This past week of workouts was a mix of good and bad. I wasn’t necessarily feeling off, but I was dealing with the effects of having a rough weekend. So I was a little weaker than normal and I had some moments of being lightheaded. It wasn’t as bad as my bad weeks go and I was still able to push myself quite a bit, but there were a few moments in each workout where I just had to stop and take it easy for a bit before I felt normal again.
Monday’s workout was a signature class. This time, it was the Inferno workout. Doing Inferno as a 3 group class is a bit different since it’s not a run/row, but you still get a lot of chances to push yourself.
For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block had intervals of base and push paces, but the base paces got longer each time and the push pace was always 1-minute long. And we ended with a 30-second push pace to a 30-second all-out. And the second block was the same idea but this time all the push paces were 30-seconds long. And we ended with the same 1-minute push to all-out.
The rower is the main part of the Inferno workout. We started with a 100-meter row and then we had lateral hops. I had to do them more like skater lunges, but I did get a little hop into them. And every time we went back to the rower, we increased the distance by 100-meters. The goal is to get as many meters as you can in 14 minutes. I didn’t have a real goal in my head since I didn’t have the information from the past 3 group Inferno classes I’ve done, but I felt like I did a pretty decent job.
And on the floor, we had 2 blocks. The first block had chest presses on the straps, chest flys with weights, and overhead tricep extensions. And the second block had low rows on the straps, reverse flys with weights, and hammer curls. And for the last minute, we had burpees and I used the bench as always for my hands.
On Wednesday, we had a repeat template, but I didn’t do this the first time it happened so it was new for me. It was originally before a benchmark run (which I didn’t do), so it was a prep for that benchmark. But even without having the benchmark coming up, it was a good endurance day for me on the bike.
For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block was a 6 1/2-minute distance challenge. We were supposed to keep things at one speed/resistance level and just see how far we could go. And in the second block, we did a 6-minute distance challenge with a 30-second all-out at the end. And the goal was to beat the first distance. Both times, I set my resistance level on the bike to be between my normal base and push paces. And I was very happy that I beat my first distance by quite a bit! Usually, it’s really close but this time I had a bigger difference than I can remember from challenges like this.
On the rower, we had 2 blocks and for both blocks it was all about 300-meter rows. We always had a 300-meter row and between each row we had a medicine ball exercise. In the first block, we had shoulder presses. And in the second block, we had tricep extensions. I have been going between the medicine ball I normally use and one that is a little heavier since I haven’t changed that in quite a long time. And while it is harder, that’s how it should be. I need to challenge myself more and push when I can. And that was the perfect way I could do that when I wasn’t feeling my absolute best.
And on the floor, we had one long block with mini-blocks within the big block. We did each mini-block 3 times before moving on. The first mini-block had goblet squats and jumps with back shuffles. I normally wouldn’t do a jump, but I decided to try it. I didn’t get a lot of distance and I stayed close to the ground, but I was able to do a bit of a jump each time. I did have the wall next to me to help with balance and I did need to use it quite a bit. But doing that is better than not trying a jump at all. But because I was doing the jumps and that took longer, I wasn’t able to get through all 3 rounds of the second mini-block. In that one, we had split stance deadlifts and lunges. And to finish the workout, we had plank jacks.
Thursday’s workout was a repeat from the 4th of July, so I had done it before. But I was happy to repeat this one since there were things I would be able to change about it. It was the workout where you could pick which of the options you wanted to do. I knew I would do a lot of it the same as the first time I did it because of some of my restrictions, but I did try to change it up when I could.
For cardio, we started with a .1 mile (.4 for me) distance with a 30-second walking recovery after. Then, we had the choice to either increase the distance by .1 (or .4) each round or increase the incline/resistance level by 1 each time. I picked increasing the distance since I didn’t want to get the resistance levels up too high. I kept my resistance level between my normal base and push paces, so it wasn’t too hard but there was a difference between when I was doing the distance challenge and when I was in the recovery.
For the rower, we had intervals of rowing and squats. And the options were to always do a 200-meter row and start with 6 jump squats and increase the squats each time or to start with a 100-meter row, do 6 regular squats, and then increase the row by 100-meters each time. I picked starting at 100-meters and increasing by 100-meters each time because I knew that adding more squats each round was going to be too tough on my hips.
And on the floor, the options were either a strength or a stability challenge. The first time I did it, I chose strength. But this time, I went with stability and knew I would have to just go slowly. I did have to modify the first exercise in the floor block because it was a lunge using the Bosu. I had to do regular lunges since I knew that there was no way I would be able to balance. Then we had bridge hold chest presses, hip bridges, and sit-ups; all while laying on the Bosu. That does involve stability, but it was more about core stability and not too much on my hips.
And by Friday, while I was still a little bit weak, I was very close to normal and took advantage of that. I still had moments when I needed to rest, but it was much better than the rest of the week.
For cardio, it was all about 30-second intervals. We had rounds of a 30-second push pace, 30-second all-out, and 45-second recovery. Each block had 4 rounds and in the first block the focus was going harder for each push pace and in the second block the focus was going harder for each all-out.
On the rower, we had a pyramid row. So we had a 200-meter, 400-meter, 600-meter, 400-meter, and 200-meter row. And between each row, we had medicine ball exercises. I modified them so they were just upper body work, so I had overhead presses and front presses and skipped the lunges and squats since I knew I would have some lunges and lower body work in the floor block. I did ok with my rows, but not great. I was working on the second 400-meter row when the block was done and I really was hoping to at least be working on the last 200-meter row before it was done.
On the floor, we had one long block with 3 mini-blocks in it. We did each mini-block twice before moving to the next one. We had close grip chest presses and low rows with weights, sumo deadlifts and lunges, and tricep extensions and concentration curls. I was just finishing the last round of the last mini-block before we finished with 30-seconds of lateral lunges to finish the workout.
I didn’t have the great week that I was hoping for, but I really am proud of what I did considering how I was feeling. And knowing that it wasn’t as bad as my bad weeks normally are helped me a lot. All I can hope for is to have a similar feeling this week and to know I did what I could no matter how I might feel.
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