Most of us have finished our fall marathon season and are on our way to the holiday season of recovery! My big races are complete but I’m not quite in full relaxation mode yet, as Hyrox is returning to Chicago, and that’s where I will be this weekend.
I’ve been leaning into Extreme Endurance this marathon season for recovery assistance and am increasing my dosage this week as my body works to recover from a challenging 10K race on Saturday and the brutal hills of the Madison Marathon this past Sunday.
I first discovered Extreme Endurance on IG and immediately became intrigued, particular for its recovery aspects.
Photo Cred: @Xendurance
This product is made by a company called Xendurance, a US-based company, and I covered this product a bit more in my late October story here.
I am set to race on Saturday at 5pm and focusing on recovery and hydration this week to prepare for this grueling fitness competition. I have competed in Hyrox three times previously and this will be my first incorporating Extreme Endurance into my training cycle.
The race features 8 functional fitness moves with a 1KM run in between each exercise. Athletes are divided into groups based on gender and age and begin a start chute with a HYROX team member who not only reviews the rules, but pumps you up.
Athletes begin with a 1KM run, which in Chicago translates to 2 plus laps around the exterior of the exercise station area. After the run, the athletes transition to the SkiErg, where they have to complete 1,000 meters of upper body and back action.
After the SkiErg, athletes will once again hit that 1KM run around the exterior and enter to exercise number two, which is the one I find most challenging. As an upper body strength challenged runner, pushing a sled is a huge work effort. The workout requires four laps of 12.5 meters pushing a sled that weighs 226 lbs for women and 336 lbs for men.
Following the sled push, there are six more events, each sandwiched with a run.
4 x 12.5 m Sled Pull – 225 lbs / 225 lbs (each incl. Sled)
1 km run*
80 m Burpee Broad Jump
1 km run*
1,000 m Row
1 km run*
200 m Kettle Bell Farmers Carry – 2×35 Ibs / 2x 53 Ibs
1 km run*
100 m Sandbag Lunges – 22 lbs / 45 lbs
1 km run*
100 x Wall Balls – 10 lbs / 14 lbs
This competition is extremely tough on the body, and my body is certainly not in peak training mode after my fall marathon season, so I’m a bit nervous as to how this will work. However, Extreme Endurance is designed to aid in quick recovery times and to increase athletic performance, so I’m leaning into that. The product actually goes beyond athletic use as well. In a recent study, Dr. Robin McNelis. an Independent Chartered Physiotherapist, Health Coach, and Athletics Coach working in London, Scotland, found that the product aided in long Covid recovery.
Physiotherapist Robin McNelis was a sub-3 hour marathon runner, with 19 marathons completed over the years, when unfortunately he contracted COVID-19 in March 2020 resulting in a blood clot on his lung and pericarditis (inflammation around his heart). After having both of those successfully treated, Robin developed the Chronic Fatigue presentation of Post Covid Syndrome/Long Covid. Dr. McNelis began using Extreme Endurance in early 2024, not to recklessly push through (we know that doesn’t work with Long Covid), but to minimize any symptom relapses if he accidentally overdid things. He also used Immune Boost to try to reduce the impact of any minor infections which had been also hampering progress. His full study showing that these products aided in recovery can be read here. Dr. Robin McNelis Lactic Acid Study (1)
I’ll be reporting back after this weekend to let you know how Hyrox went and if I felt any differences in performance with Extreme Endurance.
