This 5 Round Run and Row Routine Is Hands Down the Best Way for Men Over 50 to Train for Hyrox Without Getting Hurt
At an age where many guys are considering retirement, 58-year-old Eduard Korat can do 80 meters of burpee broad jumps in three-and-a-half minutes, carry 64 kilograms (about 140 pounds) for 200 meters in 89 seconds, and pop off a one-kilometer run in less than four minutes and 30 seconds.
Korat accomplished all these feats just a few weeks ago at the Hyrox World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, where he finished first among all U.S. entrants (and third overall in the world) in the 55 to 59 age group.
For the uninitiated, a Hyrox race is essentially a high-intensity fitness nightmare disguised as a competition. It's a grueling indoor race that forces you to run eight separate single-kilometer loops, with each kilometer separated by a different functional fitness station. We're talking about sled pushes, heavy kettlebell carries, a kilometer of rowing, and (just to make sure you're thoroughly miserable) 80 meters of burpee broad jumps. To put Korat's performance in perspective, most well-trained athletes in their thirties crawl across the finish line of this event, assuming they survive it at all.
But the finish wasn't a fluke for the German-born software developer: Korat has finished 17 Ironman triathlons (including six at Kona), has won the Spartan Race Trifecta World Championship three times in his age group, and has competed in the Hyrox Worlds three times, continuing a life of endurance racing that began with his first marathon at just 17 years old.
"In the small village where I lived [Horb, Germany], there were all these endurance enthusiasts, 40-, 50-, 60-year-old people," he says. Those middle-aged Germans spurred Korat not just to clock his first 26.2 miles, but to pursue a lifetime of endurance exercise.
Now that he's their age, though, the Bay Area dad is waging a daily battle against the same thing that plagued his mentors: Aches, pains, and injuries.
"The older I get now, the more and more I'm facing injuries, especially run-related ones on the backside, like my calves and hamstrings," he says. Those injuries have shaped his training approach, but still let him get podium-worthy results. "I've noticed if I push too hard, I get hurt, and it takes me out. So I go with lower intensity, and slowly build up."
How to Build Endurance With Korat's Run-and-Row Countdown
To stave off injury but still get stronger and stay fast, Korat trains for Hyrox with efforts that are slightly longer than the race day distances and times, but at a slightly easier pace.
"I do what I would call moderate intensity intervals with minimal breaks in between, basically mimicking the hybrid way of racing, but on a lower intensity," he says. "If you don't go as hard, you can go higher on volume. So my volume is about 15 hours of training per week."
Over those 15 hours, he does two sessions per day, six to seven days per week. This results in around five Hyrox races' worth of each event spread out throughout the course of the week. But because the intensity is lower, he can do it without thrashing his joints.
Even if you aren't doing two-a-days every single day, you can build endurance for Hyrox-or just for life-with Korat's medium-intensity intervals. To build cardio endurance in a gym that's not crowded, try his row-and-run countdown workout.
To do this, you'll row for a prescribed distance, then jump on a treadmill or run around a track for a timed spell. Run the timed sections as quickly as you can while having enough energy to continue. Rest as little as possible.
- Round 1: Row 1,000 meters, then run for 5 minutes.
- Round 2: Row 800 meters, then run for 4 minutes.
- Round 3: Row 600 meters, then run for 3 minutes.
- Round 4: Row 400 meters, then run for 2 minutes.
- Round 5: Row 200 meters, then run for 1 minute.
Korat did this workout every week in the run-up to the Hyrox Worlds. The idea: Do the runs faster, and the whole workout in less time each week. By race day, he says, he was doing 3,000 meters of rowing and running in the session.
Related: How an Elite Athlete Trains for HYROX, the World's Fastest-Growing Fitness Race
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jul 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Fitness section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 12:43 PM.