“Manion”

I last completed the Hero WOD “Manion” on April 29, 2012 in a time of 36:49. I was very pleased with today’s performance, as it would appear that I’ve become much stronger in the last year and a half.

Hero WOD “Manion”
3 RFT
Run 400m
29 back squats, 135#

This was very tough, as I knew it was going to be. I didn’t expect, however, that I would need to change my tactics midway through the workout.

I began with an easy 400m run, knowing that running would get progressively more difficult as time progressed. My goal was to complete all rounds of back squats without racking the bar, and this went well the first and second rounds. I found myself shaking out my legs — with the bar on my back — during the 3rd round. The bar began to feel very heavy. During the 4th run I came to the realization that it would be much better to rest with the bar on the rack instead of on my shoulders, and to break the the 29 reps into sets. Oh, and to complete some reps as LBBS, as all reps of the first 3 rounds had been completed as HBBS.

I completed the remaining 4 rounds of 29 back squats in sets of 10 LBBS, 5 HBBS, 5 LBBS, 5 HBBS, and 4 LBBS. My rest time was minimal, as I completed sets unbroken. Live and learn, right?

Jelly legs. Yup, jelly legs while running and while squatting.

I completed the workout in 29:19, and dropped the bar from my shoulders after the last rep. That’s a PR of 7:20!

For perspective, I:

• Ran 1.75 miles
• Completed 203 back squats
• Moved 27,405 pounds
• Completed rounds in an average of less than 4 and a half minutes

Keep in mind that 135 pounds is 96% of my bodyweight. I should’ve just back squatted 141#, yes? Uhm, no.