The gift giving season is upon us.  Before you get into a shopping frenzy there is a gift I want you to set aside for yourself:

I want you to take a moment and acknowledge what it took to keep your fitness on track through 2020.  COVID took away your gym access for 2 months this year and you did not let that stop you! 

Take a moment to recognize everything that you had to overcome this year in order to remain committed to your fitness.  Rather than focus on where you fell down, I want you to do yourself the service of recognizing where you triumphed and overcame. 

Sit with it a moment and really appreciate the fact that though you may have stumbled, you did not let 2020 stop you.  You might have been knocked down a few times but you picked yourself back up!  That takes grit.  That takes character.  That is the path to victory!

This year you’ve overcome all odds to give yourself the gift of health and that is a gift that keeps giving – not only to you, but to those around you.  Your health is not just about empowering you, without it you cannot support and care for your loved ones.

During the holiday season it is easy to get distracted but don’t toss aside all your hard work now.  By all means indulge yourself in the holiday spirit, enjoy some eggnog and Christmas cookies but don’t let the season derail your fitness momentum. 

We won’t be taking any days off, so you don’t have to either.  Empower will be open for you.  Think of us as your holiday support team.  Celebrate the season but balance it out with regular workouts in the gym or on Zoom.  We’ve never been more accessible!

You’ve done all the hard work through the first 11 months.  This season give yourself the gift of health.  Let’s keep your momentum rolling right through into 2021.

Wednesday WOD
This is a lifting day, a low intensity workout that we can all do together so members attending open gym are welcome to join in with the coached Zoom WOD on this one! 

A word on the deficit deadlift: this modification is used to help develop your technique if you generally struggle with the first pull in the deadlift.  It has a very specific application for people who deadlift with the goal of achieving max loads.  For general health purposes I’m disinclined to recommend training with a deficit as it increases the opportunity to put yourself in spinal flexion and therefore increases the probability of injury.  For most of us just doing a regular 5×3 Deadlift session will get us all the benefits we need without the additional risk.

If you are joining us on Zoom without adjustable weights, we will provide an alternative version which is not suited for in-gym use.

Equipment: barbell or barbell alternative or kettlebell or KB alternative

Warm Up
1 min Belly Breathing on back
30/30 sec Head Nods
1 min Dead Bugs
1 min Windshield Wipers
1 min Bird Dogs
30/30 sec Side Plank (R/L)
1 min Full Body Rock (hamstring focus)
1 min Samson Lunges
1 min Romanian Deadlifts

Tech
Deadlift Warming Up in sets of 3

WOD
Deficit Deadlift
3-3-3-3-3
Or
KB Swing Ladder
Minute 1: 3 Russian KB swings
Minute 2: 6 Russian KB Swings
Minute 3: 9 Russian KB Swings
Etc…

Cool Down
Dragon Pose
Pigeon Pose
Hip Cross Overs
Downward Dog