Latest news with #Hyrox-specific
Wales Online
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
Meet Wales' best Hyrox athlete who wakes up at 4am to compete with the best in the world
Meet Wales' best Hyrox athlete who wakes up at 4am to compete with the best in the world Afan Humphries will be competing alongside thousands of others in Cardiff this weekend Afan Humphries is Wales' only Hyrox Elite 15 athlete (Image: @SwoopTalent ) This weekend, thousands of people will descend on the Principality Stadium to compete in one of sport's trendiest competitions as Hyrox makes its Welsh debut. Some people will be competing in the functional fitness competition for the first time but for Afan Humphries, Wales' most successful Hyrox athlete, the competition will be a familiar one. A former Welsh cross-country champion, Afan, 37, has always been sporty. But it wasn't until he tried his first Hyrox three and a half years ago that he realised he could compete with some of the world's fittest athletes. Hyrox - which is taking over the Principality Stadium from Friday, May 30, until Sunday, June 1 - is a fitness competition which consists of eight one kilometre runs, with eight functional workout stations in between. These stations include rowing, sled pushes, wall balls and burpees. After finishing 12th overall on his debut, Afan is now the only Welsh athlete competing in Hyrox Elite 15, where he competes against the best Hyrox athletes in the world. Now, having competed in 19 Hyrox competitions, he admits it's "totally addictive". Afan lives in Bargoed, having grown up in Ystrad Mynach. The Welsh athlete has competed in Italy, Germany, Spain, the USA and the Netherlands but he says the opportunity to compete on home turf is the most exciting yet. "I couldn't believe it," he said, as he recalled finding out that the event was being held in Cardiff. "I've been hoping for it for a long time because there's no better place to hold Hyrox than in the Principality Stadium. "When you've been to Manchester, Birmingham or London and seen the atmosphere there, I just know Cardiff's going to be something similar to that, so it's going be great." Content cannot be displayed without consent Despite being one of the best in the world at Hyrox, Afan works full time laying and repairing broken water mains. In between the physical demands of his job, he fits in around 16 hours a week of training in his gym in Ystrad Mynach. He talked me through his strict training schedule which ensures he's able to compete with the best. "There's a lot of running in it and I'd like to do a lot more but because of my job I'm quite limited to the volume I can get in," Afan explained. "In the mornings, it would probably be an hour and a half in the gym. It'd be all Hyrox-specific training, a bit of sled pushing and interval running and maybe a bit strength work at the end if I've got time. This is all before work so I'm down there between 4am and 4.15am. Afan was the Welsh cross-country champion from under-14 through to senior level (Image: @SwoopTalent ) "We've got the key to the the gym. I'll be doing these out-and-out runs around the industrial estate when it's pitch black, before the street lights even come on. I'm just running up the middle of the road sometimes, all against the clock. "In the evenings, it normally depends on how I feel so I'll do anything between eight and 10 miles steady running, or sometimes further if I feel like pushing it." To date, Afan's personal best is 56 minutes, 19 seconds, which he achieved in Maastricht this year. However, he must constantly keep improving to maintain his place as one of Hyrox's best and to work towards his goal of being the best in the world. Hyrox is making its Welsh debut this weekend (Image: @SwoopTalent ) Hyrox Elite 15 is described as "a high-stakes, global competition within the HYROX fitness racing series, where the top 15 male and female athletes compete for the title of HYROX World Champion". Afan explained: "They combine two of your fastest races and they get an average time of the two. Obviously there's Hyrox nearly every weekend of the year now so if someone beats my time, they'll jump ahead of me and I'll be pushed out of it. "You think you've done well and you're back in and next week someone else has broken your time and you've been pushed back out!" Article continues below The 37-year-old also shared his tips for people competing for the first time. "Don't go off too hard because it can ruin your whole race, like it did for my first one," he said. "Try to soak up the atmosphere and think this is what you've trained hard for, so just go out there and enjoy." Afan will compete in the men's pro competition on Friday night and the men's doubles on Saturday night.
Press and Journal
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Press and Journal
Hyrox Aberdeen? 'Matter of time' before event in Aberdeen, says chief of north-east sports centre leaning into fitness racing craze
A sports centre boss has backed Aberdeen for an official Hyrox race – saying the fitness phenomenon is 'all anyone talks about' around his Inverurie facility. Garioch Sports Centre have leaned into the Hyrox exercise trend, investing £15,000 to develop Hyrox-specific facilities and purchase the equipment to hold Hyrox classes in their sports hall. They have also added their name to a growing list of Hyrox-affiliated gyms in the region. Garioch chief operating officer Kevin Bonarius says the centre have attracted 40 new members – £2,000 in monthly income – due to their Hyrox focus, with 50 people signing up to take part in Hyrox classes, despite a 30-participant limit. A Hyrox fitness class at Garioch Sports Centre. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson. There is a global buzz around mass-participation sports craze Hyrox – where eight 1km runs are punctuated with a variety of exercise stations, including sled push/pulls, burpees and lunges. Athletes can compete at open, pro or even elite levels, and in singles, doubles or relay competition. People would fly 'from all over' to take part in Hyrox Aberdeen The rapid upwards trend of the sport's popularity is reflected at Garioch, Kevin says, joking: 'I'm kind of sick of talking about it, to be honest, because everyone talks about it!' There is currently just one Scottish stop on the schedule of official global Hyrox races, at Glasgow's SEC, but Kevin thinks an Aberdeen event, at P&J Live, should 'absolutely' be added to the calendar. He said: 'They (P&J Live) are already delivering the Rogue Invitational (elite CrossFit/strongman event) and it's hugely popular, so I think it's a matter of time before Hyrox is coming here. 'It's all anyone talks about really. In the gym, ask about Hyrox – everyone does competitions. That's what everyone talks about now. Running during a Hyrox fitness class at Garioch Sports Centre. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson. 'The demand is there to have large-scale events, and for me, Aberdeen needs to be on that calendar of Hyrox events every year, because you're going to get everyone from the Highlands coming down. 'You're going to have people from probably Glasgow coming up, (and) people flying up from all over the place to take part in that. 'I think the success of the CrossFit last year and the fact it's back this year… I think shows that there's demand.' Garioch Sports Centre planning own Hyrox 'sim' events When asked, a P&J Live spokeswoman said they are yet to hold talks with Hyrox chiefs on bringing one of their events to the Dyce venue – but Garioch Sports Centre are set to fill the void in the meantime. The sled pull event during a Hyrox race. Image: Shutterstock. While several Garioch members are already travelling elsewhere to compete in official races, including upcoming trips to Cardiff and Gdansk, they will soon be able to compete in 'sim' – simulation – Hyrox races on-site in Inverurie. These competitions will likely also be opened up to competitors from other north-east gyms down the line. Kevin explained: 'We're going to look at doing one on Saturday the 9th of August as our first one, which will be a members-only event, just so we can trial it. 'We've got our grass pitches outside, 3G football pitches, so if the weather's good we can turn that into almost an arena. 'We can get an audience – we can get a crowd. Family, friends can come down and watch as well. 'Cardiff, that's at the Principality Stadium, so we're trying to mirror that set-up of how the event works with running around the outer edge of the arena and then all the exercises in the centre.' Why is Hyrox so popular? On why he thinks Hyrox – 'The World Series of Fitness Racing' – has taken off so quickly, to the level UK event entries are via ballot and all of the official events attract thousands of competitors, Kevin thinks the key is the inclusivity of the sport. He said: 'Anyone can do it – any age, any ability… and that's very much what we are as a centre in terms of that kind of pathway for life. We provide for newborns through seniors – and I see Hyrox as that. Wall balls during a Hyrox fitness class at Garioch Sports Centre. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson. 'You can do it at any point, it's adaptable, you can mix up the workouts for different experiences and different fitness levels, and everyone can take part at the same time, so I think that's why it's proven so successful for us. 'We've got from 12, 13 years of age through to 70-plus, and we can have that in a class at one time, which is amazing to see, and all taking part together, supporting each other, which is probably the most pleasing thing to see when we're running it – there's no barrier.' Read more Hyrox content from The Press and Journal
