blog

[/caption] Monday was a deceptively difficult WOD. At first I thought, “This is not enough, Mike!” It was 5 rounds of 1 set of stairs followed by max strict pull-ups and an additional 5 kipping pull-ups when I couldn’t get another strict rep. The first round was a breeze. I got 7 strict reps followed by the 5 kipping reps. The next 4 rounds were very challenging. I averaged 4 reps strict, and that was everything I had, followed by 5 kipping reps. Coming off the stairs was what made it difficult. I really liked doing the strict reps, it was something different and strength driven. Afterwards I did an ab circuit, foam rolling, lacrosse-ball rolling and stretching. Tuesday I did 5×5 low-bar back squat. I did 185 lb. for all sets. After the third set, I thought perhaps I had gone too light. However, when I did the fourth and fifth set I knew I was bang on. I had to fight hard to keep my chest up, and anything heavier would have caused some serious form breaks. After this I did a 7-minute burpee suicide drill where I sprinted one length of the track, touched the line, sprinted back and did a burpee. One length is about 15 meters, and I got 36 burpees total. It was a burner, and my posterior chain was on fire from the back squats. Wednesday I rested, and Thursday I did a 3RM snatch deadlift, followed by 3 x 5 bench press. I worked up to 175 lb. on the snatch deadlift, keeping my back angle locked in for all three laps. For the bench press, I did all three sets at 115 lb. and didn’t miss any reps. The highlight of the workout was my new 500-meter row record. I haven’t pulled a 500 in about a year and half. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. And let’s be clear: I am not a sprinter. I would rather row 5 kilometers any day over 500 meters. I pulled it in 1:38! According to the Concept2 rowing website, that time for heavyweight women is the 2nd-fastest reported time in Canada and 7^th in the world. Not too shabby! But let’s just be honest. I want to be the fastest, so 1:38 is just a starting point. I’ve got more! (Photo by Sandra Benz)