It’s been two months since the 2025 CrossFit Open wrapped, but for HYROX world champion Lauren Weeks, the experience still lingers — in the best (and sorest) way possible.
Now deep into her HYROX season and prepping for the World Championship in June, Weeks took a moment to look back on her unexpected return to the Open this year. It was her first time signing up since 2021, her first as a Masters athlete, and a full-circle moment for someone who credits CrossFit with saving her life.
Jump to:
Why the Open Still Matters to Lauren Weeks
Weeks, now 35, has long since transitioned to dominating the hybrid racing world. She holds the current HYROX women’s world record (58:03) and is a three-time world champ. But this past February, she stepped back onto the CrossFit leaderboard — and straight into a sea of memories and muscle fatigue.
“I’ve done the Open eight other times, but this one was really special,” Weeks said. “Not just because it was my first as a mom, or because I’m in a different phase of my career — but because I remembered what this sport gave me in the first place.”
She first signed up for the Open in 2014, just months after finding CrossFit. She finished 8,559th globally. By 2016, she had cracked the top 200 and qualified for Regionals. She’d go on to qualify again in 2017 and 2018, and later reached Semifinals on a team in 2021.
Now, after a few years away, she was back. This time, juggling coaching, chasing a toddler, and training for HYROX — while also eyeing a spot in the CrossFit Games age-group qualifier.
The 2025 Open: How It Went Down
The Open began February 29th, kicking off the new CrossFit Games season. Each Thursday for three weeks, a new workout was released — and Weeks carved out time to complete each one before flying out for races and media events.
The first workout, 25.1, played to her strengths.
“It was low skill, high engine — perfect for me,” she said. “I knew it was my best shot to score well.”
The workout was a 15-minute AMRAP of:
- Lateral burpees over a dumbbell
- Single-arm dumbbell hang clean and jerks
- 30-ft unweighted walking lunges
Each round, the burpees and dumbbell reps increased by three, while the lunges stayed constant.
Weeks completed 314 reps, placing 12th worldwide shortly after submitting. By the end of the weekend, she had landed a top 50 finish globally in the workout — one of the best performances of her Open career.
Her takeaway? “No way I’m redoing that,” she laughed.
Life, Mom Mode, and Mat Time
Weeks filmed the workout in her driveway with toddler Lily and husband Anthony close by. Moving 100-pound mats outside, setting up proper Open standards, and managing snacks and naptime all became part of the process.
“I’d love to say I train like a pro every day, but the truth is, I don’t always finish what’s programmed,” she shared. “Balancing mom life and athlete life is hard. But Lily’s made me stronger, physically and mentally.”
Even with two hours of prior training in her legs — including a HYROX-style session with intervals of rowing, skiing, and running — she went into 25.1 ready to work.
“I actually prefer coming in warm. I’m used to long, sustained efforts, so shorter CrossFit-style workouts hurt in a different way.”
Her Garmin watch tracked a heart rate average of 153 bpm, with a max of 170 — high for her, since most of her training happens in Zone 1.
Mastering the Masters Division
This year, Weeks entered the 35-39 Masters category for the first time.
To qualify for the next stage — the Age-Group Semifinals — she needed to place in the top 2% of her division, with a minimum cutoff around 338th worldwide.
While she hasn’t publicly shared her exact placement across all three workouts, she confirmed that 25.1 was her highest-scoring event and gave her an early buffer on the leaderboard.
“I’m 90% sure that will be my best of the three,” she said at the time. “I haven’t practiced chest-to-bars in forever, so when those showed up in week three… yikes.”
Still, she finished all three workouts — on time and on film — before jetting off for her next HYROX race.
The Bigger Picture: Why She Still Shows Up
For Weeks, the Open is about more than scores and placements.
“CrossFit changed my life. It gave me confidence I didn’t know I had,” she said. “It’s why I was able to walk away from hard situations and start the life I have now.”
That foundation still powers her today. She and Anthony coach hybrid athletes through their brand, The Hybrid Engine, blending CrossFit-style strength work with endurance-focused training. Their programming helps prepare athletes for the growing hybrid fitness landscape.
And for Weeks, that training is paying off. She recently placed first in the Netherlands and has another HYROX race lined up in Houston, where she’ll compete in both the individual and doubles division — aiming to qualify for the 2025 World Championship in Chicago this June.
What’s Next
Weeks’ Open may be over, but her season is far from done.
She’ll continue training out of Las Vegas, balancing her role as mom, coach, and world-class competitor — all while setting the tone for what modern strength and resilience can look like.
“I’ll keep doing the Open as long as I can,” Weeks said. “I love the unknown of it. You don’t know what’s coming. You just show up, give your best, and find out what you’re made of.”
Two months later, one thing is clear: Lauren Weeks is still made for this.
