Optimizing Your Hybrid Fitness Racing Off-Season
Your season's final “A” race has come to a close. Whether you performed better than expected or identified areas needing improvement, it's time to sit back, assess and breathe a little. I’ll cover taking a physical and mental break, planning the next season, health, nutrition and supplementation, and analyzing your performance.
TAKE A PHYSICAL AND MENTAL BREAK
Take a break both physically and mentally. After a long season of meeting expectations, you need time to live freely. This doesn’t mean indulging excessively, but rather enjoying activities without the pressure of tracking every detail. Plan a guilt-free summer vacation and enjoy this part of the off-season with intention. Prioritizing this will help you return to training with no regrets or excuses.
PLANNING THE NEXT SEASON
Race Schedule:
Determine when and where you want to race again. Identify your A, B, and C races based on your training schedule. This will help you develop a realistic training schedule as you won’t be at your peak all year.
Training Methods:
Consider switching up your training methods. Options include 1-on-1 coaching, studio-based classes, and online training apps. There’s also the new HYROX365 if you want to jump into some self education as an athlete or have considered training others. Explore what fits your goals best.
Off-Season Competitions:
Look into competitions during the off-season to supplement your training, such as road races, trail races, strongman or weightlifting events, and local gym competitions. The mental pressure won’t be the same as your main focus, but it is great to dip into a little competition to stay mentally sharp.
HEALTH, NUTRITION, AND SUPPLEMENTATION
Tracking Macros and Nutrition:
Decide if you will track macros using an apps like MyFitnessPal or Cronometer. You probably don’t need to track macros all year, but when its time to dial in these are clutch.
Consider consulting a nutritionist or using meal prep services if a nutritionist is too much of an investment. It’s great having outside help if cooking isn’t your favorite past-time.
This is also the time to test out different race nutrition strategies. What is the most ideal 72 hour pre race food strategy for your specific needs? We do not all respond the same way to to the same foods so use this time to figure out your golden plan. Don’t wait until the week of your next race.
Health Analysis:
Run a precision analysis on your bloodwork to determine your true supplementation needs. Services like MNLY, a key sponsor of HYROX, offer accessible options for athletes. Athletes can enhance performance by gaining profound insights into both their biological and environmental health. MNLY helps with this through personalized lifestyle, nutrition, and supplement protocols tailored to their unique biological data.
Supplements:
What supplements did you take during the season? I previously mentioned MNLY, which includes tailored precision supplement packages based on your health analysis, but you should also be assessing what you have been spending your money on already. Does it makes sense to continue to buy “supplement A” or should you replace it with “supplement B”? Be specific here.
There are staples such as creatine, electrolytes, magnesium, beta alanine and protein. There are also some things that we take that don’t actually do anything for us. More beets won’t help you if you’re already taking something else that has the same affect. Supplements are a necessary cost when we are constantly pushing the boundaries of human performance personally and professionally. Stick to the staples but also invest more strategically into your overall health for longevity purposes.
ANALYZE YOUR PERFORMANCE
Conduct a SWOT analysis i.e. document your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. For example:
Strengths:
Improved run times through effective weight management.
Improved recovery after aerobic stations such row, ski, and burpees
Weakness:
Poor planning of weight loss mid-season negatively impacted performance
Despite overall running gains, late race stations suffered such i.e. 4th quarter stations (lunges and wall balls)
Opportunities:
Better understand the impact of diet on performance; day to day diet, race week diet, and intra-race nutrition.
Plan weight management during the off-season to determine the optimal in-season weight and allow more time to increase calories levels before an A race.
Improve station efficiency and power output in last quarter of the race
Threats:
Risk of overuse injuries due to increased training intensity or volume, especially if weight loss is pursued too aggressively
Potential for overtraining syndrome if rest and recovery are not adequately incorporated into the training plan
By reflecting on your past season, taking a well-deserved break, and pla nning strategically for the next season, you can ensure continuous improvement and peak performance in your HYROX, DEKAFIT and overall hybrid fitness journey.
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