From Prison Officer To Elite 15: Liam McCrory’s Rise Through HYROX

Building Better HYROX Athletes with Adam Cheang

Episode 22 sees Aaron and Chris joined by HYROX coach Adam Cheang for a wide-ranging conversation on coaching, athlete development, training mistakes, and a full preview of the 2026 HYROX World Championships. Adam shares his journey from personal training, strength and conditioning, and combat sports into HYROX coaching, discussing the lessons learned from coaching fighters and how those experiences shaped his approach to managing ambitious endurance athletes. The conversation explores the realities of fatigue management, why easy training should actually be easy, and how many athletes sabotage their progress by constantly chasing harder sessions rather than adapting to the work they've already done. The lads dive into some of the biggest misconceptions in HYROX training, including the obsession with Zone 2, the tendency to overcook threshold work, and why many self-coached athletes become trapped in a cycle of accumulating fatigue rather than building fitness. Adam explains why he has moved away from traditional long-run programming for many HYROX athletes and how specificity has become increasingly important as the sport continues to evolve. There is also an honest discussion around marathon training and HYROX, why trying to pursue both at a high level often ends badly, and the coaching mistakes Adam learned from his own experiences. The group explores how athlete psychology, ego, and the desire to do "more" can often become the biggest barriers to long-term progress. To finish, the conversation turns towards Stockholm and the HYROX World Championships. Aaron, Chris, and Adam break down the Elite 15 fields, discuss likely race strategies, identify dark horses, debate who will pace correctly and who might go out too hard, and give their predictions for the men's and women's solo and doubles races. As always, there are a few controversial opinions, a few bold predictions, and a healthy amount of disagreement. Topics covered: • Adam Cheang's coaching background and journey into HYROX • Lessons from MMA, boxing, and strength & conditioning • Why easy days need to stay easy • Fatigue management and long-term progression • Common mistakes self-coached athletes make • Marathon training vs HYROX performance • The evolution of HYROX from hybrid fitness to a standalone sport • Threshold training and pacing misconceptions • Athlete psychology and coaching communication • 2026 HYROX World Championship predictions • Elite 15 men's and women's race previews • Doubles race analysis and dark horse picks

HYROX performance: energy systems explained for Hyrox

In this episode of the HYROX Coaching Podcast, Aaron and Chris dive into one of the most misunderstood areas of HYROX performance: energy systems. Despite the heavy sleds, lung-burning stations and repeated high-intensity efforts, HYROX remains an overwhelmingly aerobic event. The lads break down the three energy systems, explain how they work together during a race, and discuss why so many athletes end up training the wrong qualities after focusing on the parts of the race that hurt the most. Using practical race examples, including the sled push, they explore how aerobic fitness influences not only running performance but also recovery between stations, fatigue management and the ability to repeatedly produce force throughout the race. The conversation also covers pacing, threshold training, oxygen kinetics, doubles strategy, cross-training and why strength only remains useful up to the point where you're strong enough. If you've ever wondered why strong athletes still blow up, why some competitors seem to recover while running and others never get their breathing back under control, or why coaches keep banging on about aerobic development in a race that includes a 202kg sled, this episode is for you. Topics covered: • The three energy systems and how they contribute during HYROX • Why aerobic contribution arrives earlier than most athletes realise • How the sled push demonstrates energy system interaction • Why pacing mistakes often show up later in the race • The importance of oxygen kinetics and recovery between stations • Why doubles is still predominantly aerobic • How threshold training transfers to HYROX performance • The role of cross-training in building aerobic capacity • Why strength matters until you're strong enough • Managing fatigue versus simply producing more fatigue • Recovery as a key performance metric • Practical training takeaways for HYROX athletes As always, if you enjoy the episode, please leave a review, share it with a training partner and follow the podcast for future episodes.

Lee Tynan - Working Full time and training twice a day for Hyrox

Hosts Chris and Aaron are joined by Lee Tynan, a HYROX athlete, teacher, former footballer, ex-bodybuilder, husband, dad, and one half of Aaron & Lee’s increasingly competitive doubles partnership. This episode goes deep into Lee’s journey from football into bodybuilding, then eventually into HYROX, where he quickly realised trying to stay “big and fast” at the same time probably wasn’t going to work forever. The lads discuss: * Transitioning from bodybuilding into HYROX * Why compromise running humbled him more than any station * How easy aerobic work completely changed his performances * Letting go of chasing size and aesthetics for performance * Building structure and trusting long-term coaching * Balancing full-time teaching, family life, and 14-15 hours of training per week * Early mornings, late sessions, and making HYROX fit around real life * Fueling for performance instead of dieting for aesthetics * Why most HYROX athletes probably underfuel * Doubles race strategy and why Aaron does more station work despite being “less strong” * How they dynamically split stations during races * Why comparison ruins enjoyment in HYROX * The reality of Elite 15 level fitness * The pressure of racing regularly and chasing points * Lee’s chaotic Chicago Worlds experience after travel disasters nearly stopped him getting to the start line * Tapering vs staying sharp before races * HYROX doubles goals for next season and the new Division 1 format A really honest conversation around training, performance, recovery, body image, competition, and trying to get better in HYROX whilst still having an actual life outside the sport. Rare these days. Everyone else online apparently trains 11 times a day and recovers in an ice bath filled with electrolytes and delusion.

How To Actually Taper Properly for Hyrox

This week we dig into the newly announced HYROX Cruise Major and the new Div 1 system, before getting deep into tapering, deloading, race week nerves, and why most people probably overcomplicate the final few weeks before a race. We discuss whether the cruise concept is a genuine step forward for the sport or a logistical headache waiting to happen, the pros and cons of time trial racing, why not televising it feels like a missed opportunity, and what the new Div 1 tier could mean for the future depth of HYROX racing. Then we move into one of the biggest topics before Worlds season: tapering. We cover: * Why tapering is about reducing fatigue, not magically gaining fitness * Why HYROX probably doesn’t need marathon-style tapers * Taper tantrums, phantom niggles and race week anxiety * Why keeping routine and frequency matters psychologically * How to structure the final 7-10 days before a race * Why “hero weeks” are usually a terrible idea * The difference between sharpening and peaking * Why consistency beats massive spikes in training volume * HRV, recovery scores and whether athletes should actually trust them race week * Singles vs doubles tapering considerations * How travel changes race week preparation * Why the best athletes improve because they recover better, not because they found some magical session As always, plenty of rabbit holes, practical coaching discussion and probably more swearing than necessary. Standard procedure really.

From Prison Officer To Elite 15: Liam McCrory’s Rise Through HYROX

This week is with Scottish HYROX athlete Liam McCrory, who’s gone from a 1:02 first pro race to running 53:47 in an Elite 15 major in just over two years. We dig into how a background in football, years of disciplined S&C work, and balancing full-time work as a prison officer has shaped the way he trains and races. We chat about: * Moving from football into HYROX and why the sport completely hooked him * The difference between “training” and just “working out” * How he structures training around full-time shifts and limited recovery time * Why he trains mostly alone and how he manages motivation and discipline * Sled strategy, pacing conservatively, and building strong second halves in races * Burpee broad jump technique and how plyometric work has helped his efficiency * Why he doesn’t bother with long runs anymore and instead uses bikes, ergs and controlled running volume * RPE, threshold training, race strategy and learning to race rather than chase times * Handling bad races, penalties, disappointment and missing qualification by seconds * What it’s actually like racing in the Elite 15 environment against the best in the world * Thoughts on the future of HYROX, world championships, doubles racing and where the sport is heading A really good conversation around progression, consistency, balancing life with training, and what it actually takes to keep moving up in the sport without living like a full-time athlete. Humans do love voluntarily paying money to drag sleds around convention centres on industrial carpet. Strange species.