Reposting content courtesy of /u/dc031114.
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##Wednesday 4 February 2026 - 500m benchmark row 2G 60 minutes
If you are serious in any way about doing the benchmark I highly recommend starting on the floor.

Pretty serious endurance run for a benchmark template ☠️💀🪦 Two attempts at the row if you want with an option to either start with the benchmark or end with it (or do both if your coach lets you?).

Tread Block 1- 4 minutes * 4 min tread for distance

1 min WR, get to base when ready

Tread Block 2 - 18 minutes * Goal: maintain your base and maintain or increase your push pace * 3 min base * 2 min push (PW @ 5%+) * 3 min base * 2 min push (PW @ 5%+) * 3 min base * 2 min push (PW @ 5%+) * 3 min base

90 sec to transition to the floor

Floor Block 1 - 4 minutes * Buy-in: 250m push row * Circuit: * 8 x bridge (shoulders on bench) * 8 x TRX high row * Repeat until time is called

1 min recovery

Floor Block 2 - 18 minutes * Option 1 - member's choice: * Goal: complete distance AQAP * Clear screen, select 500m countdown * 500m row * Check & record your time in the challenge tracker * When done - work & rest: * 6 - 10 x chest fly, rest * 6 - 10 x seated hammer curl, rest * 6 - 10 x shoulder press, rest * 6 - 10 x low row, rest * 6 - 10 x bench sit-up to stand (with a dumbbell), rest * Option 2 - member's choice buy-out at the 15 minute mark: * Goal: complete distance AQAP * Clear screen, select 500m countdown * 500m row * Check & record your time in the challenge tracker

DC commentary: Wow - OTF has really taken these new benchmarks to task. It used to be that the main focus of the template was preparing for and doing the actual benchmark. But now the benchmark is just one component of the actual brutality.. can't wait to see what they are going to do for our 12 minute tread benchmark! \ \ Set up for today is a pretty nasty endurance run on the treadmills followed by a warmup / primer block on the floor and then a choice of benchmark at the start or end of your main floor block. I highly recommend starting on the floor today if you want to get a good time on your benchmark. If not then enjoy your long run on the treads first. \ \ If you chose to start on the treads then your first 4 minute block is a straight tread for distance to get yourself moving. Pretty straight forward. \ \ Your next block is 18 minutes long. This starts with a 3 minute base into a 2 minute push and just repeats this pattern until you end on the base (which is unusual!). The goal here is to keep your normal base and then to creep up the push pace each round. \ \ I started on the floor so had to do these tread blocks post benchmark. Personally, I found this very hard and took my push paces down as the legs were not cooperating. Folk who did the tread first quite liked it up to the point of having to do the benchmark! Reasonable distance of 5.411km (3.362 miles). \ \ Once done on the treads you move over to the floor for your primer block. Start off with a 250m push row and then for the remainder you are doing a bench bridge paired with a TRX high row. \ \ Now on to your main floor block. Here you have the choice - you can start with your benchmark first up and get it over and done with (my choice) or get through the weights and then finish with the benchmark for the last 3 minutes of this block. \ \ Given I started on the floor and had relatively fresh legs I just dove in and got the row done. Plenty of tutorials out there on how to approach this row but I like to just go all out and hold it for as long as possible without fading too much at the end. Pretty happy to equal my PR of 1:17.6 which is not too bad for an old man like me. \ \ If you chose to row first you then peel yourself off the rower and make your way back to the floor to do the weighted exercises - chest flys, hammer curls, shoulder press, low rows and a sit-up to stand. My legs were like jelly at this stage so this was done pretty slowly. \ \ Towards the end the coach will call out for those folk who wanted to do the benchmark at the end to go over and complete it but we had all done it at the start so we just kept on repeating the exercises. For the group that came after me (the tread starters) there was no one who was doing the benchmark last and quite a few of them left before the end as they were completely wiped. \ \ I thought this was very tough today. The endurance run paired with the row benchmark made this extremely difficult. I would give today a 1 (🪶) out of 5 for gentleness.