Just a few years ago, Cole Learn was homeless and battling drug addiction. Today, he is an Elite 15 athlete and one of the fastest-rising competitors in HYROX. His sixth-place finish in his Elite 15 debut in Melbourne marked a turning point – not just in his sporting career, but in a life rebuilt through discipline, structure, and long-term thinking.
In an episode of the Rox Lyfe podcast, Cole shared with us his journey back into elite sport, how he transformed his running in a short period of time, and why he believes smart training beats extreme volume for HYROX performance.
From Promising Athlete to Rock Bottom
Cole grew up playing almost every sport available before focusing on American football, following in the footsteps of his grandfather who played professionally in the CFL. By his early twenties, he was a standout athlete with a clear future ahead.
That future collapsed quickly. Poor influences led to opioid addiction, and within a few years Cole lost his apartment, his car, and ultimately ended up living on the streets in Edmonton. He describes the period as brutal, isolating, and humbling – waking up in homeless shelters at 5am with nowhere to go and no structure to lean on.
After multiple failed attempts at getting sober, it was only when he returned home to Ontario, reconnected with family, and committed fully to rehab that things finally changed. Cole is now approaching ten years sober.
Rebuilding through CrossFit
Fitness became the anchor for his recovery. Cole found CrossFit through a small basement gym and quickly fell back in love with structured training and competition. Over the next six to seven years, he trained at a high level, competed at major events like Wodapalooza, and eventually opened his own gym.
While CrossFit reignited his competitive drive, it also highlighted his limitations – particularly in pure strength events at the highest level. That reality ultimately pushed him toward HYROX, where his engine, work capacity, and movement efficiency were better suited.
Discovering HYROX and rapid progression
Cole’s first HYROX race came almost on impulse after watching a YouTube video. With minimal run training and only a few months of preparation, he ran just over 1:02 in the Pro division in Chicago.
Once he committed fully to HYROX, the progression accelerated. Over the next two years, Cole rebuilt his running from the ground up, moving from minimal mileage to structured threshold-based training. His Pro time dropped dramatically, eventually leading to a 54-minute performance and Elite 15 qualification.
In Melbourne in Dec 2025, he finished sixth in his Elite 15 debut – just 14 seconds outside automatic qualification for the World Championships – despite feeling far from his best on the day.
Running Training
Cole now runs around 70–80 km per week, with a clear structure:
- 3 quality threshold sessions
- 2 longer easy aerobic runs
- 2 low-impact aerobic days using machines like the StairMaster or elliptical
He deliberately avoids excessive VO2 work, explaining that his aerobic ceiling was already high from years of CrossFit. His biggest gains came from raising threshold pace and improving sustainable race speed.
To reduce injury risk, most of his harder sessions happen on the treadmill rather than the road, especially given his background as a heavier athlete earlier in his career.
Strength Training for HYROX Performance
Strength work sits alongside hard run days and always comes after the key session of the day. Cole sees strength now as maintenance rather than development.
Instead of chasing heavy one-rep maxes, his focus is on controlled tempo lifting, time under tension, and muscular endurance in the 8–12 rep range. This approach supports durability and station efficiency without compromising run performance.
Wall balls, lunges, and station efficiency
Cole’s approach to stations is practical and honest. He believes most athletes struggle on wall balls not because of strength, but because of aerobic limitations and poor movement mechanics.
Key principles he highlights:
- Improve aerobic fitness first before adding wall ball volume
- Address individual limiters – shoulders, legs, or positioning
- Prioritise squat mechanics and upright posture
- Train shoulders under fatigue, not in isolation
He averages 400–500 wall balls per week and follows a simple mental race rule – do not put the ball down early. In his experience, breaking too soon makes the final station mentally and physically worse.
Racing Mindset and Managing Discomfort
Cole breaks races into small segments rather than thinking ahead. He avoids projecting pain forward, especially during tough early stations, and focuses only on the task directly in front of him.
On the start line, his goal is calm control rather than hype. He actively brings his heart rate down before the gun, using nasal breathing to avoid starting the race already over-stimulated.
He also uses heart rate feedback early in the race to prevent over-cooking the opening run and SkiErg, knowing that small mistakes early compound later.
Why Extreme Volume is Overrated
One of Cole’s strongest beliefs is that elite HYROX performance does not require extreme training volume. He trains roughly 15–18 hours per week and sees little benefit in pushing beyond that.
He argues that social media has normalised unsustainable workloads and that most athletes would progress faster by training less, recovering better, and staying consistent over years rather than months.
To check out the full interview, watch below or listen on the Rox Lyfe podcast…
