Rowing Clinic - January 6th, 1:30 - I went to Orangetheory for a rowing clinic, put on by head coach Toni and assisted by the other trainers. The idea was to break down all the parts of the water rowing machine and help members make sense of the monitors and more importantly the importance of proper form. I was excited to learn more about this, as I am a self proclaimed Orangetheory nerd. Seriously, I read the book about company in like three days. I am not much of a reader, but I was hooked on this book!
Anyway, we partnered up and I was working with Bethany, a girl I met through a long distance hiking program last year. She and I bonded over our love of Carolina Dogs at the first hiking meeting! The clinic started with questions to the group about WHY we use water rowers. Toni is a former teacher and it’s funny to me because I can tell every time she is using classroom language and it makes me smile. Like I said, I am an OTF nerd and I tried SO HARD to not be the girl that knows all the answers. But the teacher side of me was like “She doesn’t want us to just stare at her and stand silently. I gave the rest of the class a chance to answer and then finally spoke up about the WHY behind the equipment. Fortunately, a few others chimed in as well!. Later she asked the order of the movements and again I waited, then shouted out “LEGS, CORE, ARMS!” This went on for the duration of the class. I guess it proves that I listen!!
Toni: “How should you feel when you’re in the green zone?”
Me: (waiting for anyone else to answer…no one does) “Challenging but doable!!”
Girls in the corner: giggling at Ms. OTF
Me: (in my mind) Seriously, you guys! Say something!
During the clinic we broke down every little part of the movement and were able to see immediate feedback on the monitor. I also learned that my favorite Hoka shoes are too wide in the heel to really fit in the footplates. Next workout I decided I will try out a newer pair of Adidas Boost shoes that I have.
Anyway, we partnered up and I was working with Bethany, a girl I met through a long distance hiking program last year. She and I bonded over our love of Carolina Dogs at the first hiking meeting! The clinic started with questions to the group about WHY we use water rowers. Toni is a former teacher and it’s funny to me because I can tell every time she is using classroom language and it makes me smile. Like I said, I am an OTF nerd and I tried SO HARD to not be the girl that knows all the answers. But the teacher side of me was like “She doesn’t want us to just stare at her and stand silently. I gave the rest of the class a chance to answer and then finally spoke up about the WHY behind the equipment. Fortunately, a few others chimed in as well!. Later she asked the order of the movements and again I waited, then shouted out “LEGS, CORE, ARMS!” This went on for the duration of the class. I guess it proves that I listen!!
Toni: “How should you feel when you’re in the green zone?”
Me: (waiting for anyone else to answer…no one does) “Challenging but doable!!”
Girls in the corner: giggling at Ms. OTF
Me: (in my mind) Seriously, you guys! Say something!
During the clinic we broke down every little part of the movement and were able to see immediate feedback on the monitor. I also learned that my favorite Hoka shoes are too wide in the heel to really fit in the footplates. Next workout I decided I will try out a newer pair of Adidas Boost shoes that I have.
Not my studio, but this is what the water rowers look like.
The best edit I could get! OTF Workout #10 - January 7th - 5:30pm - Tonight’s workout was my least favorite of all types of workouts. It was an ESP workout (endurance, strength, power). I like endurance days, strength days, and power days, but those days when they are altogether are the most challenging for me. The first move we did on the TRX straps is one that kinda messed me up for the rest of the workout. I will admit that my arms are weak as can be, which is one of my reasons WHY I joined OTF. We had to lean back and pull ourselves up with one arm in a bicep curl and then reach as far up the strap as we could with our other arm. I as doing good at first but by the time I got to the second set my arms were getting weak. When I went over to the rower I could feel that my right arm wouldn’t quite straighten and my fingers were shaking. I pushed through and completed that section of the workout, the whole time thinking “I must have just strained the inside of my elbow.” I kept going, because gymnastics and ultra running have taught me to never quit, even if it hurts. One of the challenge we had on the rower was to see how far we could row in 10 pulls. Remembering what I learned in the rowing clinic from the day before, I remembered, Toni saying “Efficient rowers can row 10 meters in one stroke”. “Okay self, that means you better pull 100 meters!” Legs, core, arms, PAUSE, punch arms forward, core up, legs. This is what I told myself ten times. I looked at the monitor and it read “99 meters” Damnit, are you kidding me?!?!? I went back to the floor to do my squats (forgot to do the mountain climbers) and went back to the rower, determined to see 100 on my monitor when I finished. I felt so accomplished when I did! Before that rowing clinic I was pulling closer to 80-90. Change happens when you are willing to learn and willing to put in the work! My workout total for the rower was 1200 meters. I’ll take it!
On the treadmill I worked at controlling my heart rate. I was trying to stay green in my BASE zone and orange in my PUSH pace. We only had a few ALL OUT efforts and they were not long enough for me to put my heartrate into the red zone. My workout had a total of 17 seconds in red. I am most proud of my last ALL OUT effort where I pushed the treadmill up to 9mph (6:40 mile pace) “You can do anything for 30 seconds” I could hear the coaches saying in my head. I felt like I was killing it! When I stepped off the treadmill at the end of the workout, my monitor read 2 miles. I’m telling you, without OTF, I would NOT push myself as hard in a workout. Could I do this in a gym somewhere else? Sure. Would I get the same quality effort? Absolutely not!
At the end of the workout my right arm still wasn’t looking right. I showed Toni how it wouldn’t straighten without serious effort on my part. She recommended heat and stretching for when I got home, which I did! In fact, even right now as I type this blog post I have my arm wrapped in a heating pad. My plan was to go to the studio tomorrow (Wednesday) but I’m going to be smart and take an extra rest day and then go Thursday and Saturday instead. It will still give me three workouts for the week and avoid compromising my overall muscle health. Rest days are just as important as workout days!
Overall Stats
483 calories burned
23 splat points
144 average heart rate
On the treadmill I worked at controlling my heart rate. I was trying to stay green in my BASE zone and orange in my PUSH pace. We only had a few ALL OUT efforts and they were not long enough for me to put my heartrate into the red zone. My workout had a total of 17 seconds in red. I am most proud of my last ALL OUT effort where I pushed the treadmill up to 9mph (6:40 mile pace) “You can do anything for 30 seconds” I could hear the coaches saying in my head. I felt like I was killing it! When I stepped off the treadmill at the end of the workout, my monitor read 2 miles. I’m telling you, without OTF, I would NOT push myself as hard in a workout. Could I do this in a gym somewhere else? Sure. Would I get the same quality effort? Absolutely not!
At the end of the workout my right arm still wasn’t looking right. I showed Toni how it wouldn’t straighten without serious effort on my part. She recommended heat and stretching for when I got home, which I did! In fact, even right now as I type this blog post I have my arm wrapped in a heating pad. My plan was to go to the studio tomorrow (Wednesday) but I’m going to be smart and take an extra rest day and then go Thursday and Saturday instead. It will still give me three workouts for the week and avoid compromising my overall muscle health. Rest days are just as important as workout days!
Overall Stats
483 calories burned
23 splat points
144 average heart rate
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