From struggling to recover to training daily how Mynette and Michele redefined performance at Hyrox

For Mynette (47) and Michele (52), fitness is no longer about proving something. It is about staying strong, staying mobile, and being able to keep doing the things they love — not just once in a while, but consistently.

Both come from endurance backgrounds. Michele has worked her way through years of running, from 5Ks to marathons and even a Half Ironman, while also teaching fitness classes and working with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Mynette has run nine marathons, taught yoga, and spent years balancing movement, family, and everyday life.

But like so many active women, especially in midlife, both have learned that training is only one part of the equation.

The other part is recovery. And for Mynette in particular, recovery had quietly become the thing holding her back.

When the limitation wasn’t motivation

For years, Mynette dealt with chronic iron deficiency and low vitamin D3 levels. She was doing what she could: taking supplements, adjusting her diet, reintroducing red meat, and trying to support her body in every way possible. But the problem never really seemed to resolve. As she explains: “My whole life I’ve been anemic… I was taking everything — iron, vitamins, all of it — but I just wasn’t absorbing it.” 

That deficiency had a very real impact on how she could train. Before Unbroken, one hard workout could leave her paying for it for days. It was not simply normal muscle fatigue — it was the kind of recovery lag that interrupted momentum and made consistency difficult. “I’d work out one day, and then I’d be out for two days… my body just couldn’t recover.” 
That meant she could not always train the way she wanted to. Even when the motivation was there, her body was not always ready to go again the next day.

The change: better absorption, better recovery, more consistency

After starting Unbroken, something started to shift. What stood out to Mynette was not that she had suddenly added more supplements or dramatically changed everything in her routine. It was that her body finally seemed able to use what she had already been giving it. In her words: “For the first time in my life, I’m not deficient… I’m no longer anemic.” 

From the way she describes it, Unbroken helped support what had been missing for years: absorption. With low molecular weight salmon peptides and a format designed to be easy for the body to utilize, it complemented the nutrients she was already trying to get in — particularly iron and vitamin D3.

And once recovery improved, everything else started to change with it.

“I think that the Unbroken was the catalyst to allow my body to absorb the things that I was never absorbing.” 

She no longer felt like one workout automatically meant losing the next few days: “Now I’m able to absorb the things… so I’ve been able to really recover a lot faster.” 

“Before, I’d struggle to get out of bed after a hard workout because my body was just in pain. Now I wake up and I’m fine. I can get back after it.” 

That is really the heart of her story: before Unbroken, a workout could take her out for a few days because of how depleted and run down she felt. Since taking it, she has been able to recover faster, train much more consistently, and even fit in demanding sessions back-to-back when needed. She describes it simply: “Unbroken allows me to do more and more often.” 

From interrupted training to being able to show up again the next day

That improved recovery gave Mynette something incredibly valuable: confidence in her body again. Instead of wondering how much a workout would cost her the next day, she started feeling like she could keep showing up.

During their Hyrox build, she even found herself able to fit in harder training blocks and, at times, two sessions in a day when life required it. “Sometimes I had to do two-a-days… before work, at lunch, after work. And I was able to do it.” 

That does not mean every day became effortless. It means recovery no longer kept shutting the door. And that made a huge difference in what she could realistically prepare for.

Eight weeks to Hyrox

When Michele texted Mynette and suggested they sign up for Hyrox, the spirit of it was very much in line with their friendship: say yes first, figure it out second. They gave themselves about eight weeks to prepare. No specialized Hyrox coach. No exclusive training plan. No desire to make it a second job.

They simply wanted to see what their bodies could do — and whether they could prepare in a way that fit real life: “We wanted to see what our bodies could do… without killing ourselves every day.”

What followed was a training block built around practicality: running, strength work, short effective sessions, communication, and recovery. And when race day came, they did more than just finish.

They placed 3rd in their age group on Thursday and remained inside the top 15 overall across the full four-day competition field, despite only having a short build-up and competing in a crowded event format. 

What stood out most was how they felt after

For both women, one of the most striking parts of the experience was not only how they performed — but how they recovered afterward.

For athletes with marathon backgrounds, they know what it feels like to be wrecked after an event. They know the stiffness, the soreness, the struggle to get up and down stairs, and that feeling that your body needs days just to normalize again. That is why Hyrox was such a surprise.

“We kept asking each other — how are we not sore?” 

Mynette was clear that she could feel the work in her legs. But it was not the kind of post-race breakdown she might have expected in the past. “I definitely could feel that my legs had did some work… but I was not destroyed", she says.

Michele felt the same way: “I just bounced… I just went on with my day the next day.” 

That is such an important part of the story. Even after Hyrox — an event that combines running, high-intensity work, strength stations, and cumulative fatigue — they were still in remarkably good shape the next day. Not flattened. Not dragging. Not wrecked.

Just tired in the normal sense, but functional, mobile, and able to keep living their lives.
For Mynette especially, that contrast mattered. Before, a single tough workout could mean several down days. Now, even after a major event, she felt strong, recovered, and ready far sooner than she would have expected.

How they use Unbroken in real life

What makes their routine believable is that it is not complicated. Mynette has found that Unbroken fits especially well into her recovery rhythm at night and after training.

“Before bed is key for me… it really helps me sleep through the night, and it actually helps me feel so much better in the morning.”

She also uses it after workouts and knows what works best for her personally:  “If I know that I’m running, I will drink right after and then before bed.” 

Michele’s routine is similarly simple and consistent: "I was always taking it after our workouts. On days I rested, I would just take it in the morning and kind of on the go.”

Both emphasized that during the Hyrox build and around race day, that consistency mattered.

“We made sure we had it in every day leading up to the race… and honestly, we felt great.” 

A different kind of performance story

What makes this story so relatable is that it is not about two professional athletes chasing perfect conditions. It is about two women with long athletic histories, full lives, and a desire to keep moving well.

It is about being able to train, recover, work, parent, show up, and still take on something big. And in Mynette’s case, it is about what happened when her recovery finally stopped limiting her. 

Before Unbroken, a workout could take her out for days. Now, she is able to recover faster, train more consistently, and even come out of a demanding Hyrox event feeling strong. That is not just better performance. That is freedom.

⚡ Quick fire with Mynette & Michelle Morning or evening training? Mynette: Morning Michele: Morning Cardio or strength? Mynette: Cardio Michele: Cardio Yoga or running? Mynette: (laughing) Running Michele: Running  One recovery habit you never skip? Mynette: Sleep (and Unbroken) Michele: Sleep One word to describe Unbroken? Mynette: “Secret weapon” Michele: “Energy and recovery”

This is not just a story about finishing Hyrox. It is a story about what becomes possible when recovery improves enough to support the life you actually live and love. Because when your body is finally recovering the way it should, you do not just get through the hard sessions. 

You get to keep showing up for the next one too. Ready for what’s next.