Hybrid races like Hyrox have turn out to be in style for a motive. They’re enjoyable to coach for, with a number of completely different elements to problem you and maintain it fascinating, and so they push your physique to its absolute restrict. Whereas most athletes put tons of thought into coaching, vitamin can usually be the lacking piece. If you happen to’re new to Hyrox (or competed as soon as and realized mid sled-push that you just underestimated the vitamin piece), this weblog is for you.
We’re breaking down the physiological calls for of hybrid coaching and the way correct vitamin might help you prepare more durable, get well quicker, and carry out your finest on race day.
What’s Hyrox?
Hyrox is a hybrid endurance race that mixes working with practical health. The format consists of 8 x 1km runs, every one adopted by a exercise station (ski erg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmer’s carry, sandbag lunges, and wall balls). For many opponents, the race takes between 75-90 minutes to finish, placing it someplace between a 10k and a Crossfit metcon when it comes to period and depth. The variability within the occasion challenges athletes not solely aerobically, but in addition calls for endurance, explosiveness and psychological grit.
What’s Hybrid Coaching?
Hybrid coaching is a mix of power and endurance. For instance, assume lifting and working or biking and CrossFit exercises. This sort of coaching is demanding as a result of it challenges your physique to be highly effective, environment friendly, and sturdy sufficient to work for lengthy durations of time. This presents a singular problem in terms of fueling as your physique wants to have the ability to entry and make the most of completely different power methods and get well rapidly between efforts.
Extra particular to Hyrox, competing requires excessive depth efforts (stations like sled push and pull), endurance (whole run is roughly5 miles), and power and energy (as with the 100 wall balls on the finish!). This implies you might be taxing each your anaerobic (quick intense bursts) and cardio (longer, sustained power) methods. If fueling isn’t dialed in, chances are you’ll be setting your self up for elevated danger of insufficient power and nutrient consumption, damage and burnout.
Zone 2 coaching (low to average depth cardio work) is commonly used throughout hybrid coaching to develop metabolic flexibility. Merely put, metabolic flexibility is your physique’s skill to modify between completely different gasoline sources. Nevertheless, as a way to capitalize on this effectivity, your each day fueling habits have to assist it.
Foundational Diet for Hyrox
Carbohydrates: Your Fundamental Hyrox Vitality Supply
Carbohydrates are important for each excessive depth and endurance efforts. Glycogen, the saved type of carbohydrate in your muscle groups and liver, is your main gasoline supply in a Hyrox race. With out sufficient carbohydrate consumption, you run the chance of hitting a wall laborious throughout coaching or competitors. Enough carbohydrate consumption aids in:
- Replenishing muscle glycogen so you might have power to your subsequent exercise
- Delaying fatigue in coaching and competitors
- Supporting excessive energy output throughout stations
- Sustaining psychological focus and resolution making
Whereas future content material will get you higher acquainted with how a lot carbohydrate you want and when, take a while to get snug together with carbs all through the day, particularly simply digestible carbs earlier than your exercises and top quality sources to help in restoration after.
Protein: Restore and Restoration
Protein helps muscle restore, limits muscle breakdown and helps your physique adapt to the stress of hybrid coaching. That is particularly essential with a excessive coaching demand. Sustaining muscle mass whereas coaching laborious and rising mileage will be tough- protein (with a great power coaching program! ) is your ally right here. You additionally need to consider protein as a structural and metabolic nutrient – not one that you just need to burn for power. For this reason reaching your protein wants, however not exceeding them in giant quantities, is right.
Fats: Help for Endurance and Restoration
Whereas carbs and protein could are usually the main target, fats performs a massive position in supporting Hyrox athlete vitamin. Fat are essential for offering sustained power for decrease depth efforts and relaxation days. It additionally helps hormone manufacturing, mind well being and joint operate. Fat additionally play a task in nutrient absorption, particularly nutritional vitamins A, D, E, and Ok that are essential for restoration, bone well being, and extra.
Hydration and Electrolytes
With busy schedules and an affinity for espresso, we get that it’s straightforward to miss hydration. However prioritizing fluid consumption means optimizing use of the power vitamins coated, regulating physique temperature, and in the end enhancing your coaching and competitors experiences. Only a 2% fluid loss impairs bodily and psychological efficiency. What’s a 2% fluid loss? For some, it’s whenever you discover you’re thirsty. Think about these pointers forward of and through your hybrid coaching and discover what hydration merchandise is perhaps finest for you right here.
Need to study extra? Enroll to be the primary to know after we launch our subsequent Hyrox vitamin articles, recipes, sports activities vitamin product opinions, and programming.
Written by Ellie Meyers MS, RD, CPT a sports activities dietitian to professional and collegiate athletes who commonly attends Hyrox coaching periods and accomplished her first Hyrox competitors in NYC in 2023.
