Most HYROX athletes love the idea of getting better. They just hate the part where getting better does not always look like doing more HYROX workouts.

That is the uncomfortable truth of the offseason.

In this episode of the RMR Training Podcast, Rich Ryan and Ryan Kent break down why the offseason is one of the most important windows for HYROX athletes who want to make real performance jumps. Not tiny little “I shaved off seven seconds because I wore faster socks” jumps. Real jumps. The kind that happen when you actually step back, rebuild, and stop trying to be race-ready every single week.

The episode opens with Rich explaining that the conversation is about offseason ideas, what has worked for making bigger improvements, and why the offseason creates space to experiment instead of only chasing small in-season gains.

Why the HYROX Offseason Matters

HYROX season is long. Between local races, majors, championships, doubles, relays, qualifiers, and whatever other chaotic thing someone decides to sign up for because their friend said, “Come on, it’ll be fun,” athletes spend most of the year preparing to race.

That creates a problem.

When you are always close to racing, your training becomes very specific. You need to sharpen. You need to practice transitions. You need to hit race-style workouts. You need to manage fatigue. You need to feel confident.

But that does not always leave enough room to build the things that actually move the needle.

Rich talks about taking a little space after Worlds instead of jumping right back into a structured grind. That downtime helped him think about what he actually needed for the next block instead of just doing what felt necessary to “keep going.” Ryan agrees that after a long season ending at the biggest race of the year, some physical and mental downtime is earned.

And this is where a lot of athletes mess it up.

They finish a season, panic because someone else is already posting sweaty sled videos, and jump straight back into race simulations. It feels productive. It looks cool on Instagram. It also might be the exact reason they show up next season as the same athlete with a slightly newer pair of shoes.

The Offseason Is Where Big Jumps Happen

One of the biggest points in the episode is that the offseason is where athletes can make bigger jumps, while the season is often where they make smaller, marginal improvements. Rich says that when he has had a good chunk of time to work on foundational principles, that is where he has made performance jumps measured in minutes. Once the season becomes more race-specific, the gains become much smaller.

That is an important distinction.

Race-specific training matters. Of course it does. You cannot ignore wall balls, sleds, compromised running, burpees, and expect race day to magically work out. That is not training. That is gambling with a weighted vest.

But if you only do HYROX-style workouts all year, you may never give yourself enough time to become a better runner, stronger athlete, more durable mover, or more powerful station performer.

The offseason gives you permission to step away from the constant race rehearsal and ask better questions:

What actually limited me last season?

Do I need more strength?

Do I need more running durability?

Do I need more power?

Do I need better recovery?

Do I need to stop treating every Wednesday like the World Championship?

Simple questions. Annoyingly useful answers.

Strength Training for HYROX: Build the Engine Room

Ryan talks about using a 5/3/1-style strength cycle with a focus on squatting. The goal is not to become a powerlifter hiding inside a HYROX singlet. The goal is to become more durable and powerful, especially through the lower body. He explains that the heavy squat day needs to be placed far away from the most important workout of the week because that fatigue can linger for several days.

That is a huge coaching point.

Strength training is not just about what you do. It is about where it lives in the week.

A heavy lower-body session placed too close to your key running or HYROX session can wreck the workout that actually needed to be high quality. But when strength is placed intelligently, it can build durability, power, and resilience without turning every run into a sad little shuffle of regret.

Rich also talks about wanting to preserve muscle and strength, especially as HYROX running continues to get faster. He mentions using 5/3/1 for squat and deadlift while adding velocity-based accessory work to bring back some explosiveness.

That balance matters. HYROX is not just running. It is not just lifting. It is that beautiful, annoying middle ground where you need to be kind of good at everything — and very good at not falling apart.

Stop Worshipping Weekly Mileage

One of the best parts of the conversation is the discussion around running volume.

Ryan says he is not forcing weekly mileage right now. If an easy run would slow recovery or hurt the next important session, he may swap it for incline walking, StairMaster, rowing, C2 bike, ski, or another low-impact option. His point is simple: the goal is to show up ready for the sessions that move the needle.

This is where a lot of athletes need to take a deep breath.

Yes, running matters in HYROX. It matters a lot.

But blindly chasing mileage while your quality sessions suffer is not toughness. It is just accounting. Congratulations, your spreadsheet is green, but your legs are cooked.

The better question is not, “Did I hit 50 miles this week?”

The better question is, “Did my training make me more prepared to race well?”

Sometimes that means running more. Especially for athletes who are newer to endurance, the offseason might be the perfect time to build more running tolerance while there is less pressure to be race-sharp. But for experienced athletes, or athletes already carrying a lot of impact stress, replacing some low-intensity work with machines can protect the body while still developing aerobic capacity.

Rich and Ryan are not saying never run easy. They are saying stop treating every easy run as sacred if it is stealing from the work that matters more.

Quality Sessions Need Fresh Athletes

A major theme in the episode is recovery between key workouts.

Ryan brings up the difference between having two easy days or three easy days between quality sessions. He explains that sometimes two days is not enough to absorb the previous hard session, and a third day can allow him to show up better for the next important workout. Rich adds that he often avoids running the day before a quality session and chooses biking or swimming instead because it helps him feel fresher.

That is not laziness.

That is training maturity.

HYROX athletes love to suffer. That is part of the entry fee. But the point is not to suffer randomly. The point is to be fit enough, strong enough, and recovered enough to execute the work that actually changes your race.

When athletes get closer to race day, the temptation is to do everything all the time. More running. More stations. More compromised work. More sleds. More wall balls. More “just one more piece.”

And then race day arrives and they feel like a wet towel with carbon-plated shoes.

The message here is simple: manage fatigue so your quality sessions stay high quality.

Station Strength Still Matters

There is a great section where Ryan talks about getting back to station-specific power. Even though he is strong at stations, he still sees value in improving sled push, sled pull, and heavy wall balls. He describes using short sled pushes and pulls, building weight over time, and using heavy wall balls in small sets.

That is another offseason opportunity.

During race season, athletes often focus on speed, pacing, and specificity. In the offseason, there is more space to build raw ability. That might mean heavier wall balls, stronger sled work, more upper-body endurance, or simple movements like push-ups to support burpee broad jumps.

Rich points out that burpees are not just aerobic. There is a muscular endurance component too, especially in the triceps, shoulders, and arms. Bench press can help strength, but push-ups may provide the higher-rep muscular endurance that carries over better to repeated burpee work.

Shocking news: the thing you avoided because it seemed too basic might be exactly what you need. Push-ups, undefeated since forever.

You Do Not Need to Peak for Every Race

This might be the most important coaching takeaway in the whole episode.

Ryan says athletes do not need to be race-ready for every single race. If the goal is to peak at the right time, early-season races may need to be treated as part of the build, not the final exam.

That is hard for competitive athletes to accept.

Everybody wants to PR every time. Everybody wants the next race to prove the plan is working. Everybody wants the dopamine hit of “best shape of my life” in September, October, December, March, and June.

But if you are already at your absolute best early in the season, where exactly are you trying to go later?

Rich says this becomes especially important for athletes who have already gone through a full season or more. Beginners may still PR frequently because the gains are new and obvious. But once the easy gains slow down, athletes need the discipline to work on what will actually make them better instead of doing HYROX workouts all the time.

That is the difference between training and performing.

Racing is fun. Training is where you earn the right to race better later.

The Coaching Lesson: Periodization Wins

Ryan makes the point that this is where real coaching matters. A good coach does not just write hard workouts. A good coach knows how to set up a season so athletes perform at the time they need to perform best.

That is periodization.

It means there is a time to build strength. A time to build running volume. A time to sharpen compromised running. A time to practice stations under fatigue. A time to reduce load. A time to race.

Not everything needs to happen every week.

Actually, trying to do everything every week is usually how athletes end up tired, average, and weirdly proud of both.

Worlds Takeaways: Standards, Judging, and Staying in the Fight

The episode also touches on some World Championship controversy, including burpee standards, lunges, penalties, and the human element of judging. Rich and Ryan discuss how athletes need to perform reps in a way that judges can clearly see, not just in a way the athlete believes is technically within the standard.

That is a brutal but useful lesson.

In HYROX, the standard is not just what you think you did. It is what the judge can confidently call. If your movement lives in the gray area, you are gambling. And sometimes gambling wins. Sometimes it gives you a penalty and ruins your day. Cute sport.

They also discuss Dylan Scott’s wall balls and his ability to fight back into the race. Ryan notes how surprising it was to see the race won through wall balls, while Rich highlights the importance of not mentally quitting when the race is not going perfectly.

That might be the most “HYROX” lesson of all.

Your race will probably go wrong somewhere. The question is whether you keep fighting anyway.

Final Takeaway: Build Now, Race Better Later

The offseason is not a break from improvement. It is the best opportunity to build the things that get buried during race season.

Use it to get stronger. Use it to rebuild your running. Use it to improve durability. Use it to experiment. Use it to recover mentally. Use it to stop chasing every race like it is the only race that matters.

Because when the season comes back around, the athletes who made the biggest gains probably will not be the ones who spent the offseason doing the most random pain cave workouts.

They will be the ones who knew what they needed, trained it patiently, and showed up ready when it actually counted.

Want to train smarter for your next HYROX race?

Listen to the full RMR Training Podcast episode with Rich Ryan and Ryan Kent, then check out the RMR Training app for structured HYROX programming built to help you get stronger, run better, and peak when it matters.