Workout Description

Why This Workout Is Extremely Hard

Ned couples 7,000 meters of rowing with 77 heavy back squats at bodyweight. The movements are simple, but the load is high and the total work is massive. Expect severe leg fatigue, back fatigue, and aerobic grind. Many athletes will approach or exceed an hour, demanding careful pacing and strong barbell proficiency under fatigue.

Benchmark Times for Ned

• Elite: <37:00
• Advanced: 40:00-43:00
• Intermediate: 46:00-50:00
• Beginner: >70:00

Training Focus

This workout develops the following fitness attributes:

• Stamina (9/10): Seventy-seven back squats at bodyweight require high muscular endurance in legs and trunk. Unbroken or near-unbroken sets under mounting fatigue drive the stamina demand.
• Endurance (8/10): Seven 1,000 m efforts place a large aerobic demand. You must hold sustainable splits while managing fatigue across long total duration, prioritizing breathing and cadence on the rower.
• Strength (6/10): Back squatting bodyweight is relatively heavy for volume. It’s not a 1-rep-max test, but requires solid base strength to move challenging loads repeatedly from the rack.
• Flexibility (3/10): Full-depth squats demand adequate hip, knee, and ankle mobility with a stable, upright torso. Mobility matters, but there are no extreme flexibility positions.
• Power (3/10): The workout rewards controlled, efficient reps over explosive output. Power is secondary to steady pacing and bracing through each squat and consistent rowing strokes.
• Speed (2/10): Transitions are minimal and cycling is deliberate, not sprinty. Attempts to rush the row or barbell early usually backfire as fatigue mounts.

Scaling Options

Scale to: 7 rounds — 11 Back Squats @ 70% bodyweight + 750m row • 5 rounds — 11 Back Squats @ bodyweight + 1,000m row • 7 rounds — 9 Back Squats @ 60% bodyweight + 500m row

Scaling Explanation

Adjusting load, distance, or total rounds preserves the heavy-squat stimulus and aerobic grind while matching an athlete’s current strength and engine for an appropriate finish time.

Intended Stimulus

A long, grinding cardio-strength test. Row at a sustainable split that keeps breathing under control while protecting your legs for the squats. Aim to keep squat sets unbroken or at most one quick break, with strong bracing and precise depth. The finish should feel like a deep leg burn and steady engine effort rather than a sprint.

Coach Insight

Open at a row pace you can hold all seven rounds—think conversational but focused, then nudge it in the final two rounds. One tip: Commit to a smooth unrack and tight brace before every squat; sloppy set-ups ruin sets. Avoid rushing early rows, failing squat reps, or walking too far from the rack—tight transitions save minutes.

Benchmark Notes

Times descend from beginner to elite. Newer athletes may push past 60 minutes if unscaled. Solid intermediates should target 50 minutes. Advanced athletes hold steady row splits and unbroken or near-unbroken squats to finish around 40 minutes, while elites dip into the high 30s.

Modality Profile

This couplet splits time between monostructural rowing and heavy barbell squats. Most athletes will spend the majority of the clock on the erg, with comparatively shorter but taxing bouts under the bar, yielding roughly two-thirds monostructural and one-third weightlifting.

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