worked out a little later than I planned to because of the news. I was just so excited that the election was finally called. We had been prepared for an Election Week instead of just an Election Day, but I was ready for it to be done. I was getting frustrated with the news not calling it because it seemed like they had called lots of other states that didn’t have as large of a margin. But I guess it was worth the wait because it was such amazing news!

But I didn’t want to miss watching the news and seeing all the celebrations around the country, so I decided to keep my tv on while I did the workout. I always have my workout going on my iPad, so it was easy enough to keep the news on my tv. And I just lowered the volume of the workout during the blocks (after the instructions) so the news ended up being my soundtrack.

It was a good choice for me to keep the news on because it was motivating me. But I know that normally I won’t do that because it also was a bit distracting. But I was ok being a little bit distracted that day because of how incredible it was to see history being made. And while I was trying to work hard, I also was just dealing with a lot of emotions because of the election. I was tired from not sleeping, happy that the results were the way I was hoping (at least with the President and Vice President), and relief that I think we are going to have amazing leaders running our country and hopefully getting things back under control.

This week, my workouts are going to be a bit different because of my schedule, but I’m still planning on getting my 4 workouts in. And hopefully now that the election is done, I can focus a bit more on them than I did this past week. I do know that this week is when I am expecting my nausea to come back, but I’m prepared to push through. I pushed through Election Week, so I can push through Nausea Week.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailI Hate Having A Hard Workout Week (or Not My Usual Workout Recap) Default ThumbnailFirst Week of Workouts After The Challenge (or Weird Workout Times) Default ThumbnailA Very Weird Workout Week (or Food Poisoning And Holiday Workouts) Default ThumbnailWeird Workout Times (or My Final Workouts Before My 5K) Default ThumbnailAnother Weird Workout Week (or Dealing With A Different Type Of Nausea) Default ThumbnailA Planned 3 Workout Week (or Medication and Workouts)

Comments Off on A Weird Workout Week (or Election Week Workouts)

Posted in Fitness, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , ,

Another Week Of My Own Hell Week (or Hell Month Is No Joke For Me)

Posted on October 26, 2020 | Comments Off on Another Week Of My Own Hell Week (or Hell Month Is No Joke For Me)

When Hell Week was announced this year, I thought it wouldn’t be as bad as it seemed. It was spread out over the entire month, and even though the last week of the month would be what I’m used to, it seemed like I would almost be easing myself into it. But then I have been dealing with other things that made my workouts harder. For example, I didn’t have any Hell Week workouts the week I was feeling nauseous, but it was just as bad. And that’s kind of what I ended up going through this past week.

I didn’t have any Zoom workouts this past week, so they were all video ones. And I only did the official Orangetheory ones because I wasn’t feeling up to planning out more than that. But for the first two workouts last week, I was still feeling awful. I was struggling so much with the workouts and I actually ended up pausing the video several times to let the nausea pass because I knew I would be missing a majority of the workout otherwise.

I know that I can do more than what I did this past week. I do that when I’m in the studio working out. I don’t know if it’s a lack of motivation or lack of encouragement. But whatever it is, I’m not working as hard as I can even when I do struggle.

Friday’s workout was the first one that I was feeling pretty decent for. I was able to push myself a bit more and I eased into doing some of the harder things that I usually do in my workouts. And on Saturday, I finally had another official Hell Week workout. Thankfully, I was feeling much more like myself for that one.

I still had to do some modifications to that workout because of a few things. Some of the exercises were things I couldn’t do because of my hips. Some of them were things I wasn’t strong enough to do after having so many workouts where I had to take it easy. But I tried really hard to push myself because I know that’s the point of Hell Week. It was only the second Hell Week workout I had done, even though there were already 5 that had happened. But this coming week I’ll be making up for it.

Every day this week is a Hell Week workout. I only need 2 more to earn my shirt, and I’ll get at least 3. It depends on if I have a Zoom workout this week or not. So I’ll either be doing 3 Hell Week workouts and 1 Zoom one or 4 Hell Week workouts. Either way, it’s going to be a hard week to end out the month.

And soon, there’s a chance I might be able to push myself even more. The downtown LA studio has been doing outside classes for a while now. I haven’t gone because they aren’t that close to me. But starting next week, the studio in Marina Del Rey will be doing outside classes. They will be smaller than the normal class size and things will have spacing (plus masks will be required), so they are trying to make it as safe as possible.

Even if I wanted to go, I wouldn’t be able to go for the first few weeks since I’m doing a quarantine right now before seeing my family. But that does allow for time to make sure that everything is running smoothly and I can see if any of my friends are going to do the classes too. I know that the safest workouts will be the workouts I do at home alone, but I also know that I’m craving something more. Even when I feel awful, I want to be doing something more. And these outside workouts might be the safest option for me to find something more than what I’m doing.

But that would still be a few weeks away if I start adding those to my weekly workout. For now, I’m ready for the last week of Hell Week, finishing out this challenge, and earning my shirt!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailMy Own Type Of Hell Week (or Working Through Some Tough Workouts) Default ThumbnailThis Does Feel Like A Normal Routine (or Another Full Workout Week) Default ThumbnailA Month-Long Hell Week (or I’m Still Making Sure I Earn My Shirt) Default ThumbnailHell Week Part 1 (or Not Pushing It Too Much) Default ThumbnailFeeling More Back To Normal (or A Good Week Of Hell Week Prep) Default ThumbnailHell Week To Orange Voyage (or One Challenge To Another)

Comments Off on Another Week Of My Own Hell Week (or Hell Month Is No Joke For Me)

Posted in Fitness

Tagged , , ,