EXPLORING HYROX

HYROX is a competitive, indoor 󹀼 tness event combining running with functional exercises. WellNation spoke to Pocket Rocket Academy Tutor, Andy Phillips, who competed at a recent HYROX event in Leeds to 󹀼nd out what the hype is all about

HYROX bills itself as “The World Series of Fitness Racing” and has become hugely popular in a number of countries. Each competition is made up of a 1km run followed by one functional workout, repeated eight times. In other words, contestants run a total of 8km and complete 8 functional workouts. The format requires strength and speed, as well as power and endurance, making it a great test of overall fi tness. Andy Phillips is a specialist strength and fi tness coach, who helps clients across the globe to achieve structure while improving and developing their skills. With a background in Olympic weightlifting Philips has continued to compete in the discipline, competing at the World Masters Championships, and achieved Bronze at the European Masters Championships.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO TAKE PART IN HYROX? It was literally by accident that I managed to get a free ticket, to be honest! Someone I knew was due to take part in the Men’s Individual Competition, but was injured, so I was given the opportunity to take his place at the last minute. I had become intrigued by the monster that is HYROX as it seems to be consuming the fi tness industry and I wanted to fi nd out what all the hype was about - so knowing that the competitions had been sold out all over the world I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get involved.

I had just three weeks to prepare both physically and mentally, I went along with no other objective than to simply get the job done!

WHAT TRAINING DID YOU DO TO PREPARE? This is a good question, and as a fi tness tutor and coach the last thing you’d probably expect me to say is ‘not much really’ but to be completely honest, that is the truth. Although, you could argue that I have spent the last twenty years preparing - not to get ‘HYROX Fit’ - but through consistency in my training efforts over the years.

I have some good experiences in the bank; an Olympic Weightlifting Meet earlier this year and running the Leeds Marathon a few years back. Although you can’t really compare a Weightlifting Competition to doing something like HYROX, all of the training I put in over the years is really what enabled me to make that transition.

WHAT MINDSET DID YOU NEED GOING INTO THE COMPETITION? I’ll always remember a great piece of advice given to me by a client - “If you can do a marathon, you can handle discomfort - and if you can handle that, then you can handle anything.” Thanks to this, I went into the competition in a more relaxed frame of mind.

I fi nd that having a flexible mindset, especially as you get older, is really important in terms of acknowledging how things ‘feel’ both physically and mentally. At 46 years old, with family commitments and two children under the age of 10, I can’t always train as hard as I’d like to every day, so I try to be mindful of what my personal limits are, whilst maintaining a good level of movement for my own mental health.

My advice to anyone taking on a physical challenge such as HYROX, would be to grab what ever movement you can, when you can!

My advice to anyone taking on a physical challenge such as HYROX, would be to grab whatever movement you can, when you can! If you can’t get into the gym, go for a long walk, do some weeding in the garden or do something, anything, that involves moving your body.

Consistency is a key component of my mindset; even through injury I have always continued to move in some way, shape or form. This has given me a much larger ‘tool box’ to pick from over the years.

“You’ve only got so many heartbeats so you have to make each one count”.

HOW DID THE COMPETITION GO? I’ve always loved being a part of something, and being involved in activities alongside other people - so for me, HYROX was an exciting challenge that enabled me to benchmark against some of the top athletes.

During the competition, I was aware of every feeling; understanding how my body felt in different scenarios and learning where I could push on where I’m really giving it my all.

At some points I realised I was playing it safe, and so my splits on the run got quicker as the event progressed, purely based on how I was feeling at the time. I then crashed and burned on the seven minute wall balls….

HOW DO YOU FEEL YOU PERFORMED ON THE DAY? According to HYROX - the average finishing time last season was 1h 32mins. However, the race has no time limit: some fi nishers take 3 hours, while Hunter McIntyre and Mikaela Norman hold the HYROX world records at 55 and 60 minutes respectively.

I completed the race in 1h 26mins, so not having trained any of the transitions and with no prior experience whatsoever, I was happy to still be standing and feeling good at the end of it all! I could sleep well knowing that I’d given it my all and better still made my kids proud (and could still win against a four-year-old in a rolled-up paper sword fight).

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT YOURSELF THROUGHOUT THE HYROX PROCESS? Like most challenges in life, at first it is not easy, but the more you do something the easier that something becomes. I really enjoy being in the mix - being a small part of something is better than not being a part of anything at all.

I didn’t do very well academically at school but this challenge has since pushed me to understand my craft fully and this is why, as a tutor, I have learned that breaking movements down can create simplicity and greater understanding. Something I took into the HYROX competition with me. I knew that each race was made up of different components so I tackled each bit one at a time without getting too overwhelmed by the bigger picture or completing the race.

I have adopted this approach in my professional career too - from personal training with individual clients, to teaching and tutoring on a group basis. Breaking down movements into smaller, more digestible segments helps the learner to not only understand their body better, but also offers a Smörgåsbord of movements to choose from when designing a programme for clients in the future.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE PLANNING TO DO HYROX OR ANY OTHER CHALLENGE? Find your YOU. Don’t fear failure. Each try is a success. You will learn something about yourself and the people around you - and you will adapt and bring a different version of yourself each and every time you train - and that’s ok! Lastly just give it everything you’ve got and listen to your body; if you can push - push harder and if you need to take it easy then do that.