“75% Emotional, 25% Physical”

It’s said that the hardest part about anything is starting. And that once we just take that first step, the successive action seems to just fall into place. And there’s absolutely merit to that… an object in motion tends to stay in motion (Newton).

Every 1 min for 30 mins, alternating between:

15/12 Row Calories

15 Burpees

DESCRIPTION & STIMULUS
“Fortitude” is a Benchmark workout that combines two simple movements over a longer time domain

We’ll alternate on the minute between these two stations for 30 minutes, or 15 rounds total

While the workout has a prescribed rep scheme, let’s adjust these numbers to something you are confident you could complete in around 50 seconds per movement each round

Your score today will be the lowest rounds of row calories + your lowest round of burpees

For Example:

If you complete the 15 calorie row and 15 burpees on every round, your score for the day is 30

If you are able to maintain 15 calories on the rower, but drop to 12 burpees in one round, your score for the day is 27. Place these scores in the comments section in BTWB.

ROW
Try and reset your monitor on the rower every round

If you’re short on rowers, pair athletes up and stagger by 1 minute

BURPEE
Let’s make sure to reach full extension at the top of each burpee
You can jump up or step up out of the burpee

STRATEGY
ROW
You can get 15/12 calories done in under a minute without having to sprint on the rower
Holding around 900/720 calories per hour for a minute straight would get you 15/12 calories
Since we want some transition time, it will be helpful to hold a little higher than that
Holding 1000/800 calories per hour will get you the prescribed reps done with some time to spare
The first calorie tends to be the toughest, so start each row with a strong and long pull to get the flywheel up to speed quickly
After your big first pull, settle into a smooth stroke rate and find a rhtyhm to your breathing
Keep your stroke rate on the lower side, while focusing on a powerful drive with the legs
Setting the foot straps to something that you don’t have to touch during the workout can be helpful in making these transitions faster
BURPEES
For the burpees, let’s find a pace that allows these reps to be completed in around 50-55 seconds
This works out to a little over 3 seconds per rep
Using up the majority of the minute on both movements helps you sustain your pace throughout the 15 rounds
By getting the work done in this time frame, you pace for the long term and give yourself time to transition back into the rower
You have the option to jump or step out of the burpee, but stepping up can help keep the heart rate a little lower
We’ll feel out a full practice round as our warmup set today to help establish this smooth pace on each movement
After your practice round, take a 3-5 minute rest before beginning the workout