Rose Wetzel is a woman of many titles and one who carries many responsibilities. Every title requires dedication, perseverance, drive and passion. Mom, competitive runner, Ninja Warrior finalist, precision nutrition coach, life coach, certified personal trainer, and Pro Spartan steeplechase runner to name a few.
Wetzel's achievements speak for themselves: He finished in the top 10 in three World Championship races in 2022: Spartan, Spartan Trifecta and OCRWC 3k.
She has achieved all these sporting successes beyond the age of 40. Wetzel shares how exercise has helped her overcome life's obstacles and how to be the best version of yourself, no matter what season you're training or what goal you're aiming for.
Rose Wetze
The Making of an Athlete
"As the youngest girl in a family with nine children, I ran everywhere to keep up," says Wetzel. She beat all the boys in running races during recess in middle school, and after playing soccer and basketball for a few years, she focused on track and field in high school; Won a couple of 800m state championships and an athletic scholarship to Georgetown.
After college, Wetzel worked as a personal trainer and trained hard to compete in the US Olympics, but failed on her first attempt. Wetzel's friend suggested she try something new for a fun break - which in turn opened up her athletic profile more than she originally anticipated.
“My first obstacle course race humbled me to the core and left me head to toe exhausted after running amok through the woods, flipping tires and climbing ropes,” says Wetzel. "I loved it and have been racing professionally ever since, including four seasons of the challenging and highly entertaining hit series 'American Ninja Warrior.'"
With all of these achievements came a few different types of obstacles. Although unexpected, these hurdles showed Wetzel the importance of exercise when life gets tough.
Overcome obstacles with movement
About seven years ago, Wetzel's husband Tim was diagnosed with cancer. Luckily he is healthy today. But during these tougher times, Wetzel was able to incorporate her then-stressful and scary situation into her training. "The physical and emotional hurdles we faced during this time made me particularly grateful for the exercise-triggered endorphins I got from my daily workout," she says.
After Tim's cancer diagnosis came another major obstacle: postpartum depression after birth. Because PPD is far from a breeze, Wetzel instead opted for running as a means of coping. "Running has been great therapy, as has a solid HIIT workout." She shows how important exercise is not just for the physical body, but for mental and emotional health as well.
Rose Wetzel tips to improve your exercise routine
Wetzel shared with Muscle & Fitness readers her top tips that have helped her put health and fitness first.
- Prioritize things differently depending on the season and life. You can do everything - just not at the same time. Putting some things on hold temporarily to do what's most important at a given time, especially if it's a habit or pastime that serves as a building block for other goals.
- Hire help for anything you can budget for. This is an element Wetzel would have liked to have done sooner, as a little "outsourcing" of time-consuming "tasks" can go a long way towards achieving long-term goals.
- Talk to your children about your goals. Create a kid-friendly mini-workout that you can do once a week to keep the kids feeling involved. From toddlers on their backs doing push-ups to adolescents doing a dance warm-up or core workout, kids feel like they're helping you with your fitness goal.
Staying in shape over 40
"Nutrition and self-care become more important as you get older," says Wetzel. Unsurprisingly, recovering and maintaining muscle mass becomes more difficult. Therefore, Wetzel recommends focusing on proteins and vegetables, as well as getting enough water and sleep. "Plus, lifting heavy loads and doing high-intensity exercise helps build and maintain valuable muscle," she adds. A balanced life of exercise, rest and nutrition is the answer to aging gracefully and healthily.
Rose Wetzel Go-To Supp
To support her active lifestyle of training, racing, work and parenthood, Wetzel has been taking MitoQ every morning for four years. "As we all know, cellular health declines with age, and fortunately, MitoQ scientists invented a mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant that can penetrate cells and reduce cellular stress so our cells can thrive," she explains. And when our cells thrive, so do we. "Taking MitoQ gives me the confidence to be on the starting line with people in their 20s and assert myself," she says, emphasizing a regular exercise regimen, healthy eating and the right supplements... I'm the only 40-year-old . Something (and only mom) was in the top 10 in the world in my sport!”
Rose Wetze
Rose Wetzel Spartan Training Workout
Although the American Ninja Warrior finalist prefers to separate her strength and cardio workouts, this combination workout provides an excellent physical and mental challenge, perfect for increasing mental and physical strength.
How one:
After warming up, run 1 lap/400 meters around a track, then do one exercise from the list below for 30 seconds before resting 30 seconds (repeat for 8-10 laps/exercises):
A burpees
B. lunges
C bear crawling
D jump squats
E pushups
f speed skater
TOP: For a greater challenge, reduce the rest time to 15 seconds
