While classes worked their way through improvised home versions of the triple under-GHD sit up-deadlift triplet, Brick was getting it done in his backyard.  Check out his innovative use of a bucket full of sand!

Apparently Empower members don’t like scary movies (6 votes) though 2 appreciated Get Out and there was one vote apiece for Nightmare on Elm Street,  The Witch, Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, The Conjuring, Alien, Ready or Not, Children of the Corn, The Ring and Contagion.  When polled, something many Empower members did appreciate was cooking with family one of the greatest benefits of this whole social isolation thing.  So Tuesday night we got together in my kitchen for our first Empower cooking club where we prepared my specialty, garlic-ginger chicken.  See the ingredients list below and check out this Zoom video:

Ingredients required:
1 package ground chicken
1 onion
12 medium mushrooms
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
Cooking oil (coconut oil is best)
Seasoning (to taste):
Ginger (raw or powder)
Garlic (raw, minced or powder)
Chili pepper (or chili pepper flakes)
Honey
Salt or Soy Sauce
Turmeric Powder, Paprika & Parsley Flakes (for colour)

My son worried what will happen when members discover that I can’t cook but rest assured, I was only the host for episode one.  Next week (April 14th) Shine will be hosting us in her kitchen, April 21st Super Mario will host and April 28th Sprite’s mom Chef Pola will show us how a professional; gets things done in the kitchen!

That may be a tough episode to follow but let me know if you want to host an episode in your kitchen in May.

Wednesday Rings & Running

Warm Up
1 minute running in place
1 min banded rows/bent over dumbbell row
1 min running in place
1 minute reveres lunges
1 min running in place
1 min forward lunges
1 min running in place
1 min side lunges
1 min running in place
1 min banded rows/bent over dumbbell row

Tech
Ring Row Set Up (please see our video on 29 pull up alternatives)

WOD
5 rounds:
400m Run
15 Ring Rows

Adaptations:
Run: 400m is roughly  a 2 minute effort.  You could do 2 minutes running, cycling or single unders in place (come prepared with your own timer), you could row 500m or you can run approx. 400m.
Ring Rows: Try to select a version that allows you to complete the first set of 15 unbroken.

Cool Down
Lat Stretch
Calf Stretch
Quad Stretch
Downward Dog

We didn’t have rings so Sunghee got us some pillow cases to wrap around the tennis court fence posts.  The shallow angle was less challenging than doing ring rows in the gym but gripping the towel was much harder.  I did the sets unbroken but just barely as my hands would begin to slip down the towel by the end of each set.  Using the pillow cases for WODs like this and for the dumbbell snatches and dumbbell step ups my forearms are getting really jacked as new muscles have been discovered and worked.

For the run we chose the Almond park stairs that spiked our heart rate on the way up at the start of each round and then allowed it to recover as we followed the gentle downhill stretch to our towel row station.