This week is with Scottish HYROX athlete Liam McCrory, who’s gone from a 1:02 first pro race to running 53:47 in an Elite 15 major in just over two years. We dig into how a background in football, years of disciplined S&C work, and balancing full-time work as a prison officer has shaped the way he trains and races.

We chat about:

• Moving from football into HYROX and why the sport completely hooked him

• The difference between “training” and just “working out”

• How he structures training around full-time shifts and limited recovery time

• Why he trains mostly alone and how he manages motivation and discipline

• Sled strategy, pacing conservatively, and building strong second halves in races

• Burpee broad jump technique and how plyometric work has helped his efficiency

• Why he doesn’t bother with long runs anymore and instead uses bikes, ergs and controlled running volume

• RPE, threshold training, race strategy and learning to race rather than chase times

• Handling bad races, penalties, disappointment and missing qualification by seconds

• What it’s actually like racing in the Elite 15 environment against the best in the world

• Thoughts on the future of HYROX, world championships, doubles racing and where the sport is heading

A really good conversation around progression, consistency, balancing life with training, and what it actually takes to keep moving up in the sport without living like a full-time athlete. Humans do love voluntarily paying money to drag sleds around convention centres on industrial carpet. Strange species.