Hybrid fitness competitions are spreading like wildfire right now, hooking everyone from hardcore marathoners to singles looking for love.
John Collins, co-founder of Long Island City fitness center The Trinity, noticed kids at his gym paying close attention to adult members training for the Trinity Games, a Hyrox-style competition the gym hosts.
“When we see the kids working out in the gym [in the kids class], they’re very keen to do what they see the adults doing,” Collins told The Post.
Inspired by a race in Dublin where kids and parents completed the same exercises, he and co-founder Seamus Keane created a free junior edition of the event for kids ages 8 to 13.
“It’s all about inspiring the next generation,” Collins said. “We want kids to see exercise as something fun, something exciting, something social.”
The race is intended to give all kids the confidence boost that comes with crossing a finish line and hearing crowds cheering for them, with Collins noting that for some “it could be their first ever fitness event.”
There was also the goal of getting kids moving, especially important as only 20% to 28% of American children and teens get the recommended daily amount of physical activity.
‘We want to give them opportunities to get outside, move their bodies, be more active and create positive memories associated with exercise,” Collins added.
The ultimate fitness playground
The inaugural event saw kids show up to the waterfront at Culture Lab LIC on a chilly Saturday afternoon following the second annual adults’ competition.
Modeled after the grueling Hyrox workout that’s gone global, teams of two took on burpees, lunges, wall balls, SkiErg, row machines and a farmer’s carry interspersed by short runs.
While the adults completed 800-meter runs in between exercises, the kids’ event wasn’t timed, excluded weights and halved the running distance at 400 meters.
They also ditched the assault bike, as many of the younger competitors couldn’t even reach the pedals.
After watching his mom complete a HYROX race, 8-year-old Lucas knew he wanted to follow in her footsteps and compete in one.
Signing up for a Hyrox Youngstars race, he decided to compete in the Trinity Games youth version for additional training.
The 400-meter run completed multiple times was no problem for Lucas, who has been running since he was 3. One exercise, however, gave him trouble.
“My least favorite [part] was the lunges because the ground hurts when we touch it,” he told The Post, a sentiment his mom — who also competed in the Trinity Games — could attest to.
“I would also name the lunges as the hardest for me, not because the movement is difficult, just because the ground was hard and you need to touch it every time with your knee,” Emilie Boissy told The Post.
The chilly temperatures proved challenging for competitor Sofia during the running portions of the race.
“I still like running, it was just hard to breathe,” Sofia told The Post. “My throat was hurting because I was breathing in cold air, but it was also fun.”
But that hardly deterred the 8-year-old competitor or her friend and teammate Natalie from wanting to participate in future competitions, as well as Lucas, who said he would definitely compete again.
Making muscles and besties
It wasn’t just the physical aspect that drew both girls to the competition. It was also the chance to race with friends.
“I would say yes [to joining next year], if I was practicing a little bit more,” Natalie told The Post, with Sofia adding that she would absolutely do it again.
“1,000%,” she said enthusiastically. “It’s really fun. You don’t even really feel it. It’s just fun and with friends.”
Collins argues that letting kids participate in the same events as their parents can build community, the overall purpose of the Trinity Games and the Long Island City neighborhood they take place in.
“If they get to participate, it becomes something that the whole family can go to together rather than the kids having to sit and watch… when they’re interested,” he said.
Above all else, he hopes the energy of the event creates lasting memories.
“I would highly doubt if any of them remember what their finishing time will be, but they will remember the cheers and the excitement,” Collins said.
