What is Xenom, and why it could reshape fitness competition

Xenom has raised $15 million and calls itself the “decathlon of fitness”. That’s the headline but it’s not the most interesting thing about the latest addition to the competitive fitness calendar. Xenom is a new global fitness competition designed to test all-round fitness across a standardised format. What really stands out is how Xenom founder…

March 25, 20260Comments

ByJon Lipsey

TRAINING Explainer

What is Xenom and how it is standardising competitive fitness

Competitive fitness is moving towards structure. For years, the category has been defined by variation: different workouts, different formats, different interpretations of what “fitness” means. That has driven participation, but it has limited comparability and made it difficult to scale as a spectator sport. Xenom is part of a new wave attempting to change that.…

March 25, 20260Comments

ByJon Lipsey

TRAINING Explainer

What are hybrid fitness competitions and how are they turning training into a sport?

Fitness has historically been personal. You train to improve strength, endurance, or appearance. Progress is tracked individually. Outcomes are largely private. Hybrid fitness competitions introduce a different model. They turn training into something measurable, repeatable, and comparable across individuals and locations. Hybrid fitness competitions are structured events that combine multiple training modalities—typically strength, endurance, and…

March 24, 20260Comments

ByJon Lipsey

TRAINING Upgrade

Dr Alyssa Olenick: Why every woman must build more muscle!

Dr Alyssa Olenick Dr Alyssa Olenick is a highly regarded exercise physiologist, ultra-marathon runner and powerlifter with a deep passion for fitness, health, and wellness. She specialises in understanding the intricate relationship between resistance training, endurance sports and metabolic health, and is known for her science-based approach to exercise and recovery, and her ability to…

January 19, 20260Comments

ByJoe Warner

TRAINING

How Great Coaches Teach Movement

There’s a kind of desperation you often get among inexperienced coaches. You hear it in the way they talk - using words like dorsiflex, externally rotate, posterior chain. It’s the sound of someone trying to be taken seriously. Judd Lienhard doesn’t need that. With over 30,000 hours of coaching behind him, he’s heard it all…

December 8, 20250Comments

ByDr Jonny Rees

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How Olympic champ Emma Finucane learned to win

Emma Finucane doesn’t sound like an assassin. Standing in front of me at the side of the track at the National Cycling Centre – the home of British Cycling - in Manchester, the softly spoken 22-year-old from Wales is friendly and laid back. But the Emma who wins bike races? That version had to be created and…

September 6, 20250Comments

ByJon Lipsey

TRAINING Explainer

Fasted cardio for women: should you train on empty?

Fasted cardio is exactly what it sounds like: doing cardiovascular exercise—usually in the morning—before you’ve eaten anything. The thinking is simple: if you train without food in your system, your body will burn more fat for fuel, helping you lean out faster. For men, especially those who are metabolically healthy, this approach can sometimes support…

May 18, 20250Comments

ByJon Lipsey

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Alex Honnold on risk, activism and searching for purpose

Alex Honnold Alex Honnold is an American rock climber best known for his free solo ascents of big walls, most famously becoming the first person to free solo a route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The climb was the subject of a 2018 biographical documentary “Free Solo”, which won a BAFTA and Academy…

The CNS Code: How Judd Lienhard Trains for Longevity and Power

Some people train like a machine. Judd Lienhard trains like a system. His system doesn’t start with muscle groups or reps. It starts with the nervous system, a pyramid of stress and recovery mapped over the week with precision. But here’s where it gets interesting: for a man who trains like a sprinter, eats like…

April 8, 20250Comments

ByDr Jonny Rees

TRAINING

Muscle, Maintenance and the Testosterone Question

There’s an honesty to the way Judd Lienhard talks about testosterone. No bravado, no defensiveness, just a matter-of-fact acknowledgement that yes, he’s on it. Yes, it helps. And no, it didn’t build the physique you see on Instagram. It’s a rare kind of candour in a fitness space full of secrets and shortcuts. Lienhard, a…

March 8, 20250Comments

ByDr Jonny Rees

TRAINING

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