Breaking the one-hour barrier in Hyrox. That was my goal for Hyrox Rotterdam. I was aiming to break the world record in the M50-54 ‘open’ category. For a long time, that record belonged to Simon Passmore (1:00:16), until former professional triathlete Mike Schifferle clocked a 00:59:47 in Vienna, just a week before Rotterdam.

From the sled pull onward, I felt the sub-60 goal slipping through my fingers. At that point, I knew: my Hyrox raceplan wasn’t going to happen. I eventually crossed the finish line in 1:07:21—enough to win my age group, but far off what I believed was possible based on my Hyrox simulation. So what went wrong? What lessons did I take away—and what will I change in preparation for my next Hyrox?

1. Hyrox Rotterdam: the story

I can’t wait to race. I feel rested, fit, and fully ready for my world record attempt. On the train ride over, I listen to Louis Brittz. Goosebumps. Spiritually tuned in, I arrive at Ahoy Rotterdam, where the Hyrox event is already in full swing.

At exactly 10:00 a.m., the start gun goes off for my heat. Like group of caged tigers that is being unleashed, everyone takes off out fast. I keep my cool. Literally, because I’m wearing the Tri-Exellence Core Cooling vest and headband generously provided by Marcel van Duinen. I try to stay composed, but just 50 meters in, I hear the unmistakable clatter of a phone hitting concrete. My iPhone. I had just tucked it into my Flipbelt before the start to capture data from the Train.Red sensor I’d attached to my right quadriceps. My heart skips a beat. Stay calm, Bertje, I tell myself. A race only becomes a race when you have to deal with the unexpected. It’s something I often say to my athletes during race plan briefings. Time to walk the talk.

My quick prayer—that I might spot my phone amid the pounding Hyrox feet—is answered just one lap later. I stop, grab it, and while running, wedge it deeper into my Flipbelt. Onward to the 1000-meter Ski Erg. The plan: finish it in 3:50. And I manage that—though I hadn’t realized that the time shown in Hyresult includes the seconds it takes to enter and exit the Ski Erg station. My split ends up being 4:12.

Marcel van Duinen, who is coaching me today, yells at me during the second kilometer: PLUS 50 SECONDS! The plan I gave him has some margin built in. I know the first kilometer was slightly too long, and I had the iPhone incident there. I keep running at my own pace and begin the 50-meter sled push. I want to complete it in 2:30, and I finish it in 2:36. Not bad at all, but again, a few seconds slower.

Then comes the sled pull. As easy as it felt in training, as heavy it feels during the race. I’m pulling with everything I’ve got, taking more breaks than I’d like. By the end, I’m so tired that I’m not sure if I’ve completed all four lanes. I ask a referee. He replies, “You need to keep track of that yourself, kid.” And that’s how it is.

The third run feels awful. “You are not racing, you are just surviving,” my inner voice tells me. This is what compromised running feels like.

Next up: the burpee broad jumps. For those who don’t know what they are—keep it like that! My burpees are a disaster. During the simulation, I saw heart rates hitting 178. That’s 12 beats higher than my maximum exercise test – and during that test, I really push myself to the limit. In the lane next to me, there’s someone who looks like he’s swallowed a frog. With each jump, he covers at least half a meter more than I do. My slow-twitch legs can’t keep up, but at least I don’t need to take breaks. Again, I lose a lot of time here compared to my plan.

At this point, Marcel needs a whole series of tally counters just to track how far behind I am on my target pace. By now, I’ve let go of the sub-one-hour goal, but I’m still pushing because I want to know what I’m really capable of. The rowing machine is the next station. Time to recover a bit, because of all the stations, this one suits me best. My net time on the rower is 3:40. Including the time it takes to enter and exit the station, my time is 4:17—42 seconds slower than my target. But honestly, I can’t go any faster.

The farmer’s carry is station six. You have to hold a 24-kilogram kettlebell in each of your paws and walk/run 200 meters. My original goal was to do it with max one stop, but I end up taking three. Jeroen van Hooijdonk, who starts a few hours later and screams his lungs out to get me to the finish as quickly as possible, rightly tells me afterward that the last stop wasn’t necessary. “You only had thirty meters left. Who cares if your shoulders hurt? You could’ve kept going.” Amen.

If there’s one station I’ve trained for, it’s the 100-meter sandbag lunges. It’s the second-to-last event. During my first Hyrox in Amsterdam, which I did with Jan Klein Poelhuis, I cramped up after exactly five lunges. I promised myself that would never happen again. I’ve been sandbag lunging through the hallways of the building where I have my test room at least twice a week. And it paid off because I don’t cramp up anymore. But… it’s still not fast. Once again, I lose a too amount of time compared to my simulation.

The final run, however, doesn’t disappoint. It’s almost as fast as the others, thanks to my triathlon background, where I’ve spent decades training to run while fatigued.

Now, onto the final challenge: one hundred 6-kilogram wall balls. The plan is to do them with two breaks: one after 40 wall balls and another after 30. I’ve trained for this. Once a week. Up until two weeks ago, using a 4-kilogram wall ball. And, after the simulation where I realized that 6 kilograms is much heavier than 4, I used a 9-kilogram ball.

I can’t realise the 40-30-30 plan. Not even close. The first 25 go continuously, with a few no-reps. Because either I don’t throw the ball in the middle of the three-meter-high target, or I don’t sink low enough in my squat. All thanks to my immobile hips and ankles from the tens of thousands cycling and running miles. I can barely manage another set of 15. But then I still have 60 left. I grind them out in sets of 10, and finally, sets of 5. Man, I’m really struggling here. By the time I finish the 100th wall ball, I’m so spent that I have to ask the referee where the finish podium is. Turns out it’s 40 meters further on.

2. Breaking the one-hour barrier in Hyrox: the analysis

The clock stops at 1:07:21. Honestly, I didn’t see that time coming. The A-plan was to finish the Hyrox in under an hour. The B-plan was just above it—1:01 to a maximum of 1:03. But 1:07? Right after the race, I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

Now that the dust has settled, it’s time for the analysis. It begins with the numbers, which you can see below.

First, the Big Picture. My total running time was 31:37. The plan was 31:10. That’s very close to my target time. Whilst during the Hyrox, I really didn’t feel like I was running that fast. As I mentioned before, the running kilometers did not feel like racing, but pure survival. That I still managed to run around 4:00 per kilometer: that’s a pleasant surprise. Conclusion for the running: well done, Bertje.

But then. The exercises. Good morning Jack, what a difference. Only the sled push was close to on point. The other seven station were significantly slower than during the simulation. For the Ski Erg and Row Erg, I hadn’t accounted for the running time during the station. The stations where I lost the most time: sled pull, burpees (which where still quite decent given how I felt), and especially the sandbag lunges and wall balls. Time for reflection.

3. The system you have is perfectly designed to produce the results you are getting

My failed attempt at breaking the one-hour barrier in Hyrox is not the result of a bad day. This is truly what I’m capable of. And that’s a lot slower than I had anticipated. My main conclusion: the body I have is perfectly trained for the result I achieved. The full explanation of that is below. The short version: I did a triathlon-specific preparation for a Hyrox event that requires a hybrid preparation. That allows you to run fast, but you’ll get exposed on the Hyrox exercises.

Now onto the long version explanation. I primarily focused on aerobic conditioning for my Hyrox sub-one-hour attempt. I ran a lot (60-70 kilometers per week) and biked twice a week. I did two interval sessions weekly—running intervals just below my anaerobic threshold and anaerobic Tacx intervals to train my lactate shuttle. Additionally, I focused heavily on core and stability work—five times a week, during my Berts Bootcamp sessions. I also did sandbag lunges twice a week and 100 wall balls weekly.

In the videos I shared during my preparation, I mentioned I would do the Hyrox without going to the gym. What I meant by that was: without specific strength training. “Because I’m strong enough,” I can still hear myself saying.

And that’s true. I am strong enough to push the sled, pull it, and perform the other exercises. But…

…I’m not strong enough to do the strength-based movements with ease. Let me explain. Without specific strength training, the strength components cost me relatively more energy than someone who is stronger than I am. Someone who can, for example, squat 150 kilos can do the sled push at, let’s say, 60% of their max. Meanwhile, Bertje Flier, who can squat a maximum of 60 kilos, is doing the sled push at close to his max.

That has two consequences. The first: it takes time. The second: it makes me extra tired. From an exercise physiology standpoint, I produce excessive amounts of lactate. And that, in turn, costs time on the next running segment. This is my explanation for why the running felt so heavy. Good Hyrox athletes run 15-25 seconds slower per kilometer in Hyrox than they do in a ‘standalone’ 10K. For me, it’s 30 to 40 seconds slower. This brings me to Lesson 1:

Lesson 1: Do Hyrox-Specific Maximal Strength Training

What that program looks like exactly isn’t the focus of this blog. However, what I can share is that maximal strength training is a key component of the programs I write for the Hyrox athletes I coach. One of them, Jeroen van Hooijdonk, improved from 1:48 in Hyrox Amsterdam to 1:33 in Hyrox Rotterdam. And there’s still room for improvement. In other words: I need to walk the talk.

The second, third, and fourth lessons: specificity, specificity, and specificity.

Lesson 2: Specificity of Hyrox Simulation

The first type of specificity pertains to my Hyrox simulation. I learned a lot from that. During a Hyrox, you reach lactate levels that are far above those of a ‘regular’ running race or even a maximum effort test. This means you need to a) have high lactate tolerance and b) optimally train the lactate shuttle. These are important lessons. But… in order to measure that lactate, I stood still for one minute after each station. Since I recover quickly, my simulation wasn’t race-specific. It was more of an interval simulation. And yes, in that setup, I can break the one-hour mark. Big lesson learned.

Lesson 3: Running-Specific and Hyrox-Specific Endurance Training and Intervals

The second type of specificity is the way you train your endurance and intervals. I did the intervals running and cycling. In my next preparation, I will definitely continue with the running intervals. After all, they are Hyrox-specific and help you improve your running in a very targeted way. But the lactate shuttle intervals, which I did on the bike, I’m going to do completely differently. Instead, I’ll do Hyrox-specific circuits, at or above race pace. For example, alternating between 500 meters running, 40 meters Burpee Broad Jumps, 500 meters running, 50 meters sandbag lunges, and so on. Not just mindlessly pushing, but programmed in such a way that you get the maximum return. Train, not race.

In addition to cycling, I will continue to do Hyrox endurance circuits: 20 minutes rowing, 20 minutes skiing, 20 minutes running—Hyrox-specific Zone 2 training.

Lesson 4: Breaking the one-hour barrier in Hyrox: Train Specifically

If you seriously want to prepare for a sub-60 minutes Hyrox, you need to make choices. So, don’t train like a triathlete, as I did. And don’t train like a CrossFit athlete, who often approaches Hyrox too much from a strength or anaerobic capacity perspective. Hyrox is truly a different animal that requires a different training program. Hyrox demands ‘hybrid’ athletes—those who are both aerobically fit, strong, and anaerobically capable.

This means you need to train conflicting systems.

And that’s what so fascinates me about Hyrox.

You need to be aerobically fit, so you have, to put it plainly, a very large drain to process lactate. And you need to be anaerobically strong enough to turn the lactate faucet wide open to produce the energy needed to move the sled and do the 100 wall balls as continuously as possible. Because inevitably, you’ll be pushing into the red zone. And you need sufficient hip and ankle mobility to sink low enough for lunges and wall balls.

The challenge for the overall program is: when do you do what? How do you periodize the different phases of your build-up to a Hyrox? How do you combine your aerobic training with anaerobic blocks, strength training, and mobility exercises within one training week? That’s a puzzle every Hyrox athlete is working on. And it’s a fun game – where the Hyrox race is the referee.

4. Cross-Pollination Between Hyrox and Running

A small digression. Does doing Hyrox make you a better runner or triathlete? Yes and no. Where Hyrox has helped me is in becoming more resilient. After eight weeks of training with sandbag lunges, I no longer have any issues with my left hamstring/glute attachment, which has been bothering me since the late ’90s (!). Thanks to specific hip and gluteus maximus training, I’ve managed to keep this injury under control over the past two years. However, high-intensity sprints were still a problem. Thanks to the sandbag lunges, I can now do everything I want without any issues.

The wall balls have also helped me improve my hip and ankle mobility. So, in this regard, Hyrox has helped me perform better overall.

On Sunday, April 13th, I’ll be running the Rotterdam Marathon. Last year, it was my main goal. Not this year. Due to the Hyrox training, I’m currently less efficient. I can produce and tolerate more lactate, but at marathon pace, both my heart rate and lactate levels are higher than last year. Not drastically, but not enough for a sub-2:40 marathon. In the coming weeks, I’ll be focusing on improving that. As I’ve mentioned before: for Hyrox, you really need to be a hybrid athlete. And that conflicts with being perfectly tuned for a marathon.

5. Smash Your Hyrox PR

Hyrox Rotterdam was incredibly insightful. As Nelson Mandela said, “You either win or learn.” The lessons I’ve learned will be applied in my preparation for my next Hyrox. I’m not making any declarations about goals and times yet—but it’s clear I want to go faster than 1:07;)

Want to improve your Hyrox PR as well? Feel free to contact me at bertflier72@gmail.com. I’d be happy to help you achieve a new PR!