David Ledoux

💪| Masters CrossFit & Hyrox Competitor
🌱| Sharing health and wellness SECRETS
👇| Get The Playbook HERE

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

Nobody talks about this part of Hyrox training. Let me explain.

Today started like any normal Saturday training session. Doors opened at 8 am and it was already 35C.

I grabbed the sled and the 10 m of turf in a big garbage bag and headed outside ready to work solo for an hour.

Then my buddy Vaughan zoomed up on his red Vespa. He and I made the podium together back in March at Hyrox Cancun in Men's Doubles 50-54.

Oh shit.

The atmosphere instantly changed from a solo grind to "Oh, it's on like Donkey Kong!".

You need a friend like Vaughan in your life. An absolute savage. He's the kind of guy who is up for any challenge and will push you to your limit.

We set up the 10 meters of turf, the sled with rope, and started loading.

The warmup was 10 meters push, 10 meters pull, then a 100 m run. Then you did a 20 m towel carry with 70 lbs followed by a 100 m run.

What's a towel carry?

Our heaviest dumbbells are 50 lbs, and our heaviest kettlebells are 53 lbs. But if you loop a towel through the handles and grip the towel, you can carry 2 kettlebells in each hand.

So each towel had 2, 35 lb kettlebells. 70lbs in each hand. 140 lbs in total. Almost my body weight.

The sled felt like a toy during the first 2 rounds of 45-90. Then 135-180-230.

I threw on another 50 lb dumbbell. The pile and the sled weighed 300 lbs.

We did 6 rounds of 10 m push, 10 m pull, 100 m run, 20 m towel carry, 100 m run.

I threw the 100 lb sandbag on it for the coup-de-grace.

400 lb sled push. Unload the bag. 300 lb pull back. Reload the bag.

A couple of rounds of that and it was 8:45 am. The Competition Class spilled outside with us. They were doing ring dips and heavy overhead carries with dumbbells.

The atmosphere was charged. Music blasting, sweat dripping off of bodies everywhere you looked, chalk, and the quietness of focused work getting done.

Vaughan and I took all the plates, sandbags, kettlebells, dumbells, turf, rope and sled back inside. He grabbed a wallball and the rower. He did a 1000 m row and 100 wallballs. He did a personal PR with an opening set of 50 wallballs unbroken.

I went outside to a small patch of gravel under a palm tree. I clicked the stopwatch on my Garmin and hit the gas.

For Time:

24 goblet squats with 35# kettlebell
100 m run
18 gs
100 m run
15 gs
100 m run
12 gs
100 m run

9:07

Remember that scene from Raiders of The Lost Ark when their faces were melting?

That was me. I stumbled around for a minute. My shirt fell off, my hair was sticking up in the air like a haystack. I had that wild-eyed crazed look.

I could see a couple of guys I didn't know waiting for the 9 am class. They were looking at me. I could see a mix of concern and fear on their faces.

I remember that look. That was me in December of 2015 when I first walked in the doors for my first class so many years ago.

Why do I write this stuff down? Life moves so quickly. There are amazing people in your life right now that won't be there next year. But we take so much for granted. We act like we have all the time in the world don't we?

If you're reading these words, this is the sign you've been waiting for.

Decide to do hard things,.
To take risks.
To live outside your comfort zone.
Tell people you care about that they're special to you.
Be the example.
Say hola first.
Smile first.
Give away hugs and high fives.

Be the guy that brings the energy and enthusiasm to the moment and share it freely.

I appreciate you.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

most guys prepping for a competition sabotage themselves by juggling a chainsaw, a flaming machete and a kitten while managing a high-stress career.

it isn't a willpower failure. it’s cognitive overload.

when you hit 3 PM, your brain treats that complexity like a crisis and shuts down.

the winners don’t grind harder.

they strip the noise, lock onto 1 singular daily nutritional target, and keep the simplicity high to protect their compliance.

full breakdown in my free guide.

comment PLAN and I'll send it.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

44 year old Mark dropped 2 pant sizes and ran a 5K in 11 months.

No crash diets. No 6 day gym splits. Just one big goal and daily check ins.

Here's exactly how it went down.

First he picked one goal. Not "get healthy." Not "lose weight."

"Finish a 5K under 32 minutes."

That single target cut through the chaos of his job and family schedule. Everything else became noise.

He told his wife and two closest buddies.

Not for cheerleading. For pressure. He knew most people around him would quietly hope he failed because it made their own excuses feel safer.

Every morning he sent me one message.

What he ate.

How he trained.

How he felt.

No essays. Just the facts. I replied with one short adjustment or "good work." That loop kept him honest when life tried to pull him off track.

He built the training around his real life.

Short morning runs before the kids woke up. One longer session on Saturdays. He protected those blocks like meetings with his boss. Missed days got made up same week.

Food was simple. He tracked protein and total calories in a note on his phone. No fancy app.

He still ate dinner out with his wife twice a week. Just made better calls. The one big goal made the small decisions easier.

At month 8 he hit a wall.

Work got crazy.

Energy crashed.

We adjusted the goal slightly but didn't quit. He kept the daily check in. That was the part that actually moved the needle.

One clear goal plus daily accountability beats motivation every single time.

You got this.

If you're over 40 and ready for your own One Big Goal, comment GOAL and I'll send the free guide that starts it.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

The other day, standing in front of the bathroom mirror at 10:28 PM, you caught your reflection and didn't recognize the guy looking back.

Just a tired face, the lingering guilt of another day where you promised you'd hit the gym and instead spent 4 hours putting out fires on your laptop.

No energy left.

Just quiet disappointment.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@FitasaMamaBear So good.

Keep setting the example!

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@Jainadave_ You're getting stronger!

It will come. Have you tried static holds at the top position?

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@GymFiesta Wow. Can you imagine how many times you fall in the early days learning a one arm handstand on a dumbbell?

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@Upworkout Incredible.
You ever do sled push?
I bet you can move a stack.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@LeanStrongLife1 Is it a bulk if you have abs?

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@RachyBull No momentum. So good. BBQ the muscles into new growth.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@RXRedHead_ Yup. All part of the process.
Learning how to bail is a valuable skill in fitness, isn't it?

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@Gymvibe_ Outstanding.
Stefi is even better at deadlifting.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@WealthMail Do you have a goal in mind at the event?

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@Metabolic1992 Nice work Joshua. Work got done. Sweat achieved.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@__NadiaN Great job. You'll always have a family when you're part of a gym.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@RepByRepX Exactly. Gravity becomes the sparring partner.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@thestrongdoc We did these at CrossFit class recently. Really felt them the next day.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

Most men over 40 think they need more goals.

Wrong.

One single, clear goal cuts through the noise of your job, kids, and mortgage better than any app or planner ever could.

I watched a 47-year-old client finally drop 2 pant sizes and run his first 5k once he stopped juggling "get fit, save money, be present dad" and locked in.

Everything else fell into line around it.

I break this down in full in my free guide.

Comment GOAL.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

You aren't losing your fitness. You’re losing your tolerance for discomfort.

Every time you choose the couch over the gym your ability to handle stress shrinks.

You’re becoming fragile.

You're trading your capacity to push through a tough afternoon for the fleeting relief of doing nothing.

Soon, the smallest challenge will feel like a swarm of snakes in your gut.

[David Ledoux @davidledoux]

@Bartek_Kamyk_ Great job, that's a big bench at any age!

I'm just curious, how many strict pullups can he do?