The ProArc Hybrid Fitness Dispatch

ProArc Weekly Hybrid Fitness Dispatch Issue 003 | 11 October 2025 - 17 October 2025

Estimated read time: 22 minutes

By ProArc •

Disclaimer: Adjust for training age/injury history; consult a professional for specific conditions.

Enjoyed this week's insights? Subscribe to get notified when the next dispatch is ready.

This Week's TL;DR

  • Prioritise non-compromised running (80% of volume) for HYROX durability.
  • Use ventilatory data from wearables for precise training zone prescription.
  • Female athletes: consider small, symptom-based carb and iron increases during menstruation.
  • Anticipate life stress instead of reacting to it for more effective coaching.
  • Analyse your actual time availability to build a realistic training schedule.

Training & Programming

This week, we delve into elite HYROX programming, emphasizing durability through a smart balance of running and strength. A key insight is prioritising non-compromised running, a strategy used by world-record holders, to build a resilient and powerful running base.

Elite HYROX Running Strategy

HYROX/DEKA Running Programming

Build durability and peak running performance by ensuring at least 80% of your total running volume is non-compromised.

Many hybrid athletes incorrectly overemphasise compromised running, which hinders pure running development and increases injury risk. Coach Tiago Lousa's success with world record holder Alex Roncevic shows that building a strong, uncompromised running base is the key to faster overall times and long-term resilience.

Try this:

Audit your weekly running volume. If more than 20% is 'compromised' (i.e., between stations or immediately after strength work), restructure your week to prioritise fresh-legged running sessions, such as dedicated track days or easy morning runs.

HYROX Doubles Strategy

HYROX/DEKA Racing/Rules

Optimise HYROX Doubles by strategically dividing work at each station and minimising transition time.

Doubles racing is not just about individual fitness; it's a tactical game of communication and efficiency. A station-by-station plan prevents wasted energy, capitalises on each partner's strengths, and can shave minutes off your final time by streamlining transitions and sharing the load effectively.

Try this:

For the sled push, have one partner do the full 50m to avoid a slow, costly changeover. For the burpee broad jumps, alternate every 10 reps to keep intensity high and allow for micro-recoveries.

Equipment & Exercise Science

The latest in wearable technology is moving beyond simple heart rate zones. We explore how ventilatory metrics, once confined to labs, can now be used for highly precise training zone prescription, offering a more individualised and effective way to structure your endurance work.

Ventilatory Training Zones

Triathlon Running Equipment/Gear

Utilise new wearables that measure ventilatory metrics to more accurately assess and prescribe your training zones, moving beyond generic heart rate calculations.

Traditional heart rate zones are often based on generic formulas that don't account for individual physiology. Ventilatory thresholds (VT1 and VT2) are more precise markers of your aerobic and anaerobic thresholds, allowing for more targeted training, better load management, and superior performance outcomes.

Try this:

If you have access to a device like the Tymewear chest strap, perform a graded exercise test (e.g., a ramp test on a treadmill or bike) to identify your VT1 and VT2. Use these specific data points to set your training zones instead of relying on age-based max heart rate formulas.

Nutrition & Recovery

Navigating nutrition as a female athlete requires a nuanced, individualised approach. This week, we examine the science behind adjusting your fuelling strategy during your menstrual cycle, offering practical, symptom-based advice to manage energy levels and performance without resorting to a complete nutritional overhaul.

Menstrual Cycle Fuelling

Triathlon Nutrition/Recovery Hybrid-General

For female athletes experiencing significant symptoms, slightly increasing carbohydrate and iron intake during menstruation can support performance and mitigate fatigue.

While current research doesn't support a complete overhaul of nutrition based on cycle phase, small, targeted adjustments can mitigate common symptoms like low energy and fatigue. This individualised, symptom-led approach helps you work with your physiology, not against it, ensuring more consistent and effective training.

Try this:

Track your cycle and symptoms for 2-3 months. If you consistently feel 'rubbish' during your period, try adding an extra 20-30g of carbohydrates before key sessions and include iron-rich foods like red meat or lentils paired with vitamin C daily during menstruation.

Coaching & Mindset

Effective coaching and self-management extend far beyond the training plan. This week's insights focus on proactive integration of life stress and a brutally honest assessment of your real-world time availability—two crucial steps for sustainable progress.

Proactive Coaching

Coaching/Mindset Hybrid-General

Great coaching is proactive, not reactive; it anticipates life's demands to integrate training rather than just reacting to athlete fatigue.

A reactive coach only adjusts a plan after an athlete is already fatigued or overwhelmed. A proactive coach understands upcoming work travel, family commitments, and other stressors, designing a 'living document' of a training plan that prevents derailments before they happen, fostering long-term consistency.

Try this:

At the start of your week, review both your training plan and your life/work calendar. Identify potential conflicts or high-stress periods and communicate these to your coach (or adjust your plan if self-coached) in advance to modify training load before you become overextended.

The Time Reality Check

Coaching/Mindset Programming Hybrid-General

Perform a 'time reality check' by mapping your entire week in detail to uncover your true available training time.

Most athletes drastically overestimate their available training time by failing to account for travel, transitions, life admin, and faff. This leads to unrealistic plans, compromised sleep, and burnout. A brutally honest time audit reveals your actual capacity, allowing for a sustainable training structure that doesn't sacrifice recovery.

Try this:

Using a spreadsheet or calendar, block out every commitment for one week: work, sleep, commute, meals, family time, and even 'faff time'. The remaining empty slots are your true, realistic training availability—build your plan based on this, not an idealised version.

Quick Hits

HYROX Content Creation Tips

Learn how to effectively capture compelling video content at HYROX events, even if you're only using your phone.

Fitness Racing Podcast — Videography and Content in HYROX – Dom Sady and Lauren Harris

HYROX Wall Ball Judging Debate

A deep dive into the controversial topic of HYROX wall ball standards, discussing why the 'hand test' for judging depth is often flawed.

Hybrid Fitness Media — The HYROX Wall Ball Debate: How Low Is Low Enough?

The 'Happiness' Goal-Setting Trap

Stop asking if a goal makes you 'happy'. Instead, ask if it energises or challenges you to avoid your brain's trick to make you play smaller.

Finding Your Endurance Mindset

Fat Loss vs. Weight Loss

The true goal of fat loss is to improve body composition and appearance, which is distinct from simply losing weight on the scale.

RX Radio

Content Credits

Fitness Racing Podcast

Videography and Content in HYROX – Dom Sady and Lauren Harris

Dom Sady and Lauren Harris

Hybrid Coaching Podcast

HCP #71 - Hamburg Hyrox Major Review with James Kelly

James Kelly

Hybrid Fitness Media

The HYROX Wall Ball Debate: How Low Is Low Enough?

Chris Baynes

Rox Lyfe - The HYROX Podcast

Tiago Lousa on HYROX Coaching, World Records, and Lessons from Kenya

Tiago Lousa

Small Gains: The Inclusive Strength and Running Podcast

E78: This Episode Might Just Change Your Life - The Time Reality Check Of Trying To Fit EVERYTHING In

Hybrid Fitness Report

Hyrox: tips for Doubles and which format to choose? + breaking Gdansk update

Jude

That Triathlon Show

[Rerun] Ironman World Champion Solveig Løvseth - Training and Performance Insights

Solveig Løvseth

The TriDot Triathlon Podcast

An Inside Look at FitLogic—the Intelligence Engine Powering TriDot & RunDot

Jeff Booher

Triathlon Nutrition Academy

Should I Be Using Different Fuelling Strategies When On My Period?

Endurance Matters Hosted by BigMetz

Jelle Geens: Ironman 70.3 World Champion and Olympian

Jelle Geens

The TriDoc Podcast, triathlon and health in one place

Ep.182: Tymewear for ventilatory metrics in training and another visit with Matthew Marquardt

Matthew Marquardt

Purple Patch Podcast

379 - The Keys to Successful Coaching: Lessons From 20 Years in the Trenches

Matt Dixon

Get Fast Podcast - Triathlon, Ironman & Cycling Coaching Advice

Ironman Coaches React To Kona World Champs Carnage + Marathon Race Review

Gerard and Jordan

Find Your Finish Line with Mike Reilly

Two-Time Cancer Survivor: Finding Strength Through Diagnosis with Jeffrey Reynolds

Jeffrey Reynolds

The World Triathlon Podcast

#108 - CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS PREVIEW with Chelsea Burns + Tommy Zaferes

Chelsea Burns and Tommy Zaferes

Tempo Talks

Decoding the Kona Landscape: Insights and Analysis

Matt and Jeff

Talking Triathlon

#107 - The Greatest World Championship Ever?

James, Tim, and Andy

Feisty Fox Fire

How to Avoid Bonking During the Run?

Oxygenaddict Triathlon Podcast

The IRONMAN Winter Training Blueprint | Ep 560

Coach Rob