{"id":236838,"date":"2026-01-16T20:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T20:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/236838\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T20:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T20:01:09","slug":"im-a-69-year-old-hyrox-champion-this-is-how-i-train","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/236838\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m a 69-Year-Old Hyrox Champion \u2013 This Is How I Train\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019d had my land development business for 20 years when, during the 2008 financial crisis, the whole thing fell apart, and I had to fight to stay out of bankruptcy. I was devastated. By 2012, most of my company was gone, and I turned to anything that numbed the pain. I started drinking and, of course, that just made matters worse. It started with a few beers a couple of times a day. Then I graduated to vodka. I used it to forget about my financial issues.<\/p>\n

The problem was, I\u2019d wake up and not only were my financial issues still there, but I also had a wicked hangover on top of that \u2013 it wasn\u2019t the solution. That\u2019s when fitness became my therapy.<\/p>\n

I started running<\/a>. I\u2019d run in the morning and lift weights in the afternoon. Eventually, I started doing HIIT classes. It\u2019s fair to say, I became addicted. HIIT was my priority, so I would do an hour-long class and then run two to three miles. Every day. I didn\u2019t know it at the time, but it was the perfect preparation for hybrid racing.<\/p>\n

I did my first Hyrox<\/a> during the Covid pandemic. It was in Chicago. We all had to wear masks and, as if that wasn\u2019t enough, there was also a tornado warning that day. I was 65, nervous and had no idea what to expect. Everyone discarded their masks right at the starting line. And, due to the tornado warning, they stopped the race mid-way through. I was on my 33rd wall ball when everyone was herded downstairs to the car park.<\/p>\n

There was a 24-minute delay, and they had to subtract that off our times. Still, the experience hooked me. It combined everything I loved about fitness \u2013 strength, endurance and mental grit. I went out, gave it everything and finished in 1:42:47 \u2013 far better than I imagined. A year later, I qualified for the World Championships in Las Vegas \u2013 and I won it. I was 66.<\/p>\n

After Hyrox, I progressed to Deka races and I excelled in those, too. I think part of the reason for my success is because I started my fitness journey at 54; I had a different perception. Most other people, they\u2019ve been running most or all of their lives. They hit 50 and, all of a sudden, they have this middle-age crisis. It\u2019s like, \u2018Oh my god, I\u2019m 50. My pace is falling off. I\u2019m falling apart, blah, blah, blah.\u2019 With me, I had nothing to look forward to other than getting faster.<\/p>\n

When I was 54, I did my first ever 5k<\/a> in 22:04. By the time I was 59, I\u2019d done it in 19:37.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, my training is very structured. On Saturdays, I\u2019ll do a CrossFit<\/a> workout, then simulate a Hyrox competition. I\u2019ll run a mile and then row 500 metres. I\u2019ll keep going until I\u2019ve done the ski-erg<\/a>, sled push<\/a> and farmer\u2019s carry<\/a>, with running in between. On Sunday, I might just do some cosmetic work on the neglected muscle groups that CrossFit didn\u2019t hit during the week, like biceps<\/a>. On Monday, it\u2019s back to the routine, back to CrossFit, but I might also work on the stations I\u2019ve been neglecting \u2013 more wall balls, more runs, more farmer\u2019s carries. That\u2019s all relative to how hard the CrossFit hour was.<\/p>\n

To fit it all in, I hardly ever have rest days. I only take them when I have to; when it\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, if I do this one more day, I\u2019m going to get injured.\u2019 If I feel like that, I\u2019ll take the day off.<\/p>\n

Build strength, add muscle and strip body fat in 2026 with this simple four-week training plan from Men\u2019s Health fitness director Andrew Tracey. You\u2019ll also get a fully comprehensive nutrition guide, giving you the tools to create a smart, sustainable calorie deficit \u2013 without compromising your training. Tap the link below to unlock 14 days of free access to the Men\u2019s Health app and start training today.
<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/p>\n

\"magazine<\/a>Related Stories\"Lettermark\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019d had my land development business for 20 years when, during the 2008 financial crisis, the whole thing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236839,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[5218,139893,2117,565,134,2116,111,139,69,139892],"class_list":["post-236838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-content-type-default","tag-contentid-09741529-cec8-49fd-b579-d7b1d1883bdd","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-locale-gb","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-shorttitle-how-i-train-as-a-69-year-old-hyrox-champion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}