Empower Weekly WOD: Week Beginning October 20th 2025
Monday, October 20th 2025
Oly Lifting Total
Snatch 1-1-1
Clean & Jerk 1-1-1
Today we are lifting competition style. After warming up, you will get three attempts (one every 6 minutes) at the snatch and then three attempts at the clean and jerk. Your score will be the sum of your heaviest successful snatch and heaviest successful clean & jerk.
Any version of the snatch and clean and jerk will be permitted, and we will use CrossFit movement standards (a bit of press out in the snatch or jerk though not ideal, will not disqualify your lift) rather than the stricter standards used in the sport of Weightlifting.
How we will play:
Once the workout starts, there will be a 5 minute lifting window for each of your six attempts (30 minutes total). During that 5 minute window you and the athletes sharing your barbell may each make one attempt at the lift. We will give you 30 seconds from the time you step on the platform to start your attempt. Once you touch the barbell, it is considered an attempt.
Declaring. Before the start of the game, you will be required to declare your opening snatch and clean & jerk weights. Once these loads have been declared, you may not move down in weight. When increasing the load, you must declare your next weight before beginning your second and third attempts.
Weightlifting is a very unforgiving sport. It is very possible, if you start too heavy and miss all 3 attempts to end up with a score of zero. At the end of today’s session you will have a much better appreciation for Silk’s Weightlifting success and the poise and mental focus required to succeed at the world level.
I missed my third attempts at both lifts making 4 out of 6 attempts for a total of 365lbs.
Tuesday, October 21st 2025: Make Up Day
See previous WODs
Wednesday, October 22nd 2025
15 min AMRAP
10 Bench Press @bodyweight
20 T2B
30 Hip Extensions
Considering that the bench press is the cause of a great percentage of gym injuries, I much prefer the floor press to the bench press. The floor press limits the range of motion reducing strain on the shoulder joint and, because it starts from the sticking point of the lift with no eccentric elastic reflex, strength developed in the floor press carries over to the bench press. Though I generally prefer to prioritize full range of motion, I believe that if you are performing push ups and ring dips with a full range of motion on a regular basis, replacing the bench press with the floor press will not rob you of strength through the full range of motion.
For many people, dumbbells are a superior choice for the floor press, though, in this instance, I used the barbell for the sake of a quick workout set up. The dumbbell allows you to position your shoulders more naturally, further reducing injury risk. The goal is body weight. You should pick a weight that you can do 5 reps in a row with. If you aren’t using the Rx’d weight and are blasting through 10 unbroken reps, you have gone too light.
And because there are no YouTube tutorials on how to set up a barbell floorpress, here is a demo by Sandman.
If you do not yet have Toes to Bar, hanging knee raises are the best go-to movement, but make sure you are getting full extension at the bottom. The goal is to develop a core strong enough to eventually perform a toes to bar, not to rush through the reps as quickly as possible.
There are no really good substitutions for the hip extensions that I am aware of. The best is the good morning, which is, in my estimation, far inferior. If at all possible, try to do at least some of the hip extensions in order to derive the greatest fitness benefit from this workout. No, they are not hard on your back, not if you are doing them correctly. In fact, they are one of the best and safest ways to train your hip hinge mechanics and learn how to brace your trunk under load during movement so that you do not injure your back performing deadlifts or other hinging exercises. I have found, however, that at high reps, the hip extension sometimes irritates my knee. This can apparently be due to tight hips, weak glutes or muscular imbalances that put excessive load on the knees. I have found the simple solution is to slow down and stick with shorter sets.
Thursday, October 23rd 2025
6x400m Run
Rest as needed between runs
Loving these sprint intervals. The ability to sprint is one of the most fundamental physical skills. Over the past year, I’ve been battling to reclaim my ability to sprint, and though slow, I was thrilled over the past few months to complete the 10x 100m, 10x 200m and 6x 400m without hip pain.
For all three workouts, I used an uphill trail run instead of running on cement sidewalks. I find the softer, more varied surface combined with the uphill slope reduces repetitive impacts. I do find a very thorough warm up helpful. To this end, I have employed the Parisi Speed School fast twitch, neuro-fascial warm ups designed specifically for prepping track & field athletes for high performance.
Sprinting is essential, but if you have injuries that will be exacerbated by running, I suggest you substitute a 1200m airdyne sprint or a 500m row. While these will not provide the same musculoskeletal development as running, if you hit them hard, you will at least derive similar cardiovascular conditioning outcomes.
Friday, October 24th 2025
15-12-9
Thruster @95/135lbs
Weighted Pull Up @30/45lbs
Today’s low volume couplet provides you with an opportunity to challenge your strength by going a bit heavier than you usually do. Pick a thruster and pull up weight that allows you to get at least 5 reps in a row. If you are doing unbroken sets at less than the Rx’d load you are missing the point of this workout.
If you do not have unassisted pull ups, use a bit less support than usual. Again, 5 reps per set should be your goal.
Saturday, October 25th 2025
Team WOD
Sunday, October 26th 2025
OHS Pyramid
OHS
10-5-3-1-1-1-3-5-10
Another great strength pyramid! Open a bit conservatively and see if you can increase your loads on the way back down the pyramid. This workout is scored by total volume lifted across all 9 sets with the real value lying in the 10’s, 5’s and 3’s. It’s a lot of sets so don’t dawdle but do leave enough time to recover between sets. If you aim for one set every 5 minutes, it will be a 45 minute workout!
