Show Notes
The Science of HYROX: Threshold, Volume, Strength & Sub-50This week on the HYROX Coaching Podcast, Aaron and Chris are joined by sports scientist Gommaar D’Hulst for a deep dive into what current physiology and biomechanics can tell us about HYROX performance.The conversation starts with Alyssa’s 350 unbroken wall balls and why an effort that looks completely ridiculous for most athletes may sit surprisingly close to a highly trained athlete’s physiological threshold. Gommaar explains why elite functional movements can become increasingly aerobic, while still carrying very different local muscular and power demands from running.Get the WDM HYROX Coaching NotesEach week, I take the most useful ideas from the podcast and turn them into practical coaching notes you can apply to your own training.Sign up here:https://www.wdmcoaching.com/newsletterMake sure you confirm your email after signing up so the notes actually reach you.The discussion then moves into the HYROX-specific ramp test Gommaar has been developing. By combining burpee broad jumps, wall balls and progressively faster running, the aim is to bring the physiological testing used in endurance sport into a compromised HYROX environment. The resulting data can be used to identify different athlete profiles, including athletes who need a larger aerobic engine, athletes with a large gap between threshold and maximal capacity, endurance athletes who need greater functional power, and athletes who already possess both a high ceiling and a high threshold.One of the most useful sections for coaches is the discussion around race pace and threshold. Gommaar breaks down research showing how HYROX running pace falls as the race progresses, even though the athlete’s physiological strain remains high because of the accumulated cost of the stations. Aaron and Chris discuss why highly trained, higher-volume athletes appear able to hold much closer to their normal threshold pace during a race, while less-developed athletes often see a much larger gap.The conversation also gets into movement economy. Looking efficient is not necessarily the same as actually being efficient. Gommaar explains how biomechanics and oxygen consumption could be used together to determine whether a change in technique genuinely reduces the energy required to perform the same amount of work.From there, the discussion moves towards the future of elite HYROX. How much training volume will the best athletes eventually tolerate? How much station work is actually required once an athlete is sufficiently strong? Can functional movements be kept predominantly aerobic enough to accumulate much more race-specific volume without destroying recovery?There is also a lengthy debate over whether a sub-50 solo HYROX is physiologically possible and what the athlete capable of doing it might eventually look like.Finally, Gommaar discusses research looking at training frequency and concurrent training. When total training load was matched, longer sessions performed fewer times per week did not clearly outperform or underperform shorter, more frequent training. The conversation then moves into research suggesting that separating endurance and strength work may become increasingly valuable for highly trained athletes. For athletes who already possess enough strength, maintaining it may require substantially less strength-training volume than building it in the first place.The recurring theme throughout the episode is simple: the goal is not to maximise every individual training quality. It is to develop the combination of aerobic capacity, threshold, movement efficiency and power that allows you to produce the highest sustainable performance across the entire HYROX race.Check out Gommaar's website: https://www.wod-science.com/
More from Hyrox Coaching Podcast
How should you structure HYROX training when you’re racing throughout the year and never really have a traditional off-season? In this episode, Aaron and Chris explain why HYROX periodisation doesn’t need to follow a traditional progression from general base training into strength, threshold and finally race-specific work. Instead, aerobic development continues throughout the season while training blocks place greater emphasis on the areas that need the most improvement. Race-specific exposure stays in the programme because movement economy across the stations is much easier to maintain than rebuild. They also discuss when tempo running is more useful than threshold work, whether athletes need dedicated aerobic base phases, how training volume affects the amount of intensity required, and where VO2 max sessions can fit before an important race. The main message is simple: consistent, recoverable training will produce more progress than repeatedly pushing sessions beyond their intended purpose. Train, don’t strain. Also covered: The latest racing from Bordeaux, Karlsruhe and Toronto
Which forms of cross-training actually improve your HYROX performance, and which ones simply add more fatigue? In this episode, Aaron and Chris explain how to use the bike, StairMaster, SkiErg, rower and other cardio machines to build a bigger aerobic engine without relying on endless running. They discuss the difference between developing general aerobic fitness and becoming more efficient at the specific movements used in HYROX. They also explain why the right amount of cross-training depends on your training availability, injury history and ability to recover. The conversation also covers why frequent, easy work on the SkiErg and rower may be more valuable than occasional hard sessions, and why improving your SkiErg pace doesn’t necessarily mean you should race it faster. Also covered: Results and talking points from HYROX Oslo and Rome
Aaron is joined by Elite 15 athlete and Threshold Lab founder Stephen Pelkofer for a conversation about what good coaching actually looks like beyond simply writing sessions. Drawing on his background in data science, basketball and elite HYROX racing, Stephen explains why he prefers to be data-informed rather than data-driven. They discuss how pace, heart rate and race splits can be useful, but only when they’re combined with context, athlete feedback and an understanding of the person behind the numbers. The conversation also covers why aerobic fitness remains the main limiter for many HYROX athletes, the danger of copying the training of people with completely different backgrounds, and why missing or shortening one session rarely matters. Aaron and Stephen explore the difference between building fitness and chasing it, how to judge progress without becoming obsessed with race times, and why the best coaching decisions sometimes involve doing less. They also discuss: Using RPE alongside pace and heart-rate data
Each week, I take one of the most useful ideas from the podcast and turn it into practical coaching notes you can apply to your own training and racing. Sign up here: https://www.wdmcoaching.com/newsletter In this episode of the HYROX Coaching Podcast, Aaron and Chris are joined by Linda Meier to talk through the period after becoming HYROX World Champion, how that success changed the expectations she placed on herself, and why objectively good performances can start to feel disappointing when they are constantly compared with your best day. Linda reflects on the training block that led into Chicago, where consistency, structured training and small improvements in movement efficiency all added up over time. Rather than describing one breakthrough session, she talks about finally training with a clear schedule, tracking progress and building confidence from seeing the work move in the right direction. The conversation then moves into what changed after winning the title. Linda explains how she began to feel that every race had to prove she was still capable of performing like a world champion. Good results became harder to enjoy, and the pressure shifted from improving her own performance to feeling she had to justify what she had already achieved. Aaron and Chris also discuss how this kind of pressure can affect athletes at every level. A PB, podium or qualification can become something athletes feel they need to defend, rather than a performance they can use as evidence of what is possible. Linda talks openly about working with a sports psychologist, trying to focus less on expectations and more on possibilities, and rebuilding the enjoyment and freedom she previously felt when racing. She is clear that this is still a work in progress rather than something she has already solved. The episode also covers how Linda balances elite-level training with a full-time career, why having an identity outside sport has helped her maintain perspective, the challenges of managing coeliac disease while travelling and training, and why doubles racing has given her a more positive racing experience during a difficult period. Linda’s training block before winning the World Championship
This week, Aaron and Chris review a huge weekend of HYROX racing before getting into the main coaching discussion: the difference between fitness, conditioning and pacing, and why being fitter does not automatically mean you will race better. Fitness is the individual physical qualities you possess. Conditioning is your ability to express those qualities across the complete demands of HYROX. Pacing is how you decide to spend them on race day. Get that final part wrong and a station that looks like a weakness may simply be the point where poor decisions earlier in the race finally catch up with you. Each week, Aaron takes one of the main ideas from the podcast, expands on it properly and turns it into something practical you can apply to your own training. Subscribe here: https://www.wdmcoaching.com/newsletter Make sure you confirm your email after signing up, otherwise the newsletter will not arrive. The major results and talking points from Athens, Washington, Tenerife and Acapulco