I knew going into this week that it was probably going to be a bad workout week for me. I was feeling really bad over the weekend and I knew it would get worse during the week. And I was right.
Monday’s workout was really horrible for me. I knew based on how I was feeling on Sunday, that I was going to have a rough day on Monday. And when I feel like that, I just have to do what I can and accept that I probably will have to make a lot of modifications or go slowly.
For cardio, we had 2 blocks and the first block was self-timed. We had different distances to go and then we were supposed to do squats and lunges between each distance. I set my resistance level to be at my push pace to start, but I had to go down to my base a few times. And I was able to do the squats, but I skipped the lunges to save a bit of time so I could get back onto the bike. And the second block was 3 rounds of a 30-second all-out followed by a 45-second recovery. For that block, I did use my regular all-out resistance level so I felt a bit better doing that.
Both the rower and the floor were timed for the entire thing. On the rower, the first 2 blocks were rounds of a 30-second push row and 45-second base row. And we ended with a 30-second all-out row. We were supposed to use a lower stroke rate for the second block, but I wasn’t too focused on the stroke rate and more about just trying to keep rowing. And for the last block, we were timed with cardio and had the 30-second all-outs. During the 45-second recoveries, we were supposed to do lunges, but I did recovery rows because I knew that I didn’t have enough time to get out of the rower and back in before the time was done.
And on the floor, the first block had sumo deadlifts for the 30-second intervals and push-ups for the 45-second intervals. The second block had goblet squats for the 30-second intervals and side plank reaches for the 45-second intervals. And the last block had burpees for the 30-second intervals and in the 45-second intervals we had to do 12 plank jacks and then we could rest for whatever time was left. I did modify the face-down things to be using the bench and I just went really slowly with the exercises so I know I didn’t get that many reps in. But at least I did it.
Wednesday’s workout was one that I did in the first half of the month. But this time, I was just dealing with really intense pain. I’m glad I wasn’t also nauseous, but the pain was some of the worst cramps I can remember having.
We had 3 blocks for cardio and it was all about all-outs and walking recoveries. The first block had 4 30-second all-outs. The first recovery was 30 seconds and they increased by 15 seconds each time. The second block had 3 45-second all-outs and the recoveries started at 45-seconds and went up by 15-seconds each time. And the last block had 2 1-minute all-outs with a 1-minute recovery between them. I was using my resistance levels on the bike, but I was also taking a ton of breaks to let the pain pass so I wasn’t working the entire time.
On the rower, we started with a 3-minute row. After the row, we had tricep extensions and front presses with a medicine ball. Then we had a 90-second row with the exercises after and a 45-second row with the exercises after. I actually made it through all of that and was rowing until the block ended at the end.
And on the floor, we had one long block with 3 mini-blocks. We were supposed to do each mini-block twice before moving on to the next one. We had leg lifts with the straps and lateral lunges, squats to y-raises on the straps and hip hinge reverse flies with weights, and plank blast-offs and suitcase squats. I only made it to the first round of the suitcase squats when the workout ended because I was really slow with a lot of the other exercises and I had to sit a few times to let the pain subside.
Thursday was better than Wednesday, and I felt pretty good that I was over the worst of the pain and nausea. I was still having a few moments where I had a wave of pain or nausea hit me, but they were less severe and less frequent.
For cardio, the first block started with a longer push pace into a base pace. Then we had a shorter push pace into an all-out. Then we had a recovery and then another all-out. The second block had a shorter push pace in the beginning and then followed the same pattern as the first block but we had a few more all-outs during the end of the block. I was glad I was able to do better than I did earlier in the week, but I knew it still wasn’t quite what I can do when I’m feeling ok.
On the rower, we started with a 400-meter row and then we had body weight good mornings with shoulder presses. The exercise felt a bit more like a stretch to me, but I really needed that stretch so I liked it. We continued to row and do the exercise but we reduced the row by 100 meters each time. And then for the last part of the rowing, we worked with cardio with the all-outs and recovery.
And on the floor, we had 2 blocks. The first block started with mini-band work. We had a hip bridge and static crunches. I did go really heavy with the weight for my hip bridges, and I need to learn how to lift some of the heavier weights for exercises like that because it was really tough! After the mini-band work, the rest of the first block had alternating Arnold presses and step-downs to scaption raises. I was able to lower the bench enough to do the step-downs, so I didn’t have to modify that exercise. The second block was supposed to start with mini-band work, but I modified those to be without mini-bands. We had seated torso rotations and single-leg hip bridges. I also modified the hip bridges to be regular since I cannot do the single-leg ones. The rest of the second block had shoulder presses and step-ups to bicep curls, and I did the step-ups since the bench was already lower for me.
By Friday, I was almost back to normal which is much faster than I expected. I had a few brief moments of the pain being really bad, but I also think that was because I didn’t take any painkillers before class. If I had taken one, I don’t think I would have had any pain.
For cardio, we had an interesting block. We started with 2-minutes where we were supposed to be between a base pace and a push pace. Then we had 1-minute at our push pace and then a 30-second all-out. After that, we had 3 minutes to recover, but the goal was to be back at our base pace as soon as possible. And then we had a 1-minute all-out. We then had another recovery (I don’t quite remember how long that was) before we repeated the same format again. I liked the idea of doing something between a base and push pace and then a push pace after. It really let me focus on keeping my pedaling steady for a longer time without getting quite as tired as I would be if we had a 2 or 3-minute push pace.
On the rower, we started with 3 rounds of a 200-meter row with a ground to press with a medicine ball. Then we had 3 rounds of a 150-meter row and a front press with a medicine ball. We also had exercises with a 100-meter row, but I only started the 100-meter row before we were told to rest for a moment before finishing the block with a 1-minute all-out row.
And on the floor, we had 4 exercises to do. We had lunges (we were supposed to do bench lunges but I did regular ones), hip hinge reciprocating rows with weights, deadlifts, and reciprocating chest presses. And at the end, we had 1-minute that we were supposed to do as bench hop overs, but I did squats instead because I knew I couldn’t do those at the end of what was a pretty tough workout!
I am feeling like I should be past all the pain and nausea now, but I know there might be one or two more days that might be a bit tough on me. But I feel pretty good that this workout week will be a better one than last week was for me. And in a few more weeks, I’ll be back to my bad week and repeat the cycle over and over again.
You Might Also Like
A Better Workout Week Than Expected (or I Like When Things Aren’t As Bad As I Thought)
Working Through My Workout Week (or At Least I Knew This Was Coming)
A Short Workout Week (or I Guess I’m Glad This Happened On A Bad Week)
Just A Normal And Good Workout Week (or Using My Workouts To Get Out My Stress)
A Bad Workout Week For A Different Reason (or I Guess I Was Too Optimistic)
Another Week Of Weekday Workout (or Getting Used To This Plan)
