wall balls Archives - Physio Room

236. My First HYROX Sim Experience

Andrew Fix — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 12:00:55 +0000

Dr. Andrew Fix pushed his body through a full HYROX simulation in the Colorado heat and walked away with a hard lesson about pacing that every first-timer needs to hear before race day.

What happens when a plan built on paper meets an actual clock, real heat, and eight stations back-to-back? Andrew found out firsthand at a HYROX simulation held with the team from CrossFit Falcon View. He went out too fast on the ski erg, a decision that cost him on the run that followed, and the pattern repeated throughout the event. Running makes up the majority of HYROX, and it rarely happens on fresh legs, so Andrew breaks down why compromised running deserves a real spot in training plans rather than an afterthought.

Fueling gets its own moment too. A single gel packet, taken with intention rather than panic, made a measurable difference in how he handled the back half of the event. Preparing for something he’d never done before came down to one move. Run the simulation, feel the heart rate spike, and test the fueling strategy before it counts on race day.

He also gets honest about the discomfort of pushing into unfamiliar territory and admits the experience left him humbled about what he thought he knew going in. HYROX rewards people who compete against their own benchmark rather than the person next to them. His finishing time now becomes a marker to measure against and learn from, not a number to chase blindly. For anyone eyeing a HYROX event this year, this episode offers a real look at what preparation actually demands.

Quotes

“Make sure you do a simulation. Get yourself prepared for what the actual race environment is going to feel like rather than showing up on race day.” (13:25 | Dr. Andrew Fix)
“You need to practice fueling on some of these longer runs because you’re going to have to fuel on these race days.” (14:07 | Dr. Andrew Fix)
“You’re comparing yourself against your own thing. It doesn’t have to be you competing with other people. It’s you competing with you.” (16:18 | Dr. Andrew Fix)
“No matter how fit you are, this can still make you feel extremely exhausted.” (16:51 | Dr. Andrew Fix)
“It’s all part of the learning curve and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and doing something that challenges you at the end of the day.” (17:10 | Dr. Andrew Fix)

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235. What is HYROX and Why Did I Sign Up For It?

Andrew Fix — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:07 +0000

Dr. Andrew Fix once called HYROX dumb, so why did he sign up for the hardest fitness competition of his life anyway?

Dr. Andrew Fix records this episode from the parking lot of REI’s Denver flagship, prepping for a Run Denver Day event, and uses the moment to talk through his decision to race HYROX this November. He breaks down what the competition actually involves: eight one-kilometer runs split by eight functional stations, sled pushes, wall balls, rowing, and more, all standardized across every city in the world. That global consistency is part of what has turned HYROX into one of the fastest-growing fitness competitions anywhere, but Andrew spends most of the episode on something bigger than the race itself.

What happens to your training when nothing is on the calendar? He argues that a real goal, with a real race date attached, changes the entire relationship between effort and motivation. He’s honest about the parts of HYROX that make him nervous, including how his legs will hold up during the final wall ball station, and he treats that uncertainty as useful rather than something to avoid. Stress and discomfort, he says, are the stimulus for growth.

So what’s your version of HYROX? Andrew makes the case that the specific challenge matters far less than the fact of having one. A half marathon, a 14er hike, a dance recital, a fitness show. The finish line matters less than the discipline required to get there and the person you become along the way.