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Train Like Spartan Champ Rose Wetzel for a Week

Train Like Spartan Champ Rose Wetzel for a Week
Presented by Spartan Training®

We all want to know: What makes the best-of-the-best Spartan athletes out there tick? How do they keep their edge? In our Train Like A Champ series, we dig into the details of the training, nutrition, mindset, and more that keeps our most epic athletes on top. 

The One-Week Rose Wetzel Workout

As excitement grows for the 2019 Spartan World Championship in North Lake Tahoe late this September, we tapped Wetzel for an inside look at what a week-long "Rose Wetzel workout plan" looks like, so you can follow along as she preps for Tahoe—and learn to train like a champ yourself. 

Related: Train Like a Champion: Q&A with Rose Wetzel

The following workout schedule is something Wetzel worked up with over the last few months. It was programmed by Hobie Call and is the general format he used when he won his last Spartan World Championship and won the Spartan National Series. 

Every day starts with a long warmup and finishes with a quick cooldown. (Which, admittedly, generally consists of jogging through the gym to the daycare to pick up Taylor right before her daily daycare time allotment is up).  

Note: Begin all workouts with a warm-up—and end all with a cool-down.

Related: Dynamic Warmup to Start Every Workout

Monday

3 minute run tempo with a 5 pound weight vest on at 15% incline (9:13 min/mile pace), 30 lunges with 22.5 pounds in each hand, 3 minute fast stationary bike tempo, 30 lunges with 12 pounds in each hand, 3 minute run tempo without a weight vest on, at 1% incline (5:42 min/mile pace), 30 bodyweight lunges, taking longer, faster steps, 3 minute stationary bike tempo, 30 bodyweight sprint lunges, as wide of steps as possible, as quickly as possible, 3 minute run tempo without a weight vest on, at 1% incline (5:42 min/mile pace) 

Tuesday: Part 1

15-minute upper body HIIT workout consisting of 5-6 rounds of:

  • Quick, strict pull-ups until pace slows (usually 5-8)
  • Hanging leg raises until grip or abs give out (usually 10-15)
  • Push-up flow combo
  • Dips until pace slows (usually 8-12)
  • Eight 20 pound sandbag throws (cycling through down throws the first round up, throws the second round, and backward throws the third round before starting the cycle over)

 

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Let’s talk about supplements... 🍎 We all know the ideal is to eat a healthy, balanced diet, but it can still be hard to get in the optimal amount of nutrients each day. 🍉 Do you take vitamins? Herbs? Essential oils? What are your thoughts on CBD? 🍓 Raising nine kids on a tight budget, our main meal was rice and beans with carrots, so to fill in nutritional gaps, my mom used to make us take 7 vitamins every day, along with gross-tasting, lumpy powdered milk. We had to make a game where you drink a gulp of milk with a vitamin, run across the kitchen, touch the fridge, and run back, just to make it tolerable. 🥦 I’m so glad she did, though, because I know I’m healthier for it. Now I take even more than 7 vitamins each day, (with my go-to’s being iron, calcium, vit D, and fatty fish oil). 🥑 A few months ago, I was sent a sample of CBD oil, but I was critical - I wasn’t sure it was WADA-approved for athletes, so I sent it to my mom, (and it reduced her knee pain)... 🍊 Then I found out two past Spartan World Champs that I greatly respect take it, so I did some research on exactly what/when it is allowed as a competitor, and started taking a brand that also has adaptogens in it (like ashwaganda for stress relief), and I’m feeling good, so now I’m curious what else people take in terms of vitamins, herbs, oils, etc. to improve not just performance as an athlete but overall life vitality for things like chasing a toddler around... 😊

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Tuesday: Part 2

With two 30 pound sandbags, I do a 4-5 minute farmers carry walk into a 4-5 minute double sandbag shoulder carry into a 4-5 minute sandbag front carr (to simulate a bucket carry), covering 250-300 meters per carry type.  

Related: Train Like Spartan Champ Alyssa Hawley

Wednesday

90-minute rolling hill run, sprinting the downhills and then finishing with 3 min, 2 min, and 4x1 min sprints, with a minute jogging rest in between each.

Thursday

Same as Tuesday, except with a 5-pound weight vest on.

Friday

Essentially a day off for my legs: fun, low-key day at local Ninja gym, focusing on upper body grip work and obstacle technique.

Related: What a Week of Spartan Pro Nicole Mericle's Workouts Looks Like

Saturday

2-2.5 hour mountain endurance run, occasionally adding in burpees and rock carries.

Sunday

Day off, light grip work, backyard obstacle play, and spear throwing.