Journey Insights

HYROX is a hybrid event, but the limiter for most athletes isn’t strength — it’s the ability to recover while moving. VO₂ max is a proxy for your aerobic “ceiling,” and raising that ceiling improves how quickly you can clear fatigue between stations like sleds, lunges, burpees, and wall balls.

For the first two weeks we emphasized VO₂ max because it creates the foundation that makes everything else work:

• Faster recovery between stations: better oxygen delivery helps you settle your breathing and heart rate sooner.
• Higher sustainable pace: you can run harder in Zone 2/3 without blowing up in Zone 4/5.
• Better HRV and readiness: improved aerobic fitness reduces overall stress load for the same work.
• More “repeatability”: HYROX rewards consistent output; VO₂ max supports repeat efforts under fatigue.
• Lower perceived effort: the same workout feels easier, which frees you to focus on technique and transitions.

As the foundation stabilizes, focus shifts toward station efficiency (technique), lactate tolerance, and race-specific pacing — built on top of that aerobic engine.

NSDR stands for Non-Sleep Deep Rest. It’s a short, guided breathing and body-scan practice that places the nervous system into a deeply relaxed state without sleeping. Think of it as structured recovery for your brain and nervous system.

HYROX places repeated stress on the body: high heart rates, heavy muscular fatigue, and limited recovery time. If your nervous system stays stuck in “go mode,” performance drops and recovery slows. NSDR helps restore balance so you can train hard and absorb the work.

• Faster recovery between sessions: down-regulates stress so the body can repair and adapt.
• Better pacing control: a calmer nervous system improves breathing rhythm and decision-making under fatigue.
• Improved HRV and readiness: consistent NSDR supports parasympathetic recovery signals.
• Sleep quality support: helps reduce “wired but tired” evenings during heavy training weeks.
• Repeatable output: HYROX rewards athletes who can recover quickly and perform again — NSDR trains that skill.

Bottom line: NSDR isn’t passive relaxation — it’s an intentional recovery tool that allows higher training quality, better consistency, and improved race-day composure.

Winter is when VO₂ max readings can get noisy and training consistency can get fragile (cold temps, travel, poor sleep, holiday stress, reduced outdoor volume). My goal in winter is simple: keep the aerobic engine progressing while protecting recovery so the VO₂ trend stays meaningful.

• 1 “Anchor VO₂” session per week: short, hard intervals (controlled) to keep the ceiling rising.
• 2 aerobic base sessions per week: Zone 2 work to build capacity and improve recovery between efforts.
• 1 HYROX-specific compromised run day: station-to-run combinations to keep race feel without overcooking fatigue.
• Strength stays, volume gets smarter: maintain strength, but don’t let leg soreness crush run quality.
• NSDR is non-negotiable: quick downshifts to keep stress from masking fitness in the metrics.

If the ring/watch dips during winter (cold sleep environment, travel, dehydration, late workouts), I don’t panic. I tighten the protocol: hydration, sleep timing, Zone 2, and one quality VO₂ session — and the trend corrects.