HYROX Worlds Pro, Boston Marathon Qualifier—And Still Figuring It Out

About this episode

Maddy Michielssen interviews Kierin Hopping about the realities of high-level training for female athletes, focusing on performance goals and the challenges of balancing health and discipline.

In this episode, I sit down with Kierin Hopping , a HYROX Worlds Pro and Boston Marathon qualifier , for an honest conversation about what it really looks like to train at a high level as a woman. We talk about the shift from aesthetic goals to performance goals, how Kierin’s relationship with food changed after bodybuilding, what it means to fuel for endurance and hybrid performance, and why having a menstrual cycle is one of the clearest signs that your body feels safe and supported. This episode also dives into the side of athleticism that people don’t talk about enough: overtraining, imperfect recovery, the mental load of discipline, and the reality that even elite athletes are still learning how to balance performance with health. We cover: the transition from bodybuilding to marathon running and HYROX healing a disordered relationship with food through performance-based goals under-fueling, low energy availability, and menstrual health balancing aesthetic goals with athletic goals signs your training load is outpacing your recovery what beginner athletes get wrong about HYROX why progress does not require perfection This is such an important episode for female athletes…

People in this episode

Host: Maddy Michielssen

Guest: Kierin Hopping

Topics covered

• high-level training
• female athletes
• performance goals
• relationship with food
• overtraining
• mental load of discipline
• balancing performance with health

Keywords

• HYROX
• Boston Marathon
• female athletes
• performance goals
• overtraining
• nutrition
• menstrual health
• body composition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: bodybuilding

More episodes of The Psyche Behind the Physique

• When You’re No Longer Training for Something: Staying an Athlete Without a Target · June 7, 2026 · 57 min
• Understanding Yourself to Transform Yourself: Leveraging Strengths in a World That Tells You to Fix Yourself · May 24, 2026 · 51 min
• Last to First: What the Kentucky Derby Can Teach You About Confidence, Strategy, and Finishing Strong · May 10, 2026 · 33 min
• Softening to Heal: Why Letting Go Was the Hardest Thing I Ever Did · April 26, 2026 · 1h 11m
• The Real Reason You Can’t Change (It’s Not What You Think) · April 12, 2026 · 1h 6m
• The Truth About Fertility, Toxins, and Modern Motherhood · March 29, 2026 · 56 min