ActiveWorkoutsI trained with HYROX master trainer Jake Dearden and the workout surprised meThe 25-year-old HYROX champ is fitter and more agile than mountain goat, as I found outWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
ActiveWorkoutsI trained with HYROX master trainer Jake Dearden and the workout surprised meThe 25-year-old HYROX champ is fitter and more agile than mountain goat, as I found outWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
The 25-year-old HYROX champ is fitter and more agile than mountain goat, as I found out
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Represent 247/Fittest PR)
(Image credit: Represent 247/Fittest PR)
Jump to category:The workout
Jump to category:The workout
“We’re going to be doing a lower body strength session. Is that ok?” asks Jake. No running? Not even a tiny bit? This was actual music to my ears. Although I had trained legs the day before…
I’ve arrived at Represent HQ in Bolton to joinRepresent 247Athlete and HYROX Master TrainerJake Deardenfor his workout session. If you’ve heard of HYROX, then you’ve probably heard of Jake, too.
Today it’s a lower body strength session for Jake, which consists of a mixture ofcompound exercisesand some HYROX strength moves. Although I was thrilled that there was no running, I was also a little surprised. Not just because Jake is an insane runner (before HYROX, he did ultra-marathons, and his 10k time is 30 minutes), but because more than 50% of HYROXisrunning.
“If you’re not strong, you can’t push or pull that sled, so you’ve got to find balance,” he tells me. “Farmers carries, walking lunges, wall balls, they’re the kind of things that require strength.”
Time to get warm
The Represent 247 gym at their HQ is seriously cool. It’s all black for a focused feel and has a ton of kit to accommodate a variety of training styles. It’s also home to the biggest pair of hex dumbbells I’ve ever seen.
We begin with a 9-minute EMOM (every minute on the minute) to warm up: 15 GHD sit-ups (I swapped for ab mat sit-ups), 20 metres of Samson lunges, and five box jumps.
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Jake always likes his warm-ups to include some core work. “No one likes training core at the end of their workout,” he says – so true – and while some people would go mad on the box jumps, he reiterates, “It’s just a warm-up.”
Straight after, it’s time for some mobility, standing hip windmills to open up those hips. It’s something Jake’s incredibly hot on after slipping two discs in his back during his first Pro HYROX event, which left him unable to walk for weeks and in rehab for six months.
“On the wall balls, my hips just twisted too much, and my back went,” he says. “There are freak accidents where you do get injured, but most of the time, it’s because you’re moving inefficiently or neglecting something, and I was neglecting my mobility.”
The strength session
(Image credit: Represent 247/Fittest PR)
(Image credit: Represent 247/Fittest PR)
We followed this with three sets of 12 alternating lunges – ideal for the sandbag lunges – and three sets of eight Romanian deadlifts, an excellent move for strengthening the posterior chain. This is important for not only the sled push but also the running.
As someone who strength trains four times a week, I felt very much in my comfort zone with the first bit of our workout. Jake had gone into personal trainer mode, always watching my form closely. But I knew the worst was coming up: the HYROX strength exercises. I hadn’t practised any of these sincecompleting my first HYROXlast year.
Time to HYROX
(Image credit: Represent 247/Fittest PR)
(Image credit: Represent 247/Fittest PR)
This was three rounds of 20-metre 75kg sled push (excluding sled weight), as well as 20kg sandbag lunges. “You go, then I go,” said Jake. Sadly, I didn’t get much rest time because Jake was so speedy. He’d get down super slow on the sled, and in less than 10 seconds, it’d be my go again.
Jake practices everything he preaches when it comes to his advice on the HYROX stations, such as wrapping your arms around the sled, instead of having them out in front and bringing your feet together between each lunge rather than trying to do them interchangeably.
The 75 wall balls with a 6kg ball finished me off. Initially, we were meant to do 100; then Jake remembered there are 75 wall balls in the HYROX women’s open (thank God). One of us would do 25 reps unbroken, and then we’d swap.
I forgot just how taxing these are aerobically. I also have to admit, I didn’t really watch Jake doing his wall balls because I was focusing on trying to catch my breath. But, what I can tell you is that he is very fast because my rest never felt long enough.
(Image credit: Represent 247/Fittest PR)
(Image credit: Represent 247/Fittest PR)
The work never stops
Now Jake is off to coach another group session, despite having already done one before our workout, as well as a 10k run in the morning. He also says he’s got another “easy run” in the evening.
The man honestly has the engine of a Ferrari; he never seems to tire, and he’s always smiling. Are there any surprises he’s a HYROX champ? Definitely not. Is there more left in the tank? Most definitely.
The workout
Warm-up – 9 minute EMOM
Strength:
HYROX strength:
If you are working out with a partner, take turns between each exercise. For example, one of you does a 20 metre sled push, while the other rests. For the wall balls, try and aim to do 25 reps unbroken, then swap with your partner so you can rest (you’re aiming for 75 reps each though).
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