Hyrox Competitions & Men in Tiny Pants

Intrigued by the title?

I hope so.

In recommitting to writing these blog posts, I’ve remembered it’s key to not give too much away too early.

Especially with the title.

But there’s one thing you should know before reading any further: I will be discussing my true feelings on Hyrox.

And I will be discussing men in tiny pants, something I hope you’re looking forward to.

You see, these men in tiny pants and Hyrox competitors essentially inhabit opposite ends of the fitness spectrum.

Hyrox is an expression of peak aerobic and anaerobic performance: Ski Erg, Rowing, a lot of running and a variety of carries, lunges and explosive movements interspersed between.

If you’ve read up to this point and are bracing/eagerly awaiting the moment I lampoon Hyrox well, you aren’t in much luck.

And that’s because Hyrox represents an evolution in this industry I’ve seen gradually take place from my nascent PT role (2010) all the way up until now.

It might be a “sport of working out” but so what? If enough people are interested in who can complete the circuit the fastest (and they are) it’s enough to become a sport.

Just don’t pretend that your average Hyrox athlete is capable of an Iron Man, because that is a completely different beast.

Still, though, the fitness trend that Hyrox exemplifies is one I believe is moving in a positive direction. And is indicative of peoples and clients ever-changing priorities when it comes to their health.

Between 2010-2015, we were very much in the midst of the “aesthetic era”.

This was about emulating the cover of Men’s Health magazine and pursuing the most outrageous physique with almost no consideration for how that body moved, performed or even its vitality.

The golden fleece of all this, was to compete and win in an amateur bodybuilding or fitness model show. And I know many coaches and trainers who did, sometimes very successfully.

And they did wear exceptionally tiny pants in doing so.

Fast forward over a decade later and we see aesthetics as one downstream outcome of a fitness approach that prioritises health and performance.

Your 5k time, rowing splits and HRV as measured by Whoop are of equal – or more – importance than any discussion around how your body looks.

And for me personally, an aesthetic body is only truly so if it can perform well. What good is looking like a Greek sculpture if you move like one also?

And while this modern era has created its own issues: “Oura Paranoia” – a preoccupation with tracking health data - like with your, ahem, Oura, Garmin or Whoop is one example.

As is using any number of apps like Strava and MyFitnessPal to the point you live your life algorithmically instead of intuitively like you’re supposed to.

I do still believe these issues are somewhat easier to reconcile, and that having a better balance between training for vanity (we all do it) and training to perform well, which in a sense is a new type of vanity, but a more productive one.

With clients, I’ll always emphasise a need to chase performance in some way, even if the goal is simply to “lose weight” or “tone up” (which always need unpacking anyway)

And beyond that, achieving the body you want whilst improving biomarkers of health, levels of strength and improving your aerobic fitness and ability to simply move better.

These are all things the modern-day beginner, all the way up to the enthusiast, are acutely aware of in a way they simply weren’t not even a decade ago.

You don’t have to step on a bodybuilding stage.

You don’t have to compete in Hyrox.

You don’t even need to do a half marathon.

But approaching the best version of yourself as being more than just a better-looking version of yourself is the real juice of getting everything you ever wanted, and more, out of your life and especially in fitness.

Jordan