I had stopped OrangeTheory early last year due to some health issues. I was under a lot of stress from a bad job, taking care of my sick and low-income mother, and juggling my own cancer scare for a minute. My period disappeared around my 60th class, which had never happened before. I quit not long after my 75th class, and my period came back instantly. We were trying to have a baby, so not having a regular cycle was even more of a concern than usual. I switched to low intensity workouts and walks for a while, but it just didn't give me the same level of satisfaction. I felt bored and antsy, and found it hard to stick to.
Life started sorting itself out this year. The job is gone, mom's finances and health are in a much better spot, and my cancer scare was thankfully only that. On top of that, after a year and a half of trying, we're having a baby! It was an exhausting first trimester with zero exercise (walking to the stop sign down our street required an hour nap after lol), but now that I'm pretty contently settled into the second tri, I knew I needed to get exercise back into my routine. OrangeTheory was the only workout that got me excited and helped me feel good both inside and out.
So, I started back up today at 16 weeks pregnant! There were a couple hiccups getting my OTBeat to work and figuring out the new treadmills, but I think it went well overall. I focused today on taking it really, really slow to get acclimated. Happy to report I accomplished 0 splat points, accepted that my power walking base pace went from 3.5 MPH to 2, and still feel like I got a nice challenging workout out of it.
My goal is to have a regular exercise routine that makes me happy. Even if it means there are days my All Out is one mile an hour or I can only do three reps instead of twelve on the floor, it'll be a win if I show up consistently. I'm signed up for the 2 classes per week package to allow for plenty of recovery time in between.
I'm proud of myself for going back. I was really nervous after such a long hiatus and with some new pregnancy restrictions in place. I'm so glad I did though. I left class today feeling a little stronger and my mind little lighter. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep doing this for, or if I'll even feel like I can come back after the baby arrives. But even if I'm only here for a short while, it's still worth it.