The Manny Show was in full effect on the weekend.
Emmanuel Arceneaux, a wide receiver for the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League, was among 308 athletes who competed in the Okanagan Valley Throwdown fitness event fuelled by Muscle MLK Canada in the South Okanagan Events Centre on Jan. 24.
He uses crossfit to work on his strength and improve his speed and agility. That work gets the Alexandria, La., native ready for the 18-game CFL regular-season schedule.
"It just helps me run all day long where I'm not getting tired or fatigued," said Arceneaux, a five-year pro who trains at Hybrid Athletics in Langley. "One thing about crossfit is, you have a weakness, it exposes it. It's very humbling. That's one thing that I like about it."
Arceneaux respects the people competing, including one mother, who gave birth two weeks ago.
"They do way better than I do in some events that (are) not my strength," he said.
Arceneaux joined the Primal Performance team as a substitute because another member was unable to compete due to a work commitment. Arceneaux impressed early with a lifting exercise. The six-foot-two, 211-pounder started with 300 pounds. Teammate Bryce Hafso started thinking that Arceneaux was in a different league.
"There's not many people that can come into crossfit and do that," said Hafso.
In the hang power clean, which the participants do eight repetitions as many times possible, Arceneaux only struggled in the final two lifts of his last set of 155 pounds. Arceneaux, who recorded nine touchdowns to go with 1,151 yards on 76 receptions last season, said it was harder than doing two-a-day-practices and the heat they deal with in Kamloops during football training camp. Arceneaux showed the same competitive streak on Sunday that he displays on the field, according to Hafso.
"The last event we just did, I look over and he is kind of screaming at himself to get reps out," he said. "You can tell he has got a little voice in his head that kind of makes him go."
What Arceneaux did for the Primal Performance team impressed Hafso.
"The guy has been a beast for us," said Hafso, co-owner of Primalperformance.ca. "It's not every day you can do one of these things with a professional athlete. It's been really fun. He's been a hell of a teammate."