The Loredo WOD is a classic CrossFit hero workout combining multiple bodyweight exercises with a cardio exercise—in this case, running.
You’ll do over four hundred repetitions plus a mile and a half of running in this workout.
Whether you’re the fittest in your gym or not, that many reps means you can get a good score simply by pacing and staying disciplined.
Many fit people will go too hard early on and suffer in the later rounds.
Here’s the Loredo hero WOD, how to pace and strategize for a good score, how to warm-up beforehand, and how to scale it if you need to.
What Is The Loredo WOD?
6 Rounds For Time:
- 24 Air Squats
- 24 Push-ups
- 24 Walking Lunges
- 400m Run
Here’s the original video from CrossFit.com of athletes doing the Loredo WOD.
The Loredo WOD Strategy
You’ll get a good score on Loredo by pacing each round appropriately. The Loredo WOD is an example of a workout that should be thought through before you start.
Because if round one of Loredo takes you less than three minutes and the last round takes you six or more, you won’t get a great score.
Think about it this way: unbroken, your squats and lunges will take between 30 and 45 seconds each round. Depending on upper body strength, push-ups will take 30 to 60 seconds.
The bodyweight work will take between 1:30 and 2:30 per round.
Add a moderately hard 400m run (approximate pace of 1:10-1:20) onto each round, and that’s your ideal time.
Estimate how much time each movement will take and ballpark your pace. Use that throughout the WOD and push the gas in the later rounds.
Also limit transitions between exercises as much as possible.
As far as movements go, Loredo is a pretty straightforward hero workout. You should be able to go unbroken on the air squats and walking lunges.
Most people should be able to do their push-ups in one to three sets.
Push-ups are the only upper body movement in this WOD, so it’s okay to flirt with failure a little—just not in the first round. If your PR is 20 to 30 push-ups, break the first two rounds into two sets.
There are so many reps that it’s easy to lose discipline in this workout. Take full breaths in and out during each squat and lunge to help with recovery so you can push the pace in later rounds.
Warm-Up
Your quads, glutes, calves, and hamstrings should be loose and ready to go for this workout.
You’ll run 1.5 miles in this WOD, so don’t worry about too much cardio—two to three minutes on a bike or rower is plenty.
Focus instead on some self-myofascial release and activation drills so your lower-body is ready to go.
Loredo WOD Scoring
This workout is for time. You will do 144 squats, 144 push-ups, 144 lunges, and 1.5 miles of running before the clock stops on Loredo.
This workout is a good test you can do one or two times a year. You might even use it to prepare for your annual Memorial Day Murph.
The Loredo WOD Scaled
The only reason to scale the Loredo WOD would be if you can’t do a lot of push-ups. In that case you might modify and do box or bench push-ups in place of regular push-ups.
Because this is a hero workout you don’t want to reduce the number of reps in the WOD. It will change the design of the workout, which is to be mentally and physically exhausting.
If you are considering reducing anything—even the runs—perhaps just do a different running and bodyweight CrossFit WOD.
Who Was Edwardo Loredo?
Taken from CrossFit.com’s main page:
“U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Edwardo Loredo, 34, of Houston, Texas, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was killed on June 24, 2010 in Jelewar, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He is survived by his wife, First Sergeant Jennifer Loredo; his daughter, Laura Isabelle; his stepdaughter, Alexis; and his son, Eduardo Enrique.”
The Loredo WOD first appeared on CrossFit.com’s main page programming on December 31, 2012.
Loredo WOD—Wrapping Up
You’ll get a good score on the Loredo WOD if you limit transitions, plan your pace before you start the workout, and stay disciplined by taking deep breaths.
There are 432 reps in this workout—plus the runs— so it’s your job to stay disciplined on that end.
This workout is a good bodyweight/run workout to test your endurance without a heavy barbell.
You might even use it to prepare for your annual battle with Murph.
While you’re here, check out this archive of Hero WOD guides for more strategies and ideas for setting PRs on these long, grueling workouts.
Every second counts!
