Isabelle Hoffmann and Jessica Schaaf have found a new sporting challenge in HYROX, where both deliver impressive results. After just six competitions, they have already qualified for the World Championships.
Sport has always played a major role in the lives of both athletes. They each come from a competive sports background and were once fierce rivals on the running circuit.
Their rivalry, however, never stood in the way of their friendship. Today, the two athletes no longer compete against each other but take on HYROX together as a team in the Doubles category.
HYROX combines endurance and strength in a fitness competition designed for everyone from recreational athletes to elite competitors.
Isabelle Hoffmann has tried her hand at a variety of sports throughout her athletic career, from volleyball and cycling to marathon running.
Her cycling career even took her to the European and World Championships before she turned her attention to running, tackling everything from five- and ten-kilometre races to the marathon.
Then came the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought a pause to her sporting ambitions. Although she never stopped exercising altogether, Hoffmann eventually felt ready to try something completely different.
"I've tried and done so many different sports over the years. [...] I've kept active, but at this point, I was looking for a new challenge," Isabelle says.
Jessica Schaaf was also ready for a new sporting challenge. After a friend told her about HYROX, a fitness trend that originated in Germany, she was curious enough to look up videos of the competitions online that very same day. It didn’t take long for her to think of Isabelle.
Isabelle Hoffmann recalls the time Jessica sent her a video and said, "Hey, look at this! This is something we should try!".
At first, though, she struggled to picture exactly how a HYROX competition worked.
“‘OK… what do they actually do? How do you even take part in a competition like that?’ I couldn’t picture it at all, with all those exercises, how you take turns doing them, and who keeps track of how much each person has done and everything.”
HYROX is an indoor fitness competition that combines endurance and strength. The format is always the same: a one-kilometre run followed by a functional fitness exercise. In total, participants have to run eight kilometres and complete eight different workout stations. From pulling a weighted sled to doing burpees, the challenges put their strength and stamina to the test. The aim is to complete the entire course as quickly as possible.
Since the start of this year, the two friends have been training specifically for HYROX competitions at Elysium fitness centre under the guidance of coach Gil Nicolas.
They know they will be pushed to their physical limits, but that is exactly what appeals to them about the sport.
Unlike their days as running rivals, they are no longer competing against each other. Instead, they can make the most of their strengths as a team. In the Doubles category, both athletes have to complete the running sections together, while they can split the work at the fitness stations between them.
Things can get particularly intense when the pace picks up. Isabelle Hoffmann describes herself as an athlete who is hard to hold back and prefers to get going at full speed. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and Jessica Schaaf often finds herself rising to the challenge.
When Jessica sees Isabelle picking up heavier weights for an exercise she thinks to herself "Come on, you can do that too!". It gives her that extra push to go one step further herself.
In this way, the two friends continually motivate each other to achieve more.
There is never a dull moment in HYROX. While marathon running is all about covering the distance, the variety of fitness exercises in HYROX keeps things interesting. It seems to be a welcome change for the two former endurance athletes.
They train six times a week, often for more than two hours at a time. Their sessions include strength training, running and specific HYROX exercises, and their coach is more than welcome to push them a little harder. In fact, the pair sometimes even ask him to make their workouts more challenging.
Sport, however, is not their main occupation. Both women work as teachers, so they have to fit their training sessions and competitions around their professional and personal lives.
This takes particularly careful planning for Isabelle Hoffmann, who is also a mother of three. With good organisation and support from those around her, though, she manages to make it work. As a result, it is not unusual for the two friends to still be at the gym late into the evening.
Physical fitness and mental strength play an equally important role. Thanks to their many years of experience in competitive sport, both women have developed the discipline needed to push through the toughest of moments.
“I think athletes have a slightly different mindset. You’re used to pushing through things, even when they hurt.”Jessica Schaaf
Of course, there are days when motivation is running low or their bodies are simply tired.
But Isabelle Hoffmann and Jessica Schaaf have quickly shown that their hard work pays off. They started out in the Open category at their first HYROX competition before taking on the more demanding Pro category shortly afterwards. After just six competitions, they have already qualified for the World Championships.
Despite their sporting success, the two athletes want to show one thing above all: it is never too late to set yourself new goals.
Neither would consider herself among the youngest athletes anymore. But that has not stopped them from taking up a new sport and setting their sights high all over again.
“HYROX is a sport that’s open to everyone. And of course, we hope we can inspire others who, like us, are in their thirties or forties and want to start something new or find another challenge.”
Whether you’re a former competitive athlete, a beginner or a retiree, the two friends believe age should never stop you from taking on a new sporting challenge.
