Empower Weekly WOD: Week Beginning October 13th 2025

Monday, October 13th 2025: Rest Day

See Previous WODs

Tuesday, October 14th 2025

8 min AMRAP
Max Shoulder Press @115lbs
50 DU

4 min Rest

8 min AMRAP
Max HPC @205lbs
30 Squats

Your score today is the total number of shoulder presses and hang power cleans completed across these two 8 minute AMRAPs. Every time you put the barbell down, you must complete 50 double unders in the first AMRAP or air squats, in the second.

You may need to adjust the loads to match your fitness level. Hint: lighter is not easier/safer/better. Lighter load equals higher volume equals more muscle damage equals more soreness equals increased injury risk. That said, you want to stick with loads that allow you to complete a set of about 5 reps or so. Heavier than that will be counterproductive and contrary to the intended workout stimulus.

Wednesday, October 15th 2025

1 min Pull Ups
1 min Row
1 min Pull Ups
2 mins Row
1 min Pull Ups
3 mins Row
1 min Pull Ups

Score = pull up reps x calories rowed

One way to game this workout would be to maximize calories on the row while saving energy by sandbagging the pull ups. To avoid this, today's score will multiply total pull ups by total calories giving equal weight to both movements and motivating you to maximize reps at both stations.

With only 4x 1 minute pull up rounds, it is a great opportunity to work on your pull up skill (low volume with a short, defined time cap). Even if you only get one Rx’d pull up per round, you will end up with a 4x multiplier.

In large classes you may substitute an airbike or ski erg instead of the row without significantly altering the intended workout stimulus.

Performance Tip: with 6 quick transitions on a 9-minute running clock a lot of time can be lost getting in and out of the rower. This is a day when it will pay to be able to perform a strapless row.

Thursday, October 16th 2025

100 Push Ups
800m Run
75 Push Ups
1200m Run
50 Push Ups
1600m Run
25 Push Ups
2000m Run

It is true that training volume is associated with performance and it is an essential tool in building work capacity but, volume needs to be earned. If your training volume exceeds your capacity and your ability to recover, something has to give. And it will be you.

These high volume workouts carry a degree of risk, especially if you do not possess the self discipline and self awareness to restrict yourself to good reps. If your form breaks down and you resort to sloppy reps in your race against the clock, you are going to get hurt.

If the 100 push ups in Angie are the most push ups you’ve ever done in a workout in recent months then making the jump to 250 is a really bad idea. You need to build up to it gradually in order to give your joints and connective tissue time to adapt. The older you are, the truer this is.

Here is my recommended approach to today’s push up workout for athletes who do not yet have the capacity to perform 250 Rx’d push ups with good form:

Give yourself 8 minutes for the first round of push ups, then 6 minutes, then 4 and finally 2 minutes for the final round of push ups. That still gives you 20 minutes of push up practice which is plenty of volume! Combined with the running, that works out to almost 40 minutes.

I know some of you will use your 8, 6, 4 and 2 minute push up periods like an AMRAP trying to accumulate as many reps as possible. But I believe most athletes will be better served approaching it like an EMOM, sticking to a predetermined rep scheme every minute on the minute. If you are great at push ups try to hold to 10 every minute on the minute (total 200 reps). If you are good at push ups, 5 per minute may suit you better (total 100). If your push ups are weak you may choose to aim for 1-3 good reps per minute.

The important part is maintaining excellent push up mechanics throughout.

Friday, October 17th 2025: Make Up Day

See previous WODs

Saturday, October 18th 2025

Team WOD
(deadlift pyramid)

Sunday, October 19th 2025

Hero WOD Nate
20 min AMRAP
2 Muscle Ups
4 Handstand Push Ups
8 KB Swings @1.5/2 pood

Nate is one of my favourite HeroWODs because ring muscle ups and handstand push ups are among my favourite CrossFit gymnastics movements and because the rep scheme of 2 and 4 respectively makes the workout very doable even if you aren’t strong in these movements.

It is a fun AMRAP but this time around, I used it as a training day making it a 5 round EMOM with a 1 minute rest between rounds so that I could focus on developing strict, unbroken sets of muscle ups and handstand push ups. This transformed it from a conditioning workout to a skill development workout. Training rather than exercise. It’s all good since I had a 90 minute Fight Fit conditioning workout coming up 8 hours later which would allow me to get my sweat on.

It is a good day to work on your pull up and ring dip strength. We often substitute dumbbell shoulder presses for handstand push ups which would be valid if athletes chose loads that challenged them sufficiently (about ½ bodyweight). But if we’re being honest, most of the athletes who do not have handstand push ups have yet to develop good push up strength so there is an argument to be made for substituting 4 handstand push ups per round with 4 good regular push ups. Especially if you missed Thursday’s push up workout.

With only 8 kettlebell swings per round, this is a great opportunity to try swinging something slightly heavier than usual. If you usually swing a blue kettlebell, try a yellow. If yellow is your go-to, try a purple. We’re not talking a big, dangerous jump in load, just something slightly outside your comfort zone.

Strength is developed through progressive overload and Nate’s low rep format provides you with a great strength development opportunity. If you can do all three movements Rx’d, by all means try to maximize your rounds and reps through 20 minutes. If you aren’t there yet, slow it down a bit and focus on developing your strength in these key movements.