THE HYROX PROJECT

An 8 week Functional Fitness Plan

Designed for Competition

During my quest for understanding the onset of fatigue with

endurance athletes, you would think this would be the last place to look
for endurance answers.

Fatigue is an omnipresent enemy of sports and athletic performance.

It doesn’t care if your goal is high intensity-fast paced competition or
long arduous multi-day challenges. If you do not understand how best
to contend with its onset, you are screwed!

As you will soon learn, tracking heart rate while training can be a
tremendous asset. I think the reason more athletes don’t give this metric
much energy is because it can be so confusing. Knowing just how to
wield this information during your training experience can provide
powerful results. Most savvy endurance athletes wouldn’t think to train
or race without the support of this powerful ally. Unfortunately, up
until now, athletes engaged in high intensity fast paced sports, assumed
that tracking heart rate would be of no use in the workouts and
competitions they compete, which do not rely on endurance.

High intensity training and competition are not an aerobic activities,

however this does not mean that you can not benefit from monitoring
and manipulating your anaerobic energy system to great result as you
are about to learn first hand.

The Hyrox Project is an intelligent approach to the way you train

and has proven to be incredibly successful for those who trusted and
followed the process. It is a complete departure from the norm and an
exciting revelation in how to win the battle with fatigue!
~ Richard Diaz
 WINNING THE BATTLE WITH FATIGUE

It’s no secret that in virtually every athletic endeavor, resistance to fatigue is the
elephant in the room. Fatigue saps your energy, retards your power and has the
potential to linger and cause your workouts to suffer for days. Gone unchecked,
fatigue can cause your fitness to spiral out of control. Given the insidious nature
of this enemy, clearly, it’s important to know how to avoid fatigues ability to get
the best of you.

So what is fatigue really? If you research definitions of fatigue you’ll likely

get a variety of interpretations, and like all we read, we tend to gravitate to the
responses that seem to best correspond with our interest. I’m no different. The
definition that resonated with me went something like this:

“Fatigue is a condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and

reduced efficiency of accomplishment, usually accompanied by a feeling of
weariness and tiredness.  Fatigue can be acute and come on suddenly or chronic
and persist”.

So what does this mean to you? Clearly, if your approach to training continues
to lessen your capacity for work, you’re likely on the wrong path. Reduced
efficiency is guaranteed to result in a greater cost of work and ultimately more
fatigue. If after a few consecutive days of training, your production of work is on
the decline, meaning your lifts are suffering and or you need more time between
efforts to recover, this can be frustrating. Finally, if the pattern goes unchecked
the consequence can lead to over-training syndrome.

The definition of fatigue I offered presents an outcome but does not define the
cause. If you are truly going to learn to overcome the consequence of fatigue,
you best know what to do about it. There is a pretty robust list of culprits behind
the onset of fatigue however, the list becomes shorter as we narrow down the
instigators. In the case of an endurance athlete, fatigue comes about over a
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much greater length of exposure to work than is the case as a Hyrox athlete. The
leading culprit behind fatigue as an endurance athlete is glycogen depletion,
dehydration and over heating. You simply are running out of gas, losing body
fluids and overheating. There are other mechanisms at work but I would call this
the “A” list.

As a Hyrox athlete, it’s highly unlikely that you’re going to run out of fuel during
a 60-90 minute workout no matter how intense it is. You may cramp but this
outcome may point contractile chemical imbalances. When the intensity is high,
the leading culprit is lactic acidosis (too much lactate building up in the working
muscles and the inability to clear it). Excessive lactate production can reasonably
be blamed for fatigue even in endurance events, if the athlete is ill prepared for
the effort applied.

From my research over the years, I have had the privilege of working with
a variety of athletes and my role commonly has been to assess performance
capabilities through clinical evaluation. In essence, my job has been to take an
athlete to exhaustion and interpret the consequence that led them to fatigue. I’ve
done this for nearly 25 years as of this writing. I have assessed fitness capacity
on recreational and world class athletes alike over a variety of disciplines. The
breadth of this experience has taken me from endurance athletes such as
runners, triathletes, ultra marathon, cyclists, soccer, to power athletes such
as professional hockey teams, world class boxers, MMA fighters, football
basketball, even water polo and outrigger canoeists, wheel chair athletes and
race car drivers! The common thread among them is; they hope to figure out
how to resist fatigue for as long as possible. What’s different in my approach to
this problem, does not stem from my experience as an athlete. The difference
I bring to the table comes from the extensive analysis and experimentation I’ve
conducted based on the science we know today.

Understanding the mechanisms at play, that promotes or degrades success in a

given sport begins with an athletes genetic profile and a history of application.
It’s typical in all athletic arenas that the athlete with the most success leads the
herd. The belief system is: “Do as I do and be as I am”. I refer to this as “The
study of one”. Mind you, there are countless success stories that come from this
approach to training. The truth of the matter is; you may not be built or blessed

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with the same physical or psychological attributes as the guy or girl who you look
up to. What works for one athlete may not work for another. The way your body
responds to load, the time it takes for your body to adapt, the recovery time-lines
you must follow, are attributes that are unique to you. When someone tells you,
“Thats not the right approach,” it may not be for them and it may be perfect for
you.

Too truly understand the cause and effect of your success or failure requires
that you step outside of yourself and gather information. Do you track the
coast of your efforts? When I speak of cost, I’m speaking of energy demand
and the best way to figure this out is by tracking heart rate. Every beat of your
heart represents expense. If you know what it costs to perform a task and how
long it takes to recover from it, you can begin to see a trend that evolves from
your training. Right or wrong, your heart doesn’t lie. Being able to collect this
information and recall it historically allows you to better measure your path to
success. Aside from heart rate to measure progress, what is typical is “time or
more recently, power.” Watching the clock, lets you know how long you’ve been
working, how much force generated or how long it took to recover. You may
schedule your recovery bouts governed by a specific time line or, even perform
a specific exercise for a controlled time line. Heart rate is still the best and most
reliable indicator of cost while time or power represents “yield”, it’s just not the
same.

My goal here is to share a unique method of gaining control of your workloads

in a very untraditional way. I’ll argue why I do not feel going aerobic to recover
is the correct path to follow when the game is high intensity. If you want to
succeed, there is a better model, which brings me directly to the point of this e
book:

“Overcoming the most debilitating cause of fatigue in a high intensity

environment, such as Hyrox training and competition”

To begin with, it’s critical to have a reasonable understanding of muscle

function and structure to guide you to a better understanding of my theories.
You don’t need to be an exercise physiologist to grasp these concepts. I am not
planning to take you into a full blown anatomy lesson. What I will do, is shed
light on a few irrefutable details of muscle make up. First, as I pointed out
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earlier, our muscle composition is genetically preordained. The old adage is, if
you want to get to the Olympics, “Pick the right parents”. There is little you can
do that can turn a born sprinter into a marathon runner. Thus far, we have not
figured out a way to change muscle fiber type. We are all designed with a certain
amount of slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers and in the grand design, we
have both in order to provide for basic survival, “Fight or flight”. The regions
from which our family heritage hails, has much to do with our fiber typing,
which is a story for another day. Suffice to say, we have what we have, in regard
to muscle composition makeup and it’s not likely to change. The good news
is, there are alterations we can make that can lend favor to the chronic tasks
we choose to apply ourselves. The alterations I am referring to are: “Training
Stimulus.”

Simply stated, if you go to a gym and lift heavy objects your body will adopt
the capacity to lift heavy objects. If you decide you want to run a marathon and
begin running more and more, you’re likely to succeed. You may find a sticking
point in the amount of weigh you can lift or the pace you can sustain over 26.2
miles, but you will see a reasonable amount of success commensurate with your
dedicated efforts. The reason you’re able to have reasonable success without
changing your fiber type, points to the adaptive capacity of our muscle make up.

Here’s what it looks like:

Our muscle fiber type can be broken down into two principle categories:

• Type I fibers (slow twitch) which are oxidative fibers, are where we derive
our endurance.

• Type II fibers (fast twitch) are glycolytic fibers, they are where we find our
power and strength.

The term twitch refers to the rate of contractile force. Type I fibers being
oxidative suggests that the fuel of choice is fat. Type II fibers on the other hand
being glycolytic, suggests that the preferred fuel source is sugar.
To complicate things a bit, Type II fibers actually have a sub category fiber, to
be more precise they are Type IIa and Type IIb fibers. The difference between
the two sub categories is a matter of force production and energy paths. Type
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IIa fibers are more appropriately termed “slow oxidative/glycolytic”. They are
sort of a transitional fiber type. Let me provide an example: If you were to
begin running around a track at a conversational pace, the energy source would
be predominately fat. At this running pace the energy system and fiber type
is aerobic or “oxidative” (the term implies in the presence of oxygen and this
is when fat is used as energy). If you began to pick up the pace and were less
capable of conversation due to accelerated respiration, you are moving into the
type IIA fibers to asset in your effort. Finally, you decide to break into a sprint
to the finish 50 yards ahead you. At this point you’ll have shifted to the glycolytic
energy path which is exclusively sugar (carbohydrate). As a result, you will now
have recruited the Type IIb fibers because they are responsible for maximal force
production. Like changing gears in your car and pressing the gas pedal to the
floor, tapping into the Type IIb fibers burns a lot of energy very quickly.

You can apply this thinking to a variety of scenario’s but I think you get the
idea. Slow twitch vs. fast twitch, less force more enduring vs. more power less
duration. The more intense the effort the less time you can support it.

When our efforts are chronically aerobic (soliciting to slow twitch fibers) there
are alterations to our system that do not occur when we are anaerobic (soliciting
to fast twitch fibers). Because the focus of this book is to help you become a
better Hyrox athlete, I won’t bore you with all the wonderful things that happen
if your goal is to build endurance. What I will say is that too much aerobic
training can be counterproductive if your goal is to build high intensity tolerance
to fatigue!

An important note: when your effort is intense, the energy path is glycolytic
(you are relying almost exclusively on carbohydrate).

Here’s where it gets interesting… When the primary energy source is

carbohydrate, the byproduct of carbohydrate metabolism is a concomitant
increase in lactate production. The greater the intensity and the longer the
muscles are contracting, the more carbs you burn and the more lactate you
produce. Now here lies the rub; if you cannot clear lactate quickly enough from
the working muscles, these muscles fall prey to lactic acidosis. Which is fancy
way to say your muscles are on fire and you can no longer produce forceful
contractions until the lactate has been cleared from the muscles.
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 This my friends is THE principle cause of muscle failure, ergo- FATIGUE.

Once you better understand why and where this all leads, the more likely you
are to trust the process. I’m going to bet the reason you’re reading this is because
you want me to cut to the chase and tell you how to maintain intensity and
recover faster. I’m certainly going to get there but I believe that this overview
is important. Be patient, read it a couple times if you need to but don’t fast
forward. The better you understand this, the more success you’ll have from the
training experience.

To be scientifically literate, is to empower yourself and to know when

someone else is full of bullshit ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson

Lactate, for the longest time has been misunderstood. Even to this day, few
exercise scientists can unequivocally agree on what specifically is the reason
that our muscles fatigue under the influence of excessive lactate presence.
There has been lots of theories and every time someone thinks they are on to it,
someone else proves them wrong. What we do know is that when the muscles
become fatigued, lactate and hydrogen are present, so is heat and a host of other
metabolic byproducts also present. I won’t bore you with a list of the specific
constituents. It seems whenever researchers segregate these suspects to see if the
item in question is the reason for muscle failure, they end up disappointed. I for
one gave up trying to figure it out. I have made peace with the awareness that
when the intensity grows, ya just gotta figure out what to do with that excessive
production of lactate. In a perfect training program, your goal would be to be
able to keep working, unaffected by the lactate production. This would be the
result of improving your ability to manage its production and distribution.

So how do we do it?
There are a variety of ways to move lactate from our system, some are more
relevant to our training needs than others. We don’t want to rely on conversion,
we don’t need more energy, we want freedom of toxicity!

If you were going to compete in an IronMan triathlon, a desirable path would

be: Conversion to Glucose and/or Glycogen.  Because lactic acid is a product of
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carbohydrate metabolism (glucose and glycogen) during anaerobic work, it can
be converted to (glucose) in the liver and delivered as (glycogen) to working
muscle. However, glycogen conversion is an extremely slow process (which can
take 5 minutes or more) compared with lactic acid removal. Clearly, given the
time it takes, conversion is the least desired outcome for a high intensity short
duration event. Whats needed here, is not more energy conversion. What’s
needed is to be free of the insidious burning sensation and resultant muscle
failure. We need the lactate to be removed!

Aside from all the negative outcomes when incapable of moving lactate from
the working muscles, Lactic acid is actually the fuel of choice for the heart,
brain, liver and kidneys. Lactate also has the potential to provide as much
as 30% energy to skeletal muscle. Given the opportunity to become aerobic
(oxidative metabolism) lactic acid can be processed through the Krebs cycle
which is an aerobic metabolic path. The caveat to this most agreeable outcome
is, the exercise intensity needs to slow to a crawl to allow the aerobic system to
kick in and move that lactate away from the working muscles. This is the path
I would choose if I were training an endurance athlete. The interval sets would
provide for longer aerobic recovery supported by lots of steady state aerobic
training bouts. This makes perfect sense if the goal were to run a marathon
because, we would want to promote the energy conversion. The goal being to
promote the development of the aerobic pathways, because slow twitch fibers are
the staple of an endurance athlete.

Having said that: Anaerobic training and competition such as CrossFit or

Hyrox, must rely on a very different approach. Unfortunately, there are very
few if any valid studies that have been conducted relative to fatigue and CrossFit
or Hyrox training principals. What we do know is that training in interval
fashion above and below threshold can teach the body to disperse blood lactate
accumulation. The lower the blood lactate, the higher the power output and
performance potential.

Bottom line
Training aerobically can export lactate to the blood for clearance and energy
purposes in pretty much every organ in the body. However, as I stated earlier,
this process takes time (minutes) to effectively clear the muscles. This is time

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we don’t have or don’t want to waste. Under the correct training influence, well
trained athletes are able to very efficiently export less lactate to the blood as they
clear it in higher amounts right in the lactate producing muscle which takes
seconds or milliseconds! This is not going to happen by returning to an aerobic
state to recover (which can take 5 minutes or more). The distinction between
these training responses depends on a couple of lactate-specific transporters.
Fast twitch fibers have a very high content of a specific metabolic transporter
termed MCT-4 (Monocarboxylate-4) which transports lactate away from
muscle fibers. This is the path we want to take when the challenge is high and
the duration is short (30 minutes or less). We can ill afford slowing down for
5 minutes or more to wait for the lactate to be cleared or converted. Nor is it
advantageous to hone our aerobic pathway, spending time stimulating our slow
twitch fibers. Working to stimulate our Type I (slow twitch fibers) is a potentially
hazardous waste of our ability to generate power. High intensity training is
required to enhance power and stimulate Type IIb fibers (fast twitch).

Slow twitch fibers possess a transporter called (Monocarboxylate-1) MCT-

1 which takes lactate inside these fibers. That lactate is then converted in the
mitochondria to then finally synthesize ATP (energy). Training aerobically
improves lactate clearance by increasing the number of mitochondria to clear
lactate, mainly in slow twitch muscle fibers by increasing the number of MCT-
1 transporters. Let me say it again, if I were training an IronMan athlete, the
interval profiles would look very different from the program I am about to share.

All said and done, regardless of the type of event you prepare for, as intensity
brings you into an anaerobic state, the rate of carbohydrate is greatly increased and
as a result so does lactate production. If the intensity is fast and furious, the rate of
lactate production rushes into the muscles at a relative rate. The inability to clear it
(one way or another) results in fatigue. Its as simple as that!

Coming from a background in endurance training and as a coach, I can

promise you that if you hope to train your body to get on top of this fatigue, a
heart rate monitor is a critical investment. Otherwise, all you have is perceived
effort and time. When there is a rapid increase in intensity, you may not even
realize you’ve pushed to far until it’s too late. Trust me when I tell you, If you’re
wrong about your perception you can end up on the training floor wiped out and
or waste a butt load of training time chasing down the wrong rabbit hole!
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 HOW TO ESTABLISH PROPER HEART RATE LIMITERS

I think the best place to start is by gaining a better understanding of the terms
that are tossed around, that often times are a bit fuzzy for the layperson. What
you need to do is, establish the recovery intensity range and the high intensity
range(s). Your intervals will flow between these limiters, which we will
determine after these brief definitions:

• (AeT) Aerobic threshold is a point in your effort where things start to

happen. A relatively low level of intensity marked by light breathing that
occurs somewhere near 50% of VO2max. Some suggest this is where blood
lactate reaches a concentration of 2 mmol/litre (at rest it is around 1 mmol/
liter).
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• (AnT) Anaerobic threshold marks a sudden and steep departure from your
ability to use fat to using primarily glycogen (carbs) as your energy source. 
Usually determined via direct gas analysis while running on a treadmill.
The difference between AeT and AT is the amount of oxygen your body is
using to produce energy. At a low intensity you are burning mostly fat, but
as intensity gradually increases more glycogen (storage form of carbs) are
used. When the effort level where glycogen becomes the dominant fuel you
are crossing the threshold between aerobic and anaerobic intensity. 

• (LT) Lactate threshold is nearly identical to AnT, the chief difference is

in how the result is determined. An LT test is based on blood sampling of
the resident lactate within the bloodstream sampled at 2 minute intervals
during a progressive treadmill test. When the athletes blood sample reveals
4mmol/L (millimoles of lactate), the assumption is that the athlete has
achieved lactate threshold. Incidentally both AT and LT have a very close
if not identical correlation in effort. At the end of the day, the term only
implies the method in which the information was obtained either via direct
gas analysis, which is a ventilatory consequence of your effort or by blood
sampling.

• (MLSS) Maximum steady-state lactate concentration is defined as

the highest blood lactate concentration (MLSSc) and work load (MLSSw)
that can be maintained over time without a continual increase in
blood lactate accumulation. This level of effort is of supreme importance
to CrossFit and Hyrox competitions. Those who have the highest MLSS
potential are likely to perform better in their competition.

• Aerobic capacity refers to the “maximum volume of oxygen” an athlete

can use per minute relative to body weight to produce energy. The more
commonly used term for this is VO2max. This bit of information is best
determined via direct gas analysis (VO2max test). This test has long been
coined as the “gold standard of fitness evaluation”. The more oxygen an
athlete can process per minute relative to his or her weight (VO2/mls/kg/
min) the greater potential for endurance performance.

• Anaerobic capacity this is a measure of how much maximal power or

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11
 speed can be produced in an all out 30 second effort. This assessment is
often used in power sports and conducted via a Wingate test, done with
specialized equipment that can covert human force into watts generated over
time, a highly reliable power indication.

Knowing how shallow the research has been to develop a reliable estimate
of both aerobic and anaerobic heart rates, I decided, why not do my own
study? In my data base of test results, I have literally thousands of tests to
glean information from. So I decided to draw 50 apparently healthy men and
50 women at various ages. As a baseline for Aet (aerobic) prediction, I used
the formula of 180-age which has historically served as a reliable indicator of a
relatively conservative, aerobic effort.

For the sake of consistency, to determine a reliable AnT (Anaerobic threshold),

I moved all of their heart rates to the intensity that brought about a respiratory
exchange rate (RER) of 1.0, which indicates 100% of the energy being utilized
is carbohydrate. Remember, lactate is produced when carbohydrate is burned.
That means regardless of age or heart rate, when this threshold is met, each client
tested was clinically anaerobic. It really is a matter of semantics when it comes to
these terms (LT vs. AT). Based on my experience, this math will indicate you are
either well on your way to being exclusively anaerobic or there already.

Doing a bit more math, here is what I found:

The average female’s heart rate, relative to effort, ran 10 bpm higher than men’s
heart rate when the RER of 1.0 was met (again illustrating that 100% of the
energy was coming from carbohydrate). The averaged values of women aged
35 years, had an AT (anaerobic threshold) of 164 bpm and an AeT (aerobic
threshold) of 145 bpm. The men aged 36 years averaged an AT (anaerobic
threshold) of 153 bpm and an AeT (aerobic threshold) of 144 bpm. Mind
you, these equations will not be spot on for all athletes, but it’s a pretty strong
prediction of the spread between aerobic and anaerobic for each gender.

These findings have proven to be very reliable when testing athletes as they run
on a treadmill. Some may be familiar with the recent program I wrote “The
Dark Horse” which was written for CrossFit. Fortunately these equations held
up pretty well. It occurred to me that there is a pretty good likelihood that when

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the game changes, for example, when attempting to use these equations on a ski
erg or rower, some minor but potentially critical adjustments would be needed.
So, what did we do? We put our concerns to a test. We invited some highly
capable athletes in to assess the differences in metabolic turn points between
these various training modalities to see just how much adjustments would be
needed.

We simply tested each athlete on each device to see how far off our predictions
might be compared to our standard test on the treadmill. What we learned is
that because running is an open chain exercise (not connected to earth while in
flight), women had a tendency towards slightly higher work capacities running
vs. closed chain exercises such as rowing or ski erg (both feet engaged to fixed
objects ie., the floor or feet locked in.) Men, who are of larger body types tended
to be more capable of producing efficient work during closed chain exercises.
Especially heavier athletes exceeding beyond 200 lbs.

It was an interesting experiment yet despite these variables, on paper our math
did not change significantly. It comes down to a matter of about 10 bpm more or
less added to the top end heart rates relative to task. The reason I suggested the
differences “on paper” is because in reality a 10 bpm increase can be significant
enough to end up being too much and can result in the inability to cope and thus
13
adapt to the lactate production we hope to tame. While you begin to learn from
your efforts while following the training prescriptions what I expect you’ll find is
that you really do not need drastic increases in intensity to overload. Time under
stress is an even more effective method of developing the tolerance we hope to
achieve over time during these workouts.

I’ve spent nearly 3 decades testing athletes. It scares me to think how many
I’ve actually tested. Whats interesting, is the variance in responses I see relative
to the data collected. I’ve learned that in order for me to prescribe training
protocols, I don’t like to depend on other clinicians findings. Sure the reports
are pretty straight forward, whats missing is the actual observation of the athlete
under stress. A VO2max test measures the ventilatory consequence of work
conducted via direct gas analysis. This is achieved by the athlete breathing
through (generally) a mask that separates the air flow being inhaled vs the
airflow exhaled. The sampling of respiration is precisely measured to determine
the amount of oxygen (O2) taken in, relative to the amount of carbon dioxide
(CO2) exhaled. These gases are segregated and accounted for in milliliters per
minute and dished out into several equations:

• Indifferent to body mass

• Relative to body mass

• Relative to heart rate

• RER

• And a host of other ventilatory data that is not relevant to this topic.

All this as work is progressively made more difficult, until the subject being
tested can no longer continue. As the data pours out during the test, in most
cases, at the lower levels of intensity, the prominent gas is oxygen.

Whats important to take from this, is that fat is the primary fuel source in the
presence of oxygen, thus we derive the term “aerobic” which means exactly that.
Carbon dioxide is a marker of lactate being present and lactate is principally
produced as a result of carbohydrate metabolism. As these gases exchange and
intensity increases, more and more CO2 is being produced which indicates
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carbohydrate is lending to be the greater share of energy provided for work.
The consequence of this is greater lactate production. When the CO2 levels
match the intake of O2 this is represented in whats termed the “respiratory
exchange ratio” of 1.0. At this juncture 100% of the energy being consumed is
carbohydrate.

This table accurately depicts the cost of work and from where it derived:
RER Kcal L-102 % Carbohydrates %Fat
0.71 4.69 0 100
0.75 4.74 15.6 84.4
0.80 4.80 33.4 66.6
0.85 4.86 50.7 49.3
0.90 4.92 67.5 32.5
0.95 4.99 84.0 16.0
1.00 5.05 100 0

What is not shown here and is difficult to predict, is how well an athlete can
handle the ever increasing toxic environment that results from an increase
production of lactate. On many occasion, I’ve had athletes incapable of
broaching an RER value of 1.0 before fatigue caused them to quit the test. At the
same time, I’ve had many athletes quite capable of performing well above this
value in a highly acidic environment. This type of response may be categorized
as “tolerant,” it may even suggest that they have developed an innate capacity to
process a greater share of the lactate as its being produced and either clearing
and or converting this lactate to energy. The fact remains that, once the athlete
is exclusively anaerobic, as indicated by an RER of 1.0 the cost of work is at a
premium.

Determining AeT (aerobic threshold) through reliable prediction –

This value will serve as your baseline aerobic governor, you will rarely visit this
low an intensity for this program. To reliably predict your aerobic threshold in
lieu of clinical assessment:

• For a man or women, subtract your age from 180 there is strong
evidence you will be aerobic. This will give most people an effective, albeit
conservative, baseline aerobic training governor.

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 Determining AnT (anaerobic threshold) through reliable prediction –
Because this value is the nucleus of your entire training program, I will try to
make this as clear as possible. To reliably predict your anaerobic threshold:

• For a women, subtract your age from 180 and add 20 bpm and there is
strong evidence you will be right at your anaerobic threshold.

• For a man, subtract your age from 180 and add 10 bpm.
This will give most athletes an effective, albeit conservative, anaerobic training
heart rate based on running. As you will learn, there may be need for moderate
adjustments based on the type
of exercise challenge you face.
In our training intervals you
will commonly exceed this top
end heart rate value of these
predictions.

I think at this juncture it’s

important to point out that
in the absence of a clinical
evaluation (VO2max test)
everything that you are
basing your threshold on is a
prediction. I will say that if
I have to guess, my approach
of drawing from 100 healthy
individuals clinical evaluations is
a pretty strong place to start.

Determining Maximum
Heart Rate – This can be touchy business. I have a hard time recommending
that you go out and beat yourself down to arrive at this value. With an exercise
prescription, I always weigh the risk versus benefit before I decide to venture off
into the unknown. Without knowing you personally or your previous health
history, this is a risky proposition. As far as benefit goes, I think the accuracy
of finding your max heart rate is pointless. The principal reason for doing so
is to establish a multiplier to find your threshold, which has been shown to be
16
ineffective anyway. I suggest that you go ahead and use the 220-age formula to
estimate your max heart rate and fore-go the beating. If you’re off by 10 bpm,
big whoop! This value is going to expand and contract with time and training
anyway. It is a rare occasion that you will ever train at your max heart rate.
Quite frankly, the return on that investment is never good. You may visit 90%
of max often during interval training, but even then, never for very long. So I
am satisfied with the 220-age equation for setting a top-end limiter for intervals.
Keep in mind that most of the interval work you’ll do will be governed by
perception near the top end of your flow interval sets.

Perceived Exertion - Up to this point, I’ve assumed you are reading this book
because guessing what to do and when to do it isn’t working for you. I also
assume you either have a heart rate monitor, or a purchase is imminent. In the
event that these assumptions are wrong and you will apply my information to
old-school thinking. Here is how you would train based on perception.

For the sake of full disclosure, I use perceived exertion often when training
clients on a treadmill to assess their physical state before or after a training
session. I find it to be a quick and easy method of communication that over
time, becomes very dependable. I’ll say something like, “On a 1-10 scale 10
being, ‘oh my god I am about to die’ and 1 like sitting on the sofa eating pizza,
how do you feel”? A 5 to me means we’re doing OK. While running near
maximal speeds, I’ll ask my client to spout out a number to reflect the intensity
they feel since I can’t feel what they are feeling. This is especially effective
during high intensity intervals that are very short in duration. Jumping on to a
treadmill for under a 30 second effort is too short a duration for your monitor
and heart to relay what is happening second by second and perception is the
most reliable method for determining an athletes state.

Having said that; I would never rely on my client’s perception to determine

whether they are aerobic or not during moderate intensity training. More often
than not, they could be either over or under training.

17
18
 The “Borg Scale”... Rating Perception of Effort
0............. Nothing at all 5............. Strong
0.5.......... Hardly noticeable 6............. Very strong
1............. Very weak 7.............
2............. Weak 8.............
3............. Moderate 9.............
4............. Somewhat strong 10........... Very, very strong

Attempting to apply these perceptive values to my training concepts is less

than optimal. I have interviewed countless athletes whose perception of their
effort was good, right up until they fell apart or “hit the wall.” It’s funny how this
works. By the time you find out you are overdrawn, the check has already been
written and cashed. This is when you find out you are broke. Even considering
this warning, I suggest you perform a field test and have an observational
conversation with yourself:
“How do I feel now, am I a 3 or a 4?” “What sensation is common
with this perception?” Do the same thing at 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Figure it out and make a mental note

19
 THE HYROX PROJECT
An 8 week Functional Fitness Plan
Designed for Competition

Before we get started, there a few recommendations that are important to cover
up front. Ambitious athletes are notorious for over training. I don’t care what
plan you follow, if you overdo it, you’re likely to fall short of your goals. It takes
discipline to stay the course and avoid investing time an energy incorrectly
because it’s the popular thing to do.

So in essence, there are several approaches you can take:

A.) Follow the training as written for the entire 8 weeks, measure your
progress and draw your own conclusions. We’re confident that to do so
will yield surprising benefits.

B.) Take advantage of the Private Facebook Group and access to your
coach for these 8 weeks. There is no better way to address frustrations or
concerns than a weekly live chat. (Limited to those who opted in)

C.) Avoid changing up the workouts without asking first. Its like a house
of cards, if you rearrange you may find that you end up falling behind
due to being over worked.

Final recommendation
Do not judge your initial results! These workouts are going to kick your ass
for a while. You may find yourself pretty worked in the first few weeks until
the desired adaptations result. Shifting energy systems takes a bit of time and
dedication. Much like changing your diet, you have to stay the course. If you
cheat and surrender to too many aerobic recoveries too often, the adaptations
will take longer.
20
 THE TRAINING TOOLS
I designed the workout around the all of the challenges of a Hyrox competition,
which means, you will need to have access to the specific equipment. If you train
at home and do not have access to these devices, you can certainly improvise.

You should have learned by now that you need a means to track your efforts. I
have already pointed out a heart rate monitor is an excellent investment. Right
about now you may expect me to make a brand recommendation, I’m not going
to do it. In all of the years I have worked in the business of tracking heart rate, I
have experimented with many. Here are the features I feel are critical:

No matter what brand you settle on, get yourself a chest strap! Optical sensors
have become vogue in the heart rate monitor industry due in great part because,
let’s face it, everyone hates that strap around your chest. Unfortunately, the
optical sensors are a bad fit for training causes you to grip tightly during an
exercise. Gripping, causes vasoconstriction. These optical sensors are sending
a light into your skin to pick up on blood flow. Vasoconstriction inhibits blood
flow temporarily. Don’t believe me? Check your heart rate before an exercise
such as a heavy farmers carry or Burbee’s, check your heart rate. It will have
dumped. As soon as the exercise is over and you feel your heart pounding, you’ll
quickly realize, the number on your watch is incorrect. If you wait another
minute, you’ll see your heart rate surge back up.

At the end of the day getting a reliable read from your device is what we need
and this hiccup doesn’t work for me. A chest strap reads your heart rate from the
source, its a bit cumbersome but its far more reliable and accurate.

Nearly all of the monitors offer the option of a chest strap. If you own a
Garmin, Polar, Suunto or Timex or even an Apple Watch you can purchase a
chest strap. It will overrule the reading from your optical sensor under your
watch face. Most of these aforementioned manufactures provide a place to
store the training you do on a proprietary site where you can upload your data
at no extra cost. Garmin has a program called “Garmin Connect” which is
pretty robust as do the others mentioned. All my clients and in this program
(assuming you’re part of the 8 week Project) are encouraged to upload the data
21
associated with the workouts I write for them to Training Peaks. Training Peaks
is the most powerful Online training journal on the market. You can set up an
account for free and or you can pay an up-charge to get really amazing tracking.
Whichever path you choose, what’s important is you track your efforts. There
is no better way to identify your progress than to collect the cost of your efforts
into a journal. You’ll see the cause and effect of everything you’ve done. How
long it took to execute a workout and what the heart rate responses where and so
much more.

These monitors can get pretty expensive but they don’t need be. If you want to
operate on the cheap, you can purchase a chest strap that reveals your heart rate
on your Smartphone in an app of which there are thousands to choose from,
most of which are free. The only downside is you need to have your phone
nearby while you’re working out.

22
 THE FLOW “CONCEPT”

By definition, if I were to prescribe a specific path for you to follow verbatim, it

literally defeats the “concept” of flow. To flow in training is to follow intuition.
For example, if I dictate that you spend 2 minutes at 165 bpm and you work hard
to achieve this end, the outcome may or may not be appropriate depending on
your physical and emotional attributes. “A” personalities like to follow scripts.
“B” personalizes like wiggle room. All said and done, in this program, I intend
to provide both a script and a concept to follow.
For a live tutorial follow this link: https://youtu.be/wYxS10nRTVQ

The diagrams provided are carefully thought out and if you are the “A” type,
these diagrams and recommendations should serve you well. Having said that
If the goal is to achieve a heart rate recommendation of say 165 bpm within 10
minutes of a flow cycle and you require a few attempts to achieve it, you did
not fail. It is nearly impossible to write precise script for a variety of athletes,
with a variety of body types and fitness levels. I took more consideration to this
challenge than I think anyone before me has ever done for this application.

The Infinity symbol shown in the Flow diagrams sole purpose is to get your
mind off of a linear mindset. As you work through each model the intent is to
control the intensity in dosages. You will move beyond your metabolic turn
point and expose yourself to an ever increasing amount of lactate production
without over exposure and ultimate failure. Too much too soon and your body
does not have a chance to adapt. Too little too often and there is not enough
metabolic stress to develop anaerobic tolerance. What we hope to do is provide
just the right amount of stimulus as to improve tolerance and defeat the potential
ensuing fatigue.

23
 What is critically important to keep in mind is:

The flow sessions are “cardio-treatments”, they are not a measure of how
much work you can perform, competition is where these results are manifest.

The treatments
are developed to
elicit a progressive 150

adaptation that 155

allows you to press

160
beyond previous
boundaries.
HOLD
Through our 175 bpm 30 SEC
150
testing, we created 155
150 150
a window of
155
training intensities 170 bpm

from which the 150

AT
energy system is AeT
manipulated into 165 Running flow1
30 yr old
a more permissive 155
180-age = Aet of150 bpm
add 15 for an “AT” of 165 bpm
150
outcome. In
short, developing
the capacity to
3 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE TARGET, HOLD FOR 3O SECONDS, REGRESS FOR 2.5 MINUTES
detoxify working TO COMPLETE THE 6 minute CYCLE
muscles and or
prolong the amount of time and force that can be generated, i.e., winning the
battle with fatigue.

The example flow cycle shown is built around a 30 year old male who is
exercising on a treadmill (or running outdoors).
As earlier described, if you subtract his age from 180 you have his “AeT” -
150 bpm (aerobic threshold), by adding 15 bpm his predicted “AT” (anaerobic
threshold) would be 165 bpm.

As a reminder, “AT” represents his metabolic turn point which suggests, he is

now producing lactate in the working muscles at a rate greater than he can clear
24
it. In the sample flow cycle you can see that the work begins at the bottom left
and progressively works up the path up to and beyond his AT and then regresses
back in interval fashion. The magic occurs relative to the time spent at any
specific influence or intensity. If the treatment calls for a 3 minute progression
to reach 175 bpm (as shown) it may further indicate that you stall at this point in
the cycle and hold the effort for 30 seconds before regressing. It may not seem
problematic to achieve a heart rate of 170 bpm but if you had to stay there for a
minute or longer you may begin to experience the acidic burn that we have all
felt before.

The common approach is to continue to push into the pain cave hoping that
your willingness to suffer may result in a favorable outcome. I would argue there
is a better way.

If you had ever been to the ocean and watched the waves roll onto the beach,
you may have noticed they too surge with progression, smaller waves initially
that evolve into greater and greater size waves before they begin to subside.
Being on the West Coast, I can refer to an analogy of surfers sitting on “the
outside” awaiting the perfect wave. Through experience they can read this ebb
and flow of the waves. The flow workouts done properly will expose you to this
perfect wave, just the right amount of intensity and time to get the “treatment”
for the session.

Referring back to the 30 year old male example, the ramp up to 175 bpm is 3
minutes, to include the time to hold peak effort for approximately 30 seconds.
The regression should carefully subside over another 2.5 minutes for a total
of 6 minutes to complete the flow cycle. Because our heart rate responses are
very unique, the effort and time it takes to achieve a specific target cannot be
effectively orchestrated in a general sense. Instead I offer a time to achieve and
time to hold a specific heart rate. The prescription may call for multiple rounds
which is dependent upon the goal and or where you are in the program. During
the recovery regression phase as noted, you want to maintain a guarded amount
of intensity. As depicted you are “rolling” the intensity, not allowing the heart
rate to simply plummet.

Hopefully you now have a firm grasp of “concept”. Now we’ll combine the
25
cardio-treatments with the WOD’s over the weeks to follow. Because everyones
training cycles are unique to their lifestyles and demands, I did not assign the
workouts to specific days of the week. What I did do is organize the work over
successive days to include recovery days.

It’s Important to note that we are not machines! Our heart rate rises and lowers
based on the tasks it is designed to accomplish and this time-line is very specific
to each individuals fitness and training experience. The heart rate numbers in
the prescription do not take into account how long it takes to drop into these
values. If you rush in, you may lose control and or end up with an undesirable
outcome. It takes a bit of time to get into a rhythm relative to each mode of
exercise you choose (rower, run, ski erg, etc.). Be patient, trust what you’re doing
will pay huge dividends once you create an effective approach.

The Flow is a departure from traditional linear thinking. It depicts an ebb and
flow of energy marked by heart rate, which we’ve learned is a reliable indicator
of intensity and the energy systems in which we rely. By supplementing your
training with these unique metabolic stimulator’s, you’ll find that you can train
the body to sustain intensity without relying on aerobic clearance which takes
too long to be effective. The traditional approach of retreating from the ensuing
lactate surges will teach you to retreat. By training in an undulating anaerobic
state you’ll find your tolerance will improve and force production maintained.

All through the programming you’ll find elements that are incredibly powerful:
The AT-PT (anaerobic threshold performance trial). These trails offer a very
effective method of quickly identifying progress as a result of your training. The
AT-PT reveals your progress as it relates to force (measured by watts) relative to
expense (heart rate response) associated with the row or ski efforts. For example
if you were originally able to sustain an average of 250 watts at say, 160 bpm and
in a follow up trial you are able to produce the same work (250 watts) at 150
bpm, the cost of work has greatly improved. Another way to view this progress
is if you were able to sustain 300-350 watts at the same initial heart rate, this too
suggests things are greatly improving. The MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
pre/post WOD sets super charge your lactate tolerance capacity. We felt these
additions would be a great way to motivate and reveal improvements.

26
BY THE NUMBERS...Through our desire to come as close to perfect
as humanly possible, we tested athletes on all of the cardio specific elements
in this program. It may seem like overkill, but believe me, as little as 5 bpm
difference can make a big difference. We found that it matters if you carry 20-30
lbs more than someone else of the same gender and age. It matters if you are
fixed in a close chain exercise vs. an open chain exercise. If you are able to make
the slightest adjustments in your training heart rate equation, it can make the
difference between success or failure.

Once you know what your numbers

are, it’s pretty simple to model the
forthcoming flow charts to work really
well for you. As you will see in the flow
charts, the efforts work off your “AT”.
In some cases, your path will begin as
much as 10 bpm below AT and work
up in 5 to 10 bpm increments above AT
and begin regressing from the peak. As
you’ll learn quite quickly, your progress
and workloads are tied to the amount of time spent at any given workload more
than how high the heart rate numbers are.

27
28
WEEK one/ DAY one
HYROX WOD - LEVEL 1a
4 Rounds:
SKIP ROPE AGGRESSIVE 1 MIN
AMRAP BURPEE PUSH UPS 1 MIN
AMRAP WALL BALLS 1 MIN
MOVE TO FLOW CYCLE
FLOW CYCLE - ski erg1
TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART RATE REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING FLOW CYCLE
150
155

160 HOLD
30 sec.
HOLD
165 bpm 30 sec 155

160
155 150
160
160 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 30 SEC

155 HOLD
30 SEC
145
140

example
30 yr old MALE/female
180-age +5 BPM = “AT” of 155

2 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, ESCALATE TO SECOND, third TARGET

REGRESS FOR 2 MINUTES. 6 min TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 4 rounds = 24 MIN.
29
Anyone who knows me would expect what is coming... I am firmly
convinced that if you intend to run and apply intensity to your effort, there
is a proper way to run. Absent concern of what I feel is the right way vs.
wrong, odds are speed will come at a cost in the way of injury. The next
days workout has a built in lesson. It begins with strict adherence to stride
frequency. In this program it is termed “Cadence Builder.”

A cadence builder is when your sole focus is to refine the way you run. No
consideration for pace or heart rate, simply making certain that you land
properly (forefoot first, without over striding at the correct gait frequency).
In the early stages of your training, slower at the correct frequency of 180
steps per minute
will eventually
evolve into
less effort, less
braking (which
leads to injury)
and becoming
a better runner. ANAEROBIC
I did not want
to dive straight
into intensity
knowing full
well that many
athletes are
willing to push
AEROBIC
themselves
beyond
reasonable
boundaries. SKILL BASED

Over these few

months, the goal
is to develop an incredible tolerance to the debilitating lactate production
so that fatigue does not inhibit your performance. All of the “Flow Cycles”
are designed to take you into a lactate bath without drowning as a result.
Stationary efforts such as the Ski erg or Rower are not as complex as
running where skill is concerned so early, we hammer the easy to master
efforts to develop our fitness and carefully develop our running talent
which will soon improve our overall performance.
30
 Intensity and skill guide
The intent here is to Motor Skill is a drill in
maintain a strict cadence where yo progressively
of 180 spm regardless of bring your run to max
heart rate with a focus on velocity MINUS error. If
CADENCE BUILDER proper forefoot running. MOTOR SKILL you fall off cadence, over
Think of this as pre-run stride or make errors,
prep. A metronome is back off, recover and
recommended. repeat in interval fashion.

When training aerobically, VO2 max effort is high

the goal is to stay mid Anaerobic 180-age + 15
range (180-age) is a good bpm is a good gauge.
indicator if you have not
AEROBIC been tested. VO2 MAX

When training anaerobical-

ly, the goal is to not exceed
(180-age + 10 bpm) at least
early on in the program.
ANAEROBIC

CLICK HERE FOR

VIDEO TUTORIAL

31
WEEK one/ DAY two
HYROX WOD - LEVEL 1b
4 Rounds:
AMRAP WALL BALLS 1 MIN
KETTLE BELLS FARMER'S CARRY 200m
SANDBAG LUNGES100m
MOVE TO FLOW CYCLE
FLOW CYCLE - running flow1
TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART RATE REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING FLOW CYCLE
150
155

160

HOLD
175 bpm 30 SEC
150

155
150 150
155
170 bpm
150
AT

165 Running flow1

30 yr old
180-age = Aet of150 bpm
155 add 15 for an “AT” of 165 bpm
150

3 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE TARGET, HOLD FOR 3O SECONDS, REGRESS FOR 2.5 MINUTES
TO COMPLETE THE 6 minute CYCLE
32
WEEK one/ DAY three
MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
ROWING LEVEL 1
150
155

160

HOLD
2 MIN.
155

160
155 165 bpm 150
160

150
AT

160
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 10 BPM = “AT” of 160

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 2 MIN, REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES.
10 Min TO COMPLETE CYCLE X 6 rounds = 60 MIN.

WEEK one / DAY four

Recovery day
33
WEEK ONE / DAY five
WOD hyrox level 1c
4 rounds
Double under's 1 minute
Sled pull / push 25 meters ea.
Sandbag lunges 100 meters (M-50lb F-40lb)
Wall Balls x 25 (M-20lb F-14lb)

FLOW CYCLE - RUNNING a

TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART rate REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING the flow cycle

150
155

160

HOLD
175 bpm 1 MIN. 155

160
155 150
160
170 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 1 MIN.

165
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 15 BPM = “AT” of 165

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, HOLD FOR 1 MIN., ESCALATE TO SECOND TARGET
HOLD FOR 1 MIN., REGRESS FOR 5 MINUTES. 12 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 2 rounds = 22 MIN.
34
 WEEK one/ DAY six
WOD HYrOX - LEVEL 1a
4 Rounds:
SKIP ROPE AGGRESSIVE 1 MIN
AMRAP BURPEE PUSH UPS 1 MIN
AMRAP WALL BALLS 1 MIN
MOVE TO FLOW CYCLE
FLOW CYCLE - RUNNING b
TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART rate REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING the flow cycle
150
155

160

HOLD
165 bpm 2.5 MIN. 155

160
155 150
160
170 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 30 sec.

165
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 15 BPM = “AT” of 165

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, HOLD FOR 30 sec., ESCALATE TO SECOND TARGET
HOLD FOR 2.5 MIN., REGRESS FOR 2 MINUTES. 10 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 4 rounds = 30 MIN.

WEEK one / DAY seven

Recovery day
35
36
WEEK two / DAY one
AT-pt (anaerobic performance trial)
1. WARM UP FOR 5 MINUTES, PROGRESSING TO AT HEART RATE
2. PROGRESS TO THE PEAK TARGET AND HOLD HR/PACE FOR 5 MIN
3. REGRESS TO AT HR/PACE, KEEP NOTE OF AVERAGE POWER IN WATTS
4. RECOVER, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO RECOVER TO 130 BPM?
Tip: Do not attempt this trial if you’re ill prepared, such as, after
a hard workout, poor sleep or overly sore.

FLOW CYCLE - AT PT
male Formula= 180-age + 15 bpm = AT
female Formula= 180-age + 15 bpm = AT
?

130
wn
do

145
ol
co

150

HOLD
t ts

165 bpm 3 MIN.

e wa
rag
ave

170 bpm HOLD

5 MIN.
AT
in

165
5m
up

155
140
m

Sample based on 30 yr old

r
wa

CHOOSE THE EXERCISE DEVICE THAT BEST SUITS YOUR CONCERN. DO

NOT ALTER THE PREDICTED EQUATIONS. BECAUSE THIS TRIAL IS
BUILT ON COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, YOUR RESULTS ARE BASED ON
FAIR COMPARISON.
37
WEEK two/ DAY two
FLOW CYCLE - RUNNING b
180-age + 15 BPM = “AT” of 165 150
155

160

HOLD
165 bpm 2.5 MIN. 155

160
155 150
160
170 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 30 sec.

165 5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET,

HOLD FOR 30 sec., ESCALATE TO SECOND TARGET
140
145 HOLD FOR 2.5 MIN., REGRESS FOR 2 MIN.
10 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 3 rounds = 30 MIN.

FLOW CYCLE - ski erg1

TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART RATE REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING FLOW CYCLE
150
155

160 HOLD
30 sec.
HOLD
165 bpm 30 sec 155

160
155 150
160
160 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 30 SEC

155 HOLD
30 SEC
145
140
180-age +5 BPM = “AT” of 155

2 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, ESCALATE TO SECOND, third TARGET

REGRESS FOR 2 MINUTES. 6 min TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 4 rounds = 24 MIN.
38
 WEEK two/ DAY three
WOD HYrOX - LEVEL 2a
2 Rounds:
SKIP ROPE AGGRESSIVE 1 MIN
sled PUSH 25 meters @ 275lb m / 200lb f
sled pull 25 meters @ 200lb m / 150lb f
AMRAP WALL BALLS 1 MIN
MOVE TO FLOW CYCLE

FLOW CYCLE - RUNNING C

TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART rate REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING the flow cycle
150
155

160

HOLD
165 bpm 3 MIN. 155

160
155 150
160
170 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 1 min

165
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 15 BPM = “AT” of 165

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, HOLD FOR 1 min., ESCALATE TO SECOND TARGET
HOLD FOR 3 MIN., REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES. 12 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 2 rounds = 24 MIN.
39
WEEK two / DAY four
Recovery day

WEEK two/ DAY five

MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
ROWING LEVEL 1
150
155

160

HOLD
2 MIN.
155

160
155 165 bpm 150
160

150
AT

160
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 10 BPM = “AT” of 160

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 2 MIN, REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES.
10 Min TO COMPLETE CYCLE X 6 rounds = 60 MIN.
Recover for 2 min between rounds

40
WEEK two/ DAY six
WOD HYrOX - LEVEL 1a
4 Rounds:
SKIP ROPE AGGRESSIVE 1 MIN
AMRAP BURPEE PUSH UPS 1 MIN
AMRAP WALL BALLS 1 MIN
MOVE TO FLOW CYCLE
FLOW CYCLE - ski erg2
TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART RATE REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING FLOW CYCLE
150
155

160

HOLD
165 bpm 1 min 155

160
155 150
160
160 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 2 min

155 HOLD
2 min
145
140
example
30 yr old MALE/female
180-age +5 BPM = “AT” of 155

2 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, ESCALATE TO SECOND, third TARGET

REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES. 10 min TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 3 rounds = 30 MIN.
1 min recovery between rounds

WEEK two / DAY seven

Recovery day
41
42
WEEK three/ DAY one
MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
Running
male formula = 180-age + 15 bpm = AT
female Formula= 180-age + 15 bpm = AT

150
155

160

HOLD
5 MIN.
155

160
155 170 bpm 150
160

150
AT

165

Example
145
140 180-age + 15 BPM = “AT” of 160

Men over 200 lbs 180-age + 5

Women over 150 lbs 180-age + 5

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 5 MIN., REGRESS FOR 5 MINUTES.
15 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 2 rounds = 30 MIN.

43
WEEK THREE / DAY TWO
WOD hyrox level 1c
4 rounds
Double under's 1 minute
Sled pull / push 25 meters ea.
Sandbag lunges 100 meters (M-50lb F-40lb)
Wall Balls x 25 (M-20lb F-14lb)

FLOW CYCLE - ski erg1

TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART RATE REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING FLOW CYCLE

150
155

160 HOLD
30 sec.
HOLD
165 bpm 30 sec 155

160
155 150
160
160 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 30 SEC

155 HOLD
30 SEC
145
140
180-age +5 BPM = “AT” of 155

2 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, ESCALATE TO SECOND, third TARGET

REGRESS FOR 2 MINUTES. 6 min TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 4 rounds = 24 MIN.
44
WEEK THREE / DAY THREE
WOD hyrox AEROBIC TIME TRIAL

BEGIN WITH AN EASY WARM UP, STRETCH AND

AS YOU BEGIN RUNNING, GRADUALLY BRING
YOURSELF TO YOUR AEROBIC HEART RATE
(180-AGE). ONCE ACHIEVED, BEGIN TIMING
THE RUN FOR 5K (3.1 MILES), KEEP YOUR
HEART RATE AS NEAR YOUR TARGET HEART
RATE AS POSSIBLE.

THIS TRIAL PROVIDES A GREAT SNAP SHOT OF YOUR PROGRESS. EVEN THOUGH IT MAY
SEEM AS INCREDIBLY SIMPLE, SLOW PACE. WITH TIME YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE TIME
TO ACCOMPLISH THIS TRIAL WILL IMPROVE EVEN THOUGH THE COST HAS NOT
INCREASED.

WOD hyrox ANAEROBIC TIME TRIAL

Anaerobic 1k time trial. Needless to say,
this is a critical trial in that it is the
distance you intend to race as many as 8
consecutive times in competition.
Rather than red lining for the entire
distance, use this equation: 180-age +15.
You may not be able to hold this
intensity for the entire distance,
regardless it will be a great lesson.
Learn from it. next race you will have a
much better handle on your pacing
strategy. 45
WEEK three/ DAY four
Recovery day

WEEK three/ DAY five

MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
ROWING LEVEL 1
150
155

160

HOLD
2 MIN.
155

160
155 165 bpm 150
160

150
AT

160
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 10 BPM = “AT” of 160

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 2 MIN, REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES.
10 Min TO COMPLETE CYCLE X 6 rounds = 60 MIN. Recover for 2 min between rounds

46
WEEK three/ DAY six
WOD HYrOX - LEVEL 2a
4 Rounds:
sandbag lunge 25 meters 50lb/m 40lb/f
BURPEE broad jump 25 meters
AMRAP WALL BALLS 2 MIN
MOVE TO FLOW CYCLE
FLOW CYCLE - ski erg2
TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART RATE REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING FLOW CYCLE
150
155

160

HOLD
165 bpm 1 min 155

160
155 150
160
160 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 2 min

155 HOLD
2 min
145
140
example
30 yr old MALE/female
180-age +5 BPM = “AT” of 155

2 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, ESCALATE TO SECOND, third TARGET

REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES. 10 min TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 3 rounds = 30 MIN.
1 min recovery between rounds

WEEK three / DAY seven

Recovery day
47
48
WEEK FOUR/ DAY ONE
FLOW CYCLE - RUNNING b
180-age + 15 BPM = “AT” of 165 150
155

160

HOLD
165 bpm 2.5 MIN. 155

160
155 150
160
170 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 30 sec.

165 5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET,

HOLD FOR 30 sec., ESCALATE TO SECOND TARGET
140
145 HOLD FOR 2.5 MIN., REGRESS FOR 2 MIN.
10 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 3 rounds = 30 MIN.

FLOW CYCLE - ski erg1

TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART RATE REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING FLOW CYCLE
150
155

160 HOLD
30 sec.
HOLD
165 bpm 30 sec 155

160
155 150
160
160 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 30 SEC

155 HOLD
30 SEC
145
140
180-age +5 BPM = “AT” of 155

2 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, ESCALATE TO SECOND, third TARGET

REGRESS FOR 2 MINUTES. 6 min TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 4 rounds = 24 MIN.
49
WEEK four / DAY TWO
WOD hyrox level 1c
4 rounds
Double under's 1 minute
Sled pull / push 25 meters ea.
Sandbag lunges 100 meters (M-50lb F-40lb)
Wall Balls x 25 (M-20lb F-14lb)

FLOW CYCLE - ski erg1

TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART RATE REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING FLOW CYCLE

150
155

160 HOLD
30 sec.
HOLD
165 bpm 30 sec 155

160
155 150
160
160 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 30 SEC

155 HOLD
30 SEC
145
140
180-age +5 BPM = “AT” of 155

2 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, ESCALATE TO SECOND, third TARGET

REGRESS FOR 2 MINUTES. 6 min TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 4 rounds = 24 MIN.
50
WEEK four/ DAY three
MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
ROWING LEVEL 1
150
155

160

HOLD
2 MIN.
155

160
155 165 bpm 150
160

150
AT

160
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 10 BPM = “AT” of 160

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 2 MIN, REGRESS FOR
3 MINUTES. 10 Min TO COMPLETE CYCLE X 6 rounds = 60 MIN.
(Recover to 120 bpm between rounds)

WEEK four / DAY four

Recovery day
51
WEEK four/ DAY five
AT-pt (anaerobic performance trial)
1. WARM UP FOR 5 MINUTES, PROGRESSING TO AT HEART RATE
2. PROGRESS TO THE PEAK TARGET AND HOLD HR/PACE FOR 5 MIN
3. REGRESS TO AT HR/PACE, KEEP NOTE OF AVERAGE POWER IN WATTS
4. RECOVER, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO RECOVER TO 130 BPM?
Tip: Do not attempt this trial if you’re ill prepared, such as, after
a hard workout, poor sleep or overly sore.

FLOW CYCLE - AT PT
male Formula= 180-age + 15 bpm = AT
female Formula= 180-age + 15 bpm = AT
?

130
wn
do

145
ol
co

150

HOLD
t ts

160 bpm 3 MIN.

e wa
rag
ave

170 bpm HOLD

5 MIN.
AT
in

165
5m
up

155
140
m

Sample based on 30 yr old

r
wa

CHOOSE THE same EXERCISE DEVICE as your previous aT PT. DO

NOT ALTER THE PREDICTED EQUATIONS. BECAUSE THIS TRIAL IS
BUILT ON COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, YOUR RESULTS ARE BASED ON
FAIR COMPARISON.
52
 WEEK four/ DAY six
WOD HYrOX - LEVEL 2b
2 Rounds:
kettlebell farmer carry 25 meters @ 80lb m / 50lb f
burpee broadjump 25 meters
AMRAP WALL BALLS 2 MIN
sandbag lunges 25 meters
MOVE TO FLOW CYCLE

FLOW CYCLE - RUNNING C

TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART rate REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING the flow cycle
150
155

160

HOLD
165 bpm 3 MIN. 155

160
155 150
160
170 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 1 min

165
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 15 BPM = “AT” of 165

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, HOLD FOR 1 min., ESCALATE TO SECOND TARGET
HOLD FOR 3 MIN., REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES. 12 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 2 rounds = 24 MIN.
53
WEEK four / DAY seven
MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
ROWING LEVEL 1

150
155

160

HOLD
2 MIN.
155

160
155 165 bpm 150
160

150
AT

160

example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140
180-age + 10 BPM = “AT” of 160

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 2 MIN, REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES.
10 Min TO COMPLETE CYCLE X 6 rounds = 60 MIN.
Recover for 2 min between rounds
54
55
WEEK FIVE/ DAY ONE
WOD HYrOX - LEVEL 2a
4 Rounds:
sandbag lunge 25 meters 50lb/m 40lb/f
BURPEE broad jump 25 meters
AMRAP WALL BALLS 2 MIN
MOVE TO FLOW CYCLE
FLOW CYCLE - ski erg2
TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART RATE REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING FLOW CYCLE
150
155

160

HOLD
165 bpm 1 min 155

160
155 150
160
160 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 2 min

155 HOLD
2 min
145
140
example
30 yr old MALE/female
180-age +5 BPM = “AT” of 155

2 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, ESCALATE TO SECOND, third TARGET

REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES. 10 min TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 4 rounds = 40 MIN.
1 min recovery between rounds

WEEK FIVE / DAY TWO

Recovery day
56
WEEK FIVE/ DAY THREE
MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
Running
male formula = 180-age + 15 bpm = AT
female Formula= 180-age + 15 bpm = AT

150
155

160

HOLD
5 MIN.
155

160
155 170 bpm 150
160

150
AT

165

Example
145
140 180-age + 15 BPM = “AT” of 160

Men over 200 lbs 180-age + 5

Women over 150 lbs 180-age + 5

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 5 MIN., REGRESS FOR 5 MINUTES.
15 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 3 rounds = 45 MIN.

57
WEEK five/ DAY four
HYROX WOD - LEVEL 1c
4 rounds
Double under's 1 minute
Sled pull / push 25 meters ea.
Sandbag lunges 100 meters (M-50lb F-40lb)
Wall Balls x 25 (M-20lb F-14lb)
FLOW CYCLE - ski erg1
TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART RATE REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING FLOW CYCLE
150
155

160 HOLD
30 sec.
HOLD
165 bpm 30 sec 155

160
155 150
160
160 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 30 SEC

155 HOLD
30 SEC
145
140

example
30 yr old MALE/female
180-age +5 BPM = “AT” of 155

2 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, ESCALATE TO SECOND, third TARGET

REGRESS FOR 2 MINUTES. 6 min TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 4 rounds = 24 MIN.
58
WEEK five/ DAY five
HYROX WOD - challenge 1
ski erg 1000 meters
run 1000 meters
wall balls 100
run 1000 meters
row 1000 meters
run 1000 meters

This challenge leans heavily on your cardio

Capabilities. Use what you learned thus far
Regarding pacing on each effort. You will see
This challenge again.
59
WEEK FIVE / DAY SIX
Recovery day

WEEK FIVE/ DAY SEVEN

MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
ROWING LEVEL 1
150
155

160

HOLD
2 MIN.
155

160
155 165 bpm 150
160

150
AT

160
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 10 BPM = “AT” of 160

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 2 MIN, REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES.
10 Min TO COMPLETE CYCLE X 6 rounds = 60 MIN.
Recover for 2 min between rounds

60
61
WEEK SIX / DAY ONE
WOD hyrox AEROBIC TIME TRIAL

BEGIN WITH AN EASY WARM UP, STRETCH AND

AS YOU BEGIN RUNNING, GRADUALLY BRING
YOURSELF TO YOUR AEROBIC HEART RATE
(180-AGE). ONCE ACHIEVED, BEGIN TIMING
THE RUN FOR 5K (3.1 MILES), KEEP YOUR
HEART RATE AS NEAR YOUR TARGET HEART
RATE AS POSSIBLE.

THIS TRIAL PROVIDES A GREAT SNAP SHOT OF YOUR PROGRESS. EVEN THOUGH IT MAY
SEEM AS INCREDIBLY SIMPLE, SLOW PACE. WITH TIME YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE TIME
TO ACCOMPLISH THIS TRIAL WILL IMPROVE EVEN THOUGH THE COST HAS NOT
INCREASED.

WOD hyrox ANAEROBIC TIME TRIAL

Anaerobic 1k time trial. Needless to say,
this is a critical trial in that it is the
distance you intend to race as many as 8
consecutive times in competition.
Rather than red lining for the entire
distance, use this equation: 180-age +15.
You may not be able to hold this
intensity for the entire distance,
regardless it will be a great lesson.
Learn from it. next race you will have a
much better handle on your pacing
strategy.
62
WEEK SIX/ DAY TWO
HYROX WOD - LEVEL 1c
4 rounds
Double under's 1 minute
Sled pull / push 25 meters ea.
Sandbag lunges 100 meters (M-50lb F-40lb)
Wall Balls x 25 (M-20lb F-14lb)
FLOW CYCLE - ski erg1
TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART RATE REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING FLOW CYCLE
150
155

160 HOLD
30 sec.
HOLD
165 bpm 30 sec 155

160
155 150
160
160 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 30 SEC

155 HOLD
30 SEC
145
140

example
30 yr old MALE/female
180-age +5 BPM = “AT” of 155

2 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, ESCALATE TO SECOND, third TARGET

REGRESS FOR 2 MINUTES. 6 min TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 4 rounds = 24 MIN.
63
WEEK six/ DAY three
WOD HYrOX - LEVEL 2a
4 Rounds:
sandbag lunge 25 meters 50lb/m 40lb/f
BURPEE broad jump 25 meters
AMRAP WALL BALLS 2 MIN
MOVE TO FLOW CYCLE
FLOW CYCLE - ski erg2
TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART RATE REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING FLOW CYCLE
150
155

160

HOLD
165 bpm 1 min 155

160
155 150
160
160 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 2 min

155 HOLD
2 min
145
140
example
30 yr old MALE/female
180-age +5 BPM = “AT” of 155

2 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, ESCALATE TO SECOND, third TARGET

REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES. 10 min TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 4 rounds = 40 MIN.
1 min recovery between rounds

WEEK six / DAY four

Recovery day
64
WEEK six/ DAY five
MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
ROWING LEVEL 1
150
155

160

HOLD
2 MIN.
155

160
155 175 bpm 150
160

150
AT

160
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 10 BPM = “AT” of 160

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 2 MIN, REGRESS FOR
3 MINUTES. 10 Min TO COMPLETE CYCLE X 2 rounds = 20 MIN.
MOVE TO wod after each round

WOD HYrOX - LEVEL 2b

2 Rounds:
kettlebell farmer carry 25 meters @ 80lb m / 50lb f
burpee broadjump 25 meters
AMRAP WALL BALLS 2 MIN
sandbag lunges 25 meters
65
WEEK six/ DAY six
AT-pt (anaerobic performance trial)
1. WARM UP FOR 5 MINUTES, PROGRESSING TO AT HEART RATE
2. PROGRESS TO THE PEAK TARGET AND HOLD HR/PACE FOR 5 MIN
3. REGRESS TO AT HR/PACE, KEEP NOTE OF AVERAGE POWER IN WATTS
4. RECOVER, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO RECOVER TO 130 BPM?
Tip: Do not attempt this trial if you’re ill prepared, such as, after
a hard workout, poor sleep or overly sore.

FLOW CYCLE - AT PT
male Formula= 180-age + 15 bpm = AT
female Formula= 180-age + 15 bpm = AT
?

130
wn
do

145
ol
co

150

HOLD
t ts

160 bpm 3 MIN.

e wa
rag
ave

170 bpm HOLD

5 MIN.
AT
in

165
5m
up

155
140
m

Sample based on 30 yr old

r
wa

CHOOSE THE same EXERCISE DEVICE as your previous aT PT. DO

NOT ALTER THE PREDICTED EQUATIONS. BECAUSE THIS TRIAL IS
BUILT ON COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, YOUR RESULTS ARE BASED ON
FAIR COMPARISON.
66
 WEEK six/ DAY seven
WOD HYrOX - LEVEL 2b
3 Rounds:
AMRAP BURPEE PUSH UPS 2 MIN
AMRAP WALL BALLS 2 MIN
Sandbag lunges 100 meters
MOVE TO FLOW CYCLE
FLOW CYCLE - RUNNING d
TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART rate REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING the flow cycle

150
155

160

HOLD
165 bpm 1 MIN 155

160
155 150
160
170 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 2 min

165
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 15 BPM = “AT” of 165

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, HOLD FOR 2 min., ESCALATE TO SECOND TARGET
HOLD FOR 1 MIN., REGRESS FOR 2 MINUTES. 10 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 3 rounds = 30 MIN.
67
68
WEEK SEVEN / DAY ONE
Recovery day

WEEK SEVEN/ DAY TWO

MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
ROWING LEVEL 3
150
155

160

HOLD
4 MIN.
155

160
155 165 bpm 150
160

150
AT

160
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 10 BPM = “AT” of 160

4 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 4 MIN, REGRESS FOR 2 MINUTES.
10 Min TO COMPLETE CYCLE X 6 rounds = 60 MIN.
Recover for 2 min between rounds

69
WEEK seven/ DAY three
HYROX WOD - challenge two
run 1000 meters
BURPEE BROADJUMP 80 METERS
run 1000 meters
SLED PUSH / SLED PULL 2X25 METERS*
run 1000 meters
KETTLEBELL FARMER CARRY 200 METERS*
run 1000 meters

* USE WEIGHT CALLED FOR IN COMPETITION

70
WEEK SEVEN / DAY FOUR
Recovery day

WEEK SIX/ DAY FIVE

HYROX WOD - LEVEL 1c
4 rounds
Double under's 1 minute
Sled pull / push 25 meters ea.
Sandbag lunges 100 meters (M-50lb F-40lb)
Wall Balls x 25 (M-20lb F-14lb)

MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)

ROWING LEVEL 3
150
155

160

HOLD
4 MIN.
155

160
155 165 bpm 150
160
150

AT

160 example
30 yr old MALE/female
145 180-age + 10 BPM = “AT” of 160
140

4 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 4 MIN, REGRESS FOR 2 MINUTES.
10 Min TO COMPLETE CYCLE X 4 rounds = 40 MIN.
Recover for 2 min between rounds
71
WEEK SEVEN/ DAY SIX
ARR (AEROBIC RECOVERY RUN)
Running

AET = AEROBIC THRESHOLD

Example
MALE/FEMALE 30 YRS OLD 150
180-age 150 BPM = “AET” of 150 145

150

HOLD
10 MIN.
155

150
155 155 bpm 150
150

150
AET

150

145
140

Men over 200 lbs 180-age - 5

Women over 150 lbs 180-age - 5

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 10 MIN., REGRESS FOR 5 MINUTES.
20 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 3 rounds = 60 MIN.

72
 WEEK SEVEN/ DAY sEVEN
WOD HYrOX - LEVEL 2b
2 Rounds:
kettlebell farmer carry 25 meters @ 80lb m / 50lb f
burpee broadjump 25 meters
AMRAP WALL BALLS 2 MIN
sandbag lunges 25 meters
MOVE TO FLOW CYCLE

FLOW CYCLE - RUNNING C

TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART rate REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING the flow cycle
150
155

160

HOLD
165 bpm 3 MIN. 155

160
155 150
160
170 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 1 min

165
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 15 BPM = “AT” of 165

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, HOLD FOR 1 min., ESCALATE TO SECOND TARGET
HOLD FOR 3 MIN., REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES. 12 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 2 rounds = 24 MIN.
73
74
 THIS IS THE FINAL WEEK!

So, this is it, the final week, stick it out until the finish! There will be some
trials this week for you to measure your progress. Be sure to get ample rest, feed
intelligently and let’s finish up!

I don’t need to tell you that some of these workouts were intense but realize
none of them called on you to complete all of the events as they will be in front
of you if you decide to compete. If you simply took this journey with us to see
if you could handle it, my hat is off to you! If you were able to put in 80% of the
workouts as written, by now, you are in incredible shape. This was not an easy
ride, if you found yourself second guessing the workloads, you were not likely
alone.

This would be a good time to recognize these fine warriors that allowed me to
put them to task under the mask for pretty much an entire day. Most people who
have had a VO2max test will tell you, its no picnic. Having to do it over and over
again on a variety of exercise equipment is a monumental undertaking. By doing
so, we are now able to better advise athletes on the cost of their undertakings.
Pioneers for sure! Jen Ryan, Eric Carmody and Jack Miller, you have my
undying gratitude and respect.

I hope you enjoyed the challenge as much as I did creating it for you. Be sure
to visit my site often to see what other madness I have cooked up. I am by no
means done coaching and as long as there are athletes willing to follow, I will do
my best to lead them to victory!

~ Richard Diaz
Founder- diaz human performance IIC.

75
WEEK eight / DAY one
WOD hyrox AEROBIC TIME TRIAL

BEGIN WITH AN EASY WARM UP, STRETCH AND

AS YOU BEGIN RUNNING, GRADUALLY BRING
YOURSELF TO YOUR AEROBIC HEART RATE
(180-AGE). ONCE ACHIEVED, BEGIN TIMING
THE RUN FOR 5K (3.1 MILES), KEEP YOUR
HEART RATE AS NEAR YOUR TARGET HEART
RATE AS POSSIBLE.

THIS TRIAL PROVIDES A GREAT SNAP SHOT OF YOUR PROGRESS. EVEN THOUGH IT MAY
SEEM AS INCREDIBLY SIMPLE, SLOW PACE. WITH TIME YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE TIME
TO ACCOMPLISH THIS TRIAL WILL IMPROVE EVEN THOUGH THE COST HAS NOT
INCREASED.

WOD hyrox ANAEROBIC TIME TRIAL

Anaerobic 1k time trial. Needless to say,
this is a critical trial in that it is the
distance you intend to race as many as 8
consecutive times in competition.
Rather than red lining for the entire
distance, use this equation: 180-age +15.
You may not be able to hold this
intensity for the entire distance,
regardless it will be a great lesson.
Learn from it. next race you will have a
much better handle on your pacing
strategy.
76
 WEEK eight/ DAY two
WOD HYrOX - LEVEL 2b
3 Rounds:
kettlebell farmer carry 100 meters
burpee broad jump 50 meter
WALL BALLS 50
Sandbag lunges 50 meters
MOVE TO FLOW CYCLE

FLOW CYCLE - RUNNING d

TAKE 2 MINUTES RECOVERY OR HEART rate REDUCED TO 120 BPM BEFORE
BEGINNING the flow cycle
150
155

160

HOLD
165 bpm 1 MIN 155

160
155 150
160
170 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 2 min

165
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 15 BPM = “AT” of 165

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, HOLD FOR 2 min., ESCALATE TO SECOND TARGET
HOLD FOR 1 MIN., REGRESS FOR 2 MINUTES. 10 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 3 rounds = 30 MIN.
77
WEEK eight/ DAY three
ARR (AEROBIC RECOVERY RUN)
Running

AET = AEROBIC THRESHOLD

Example
MALE/FEMALE 30 YRS OLD 150
180-age 150 BPM = “AET” of 150 145

150

HOLD
10 MIN.
155

150
155 155 bpm 150
150

150
AET

150

145
140

Men over 200 lbs 180-age - 5

Women over 150 lbs 180-age - 5

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 10 MIN., REGRESS FOR 5 MINUTES.
20 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 3 rounds = 60 MIN.

78
WEEK eight / DAY four
Recovery day
WEEK eight/ DAY five
MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
ROWING LEVEL 1 155
150

160

HOLD
2 MIN.
155
155
160
160 165 bpm 150

150
AT

160 30 yr old MALE/female

140 180-age + 10 BPM = “AT” of 160
145

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 2 MIN, REGRESS FOR 3 MINUTES.
10 Min TO COMPLETE CYCLE X 3 rounds = 30 MIN. Recover for 2 min between rounds

FLOW CYCLE - RUNNING a

155 150

160

HOLD
175 bpm 1 MIN. 155

160
155 150
160
170 bpm
HOLD
150
AT 1 MIN.

165

145 30 yr old MALE/female

180-age + 15 BPM = “AT” of 165
140

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE FIRST TARGET, HOLD FOR 1 MIN., ESCALATE TO SECOND TARGET
HOLD FOR 1 MIN., REGRESS FOR 5 MINUTES. 12 min. TO COMPLETE a CYCLE X 2 rounds = 22 MIN.
79
WEEK eight/ DAY six
MLSS (maximum lactate steady state)
ROWING LEVEL 1
150
155

160

HOLD
2 MIN.
155

160
155 175 bpm 150
160

150
AT

160
example
145 30 yr old MALE/female
140 180-age + 10 BPM = “AT” of 160

5 MINUTE PROGRESSION TO ACHIEVE peak TARGET, HOLD FOR 2 MIN, REGRESS FOR
3 MINUTES. 10 Min TO COMPLETE CYCLE X 2 rounds = 20 MIN.
MOVE TO wod after each round

WOD HYrOX - LEVEL 2b

2 Rounds:
kettlebell farmer carry 25 meters @ 80lb m / 50lb f
burpee broadjump 25 meters
AMRAP WALL BALLS 2 MIN
sandbag lunges 25 meters
80
WEEK eight/ DAY seven
HYROX WOD - final challenge
run 1000 meters
BURPEE BROADJUMP 80 METERS
row 500 meter
run 1000 meters
SLED PUSH / SLED PULL 2X25 METERS*
run 1000 meters
ski erg 500 meter
KETTLEBELL FARMER CARRY 200 METERS*
run 1000 meters
wall ball 100 reps
run 1000 meters
* USE WEIGHT CALLED FOR IN COMPETITION

congratulations!

81
 Interested in more training? Here are a few options. Try a 5 0r 10k
program or read My Best Race, chock full of great info and training
templates! Visit http:diazhumanperformance.com to get them now!

82