![Abby Stevens gets in some training ahead of the first New Zealand Hyrox event in Auckland this...](https://www.odt.co.nz/sites/default/files/story/2025/01/abby_stevens_280125.jpg)
Health and fitness have always been Stevens’ big passions and she gets to see both sides of the ledger through her professional and athletic careers.
Stevens works fulltime as a rehab coach at Habit Health, focusing on exercise intervention to help people return to work, sport, or improve her patients’ quality of life.
It gave the 23-year-old a new respect for what her body was able to do when she pushed it to the limit as an athlete competing in Hyrox, a group fitness racing competition.
"I work with some [clients] that have spinal cord injuries, brain injuries . . . teaching them how to walk again as well, which is so rewarding and awesome," Stevens said.
"It gives me that appreciation for what me, and my body, can do as well.
"Being able to sort of be on like a high-performance side of things in my own sort of personal athlete career, but then also within my work, I really enjoy the complete other side of it.
"People who aren’t necessarily involved in exercise, or sport, but being able to apply the principles to what they’re doing to just help to better their quality of life and their own movement patterns as well . . . it’s really cool."
Stevens, who also runs group fitness classes at Les Mills, has always been active.
She competed in gymnastics until she was 18. Parents Barry and Tina were always active, and her father — when not coaching the Southern club or North Otago — also did competitive Crossfit.
After heading to university, Stevens stepped away from gymnastics, but continued going to the gym for her own health.
She soon stumbled across Hyrox — which involves eight stations, such as sandbag lunges, weighted sled pushes and 1000m rowing erg, in between eight 1km runs — and some of her friends convinced her it would be up her "alley".
After deciding to sign up, Stevens started training in late April last year and competed in her first competition in Brisbane in August.
She finished second in the women’s open division, "caught the bug" and signed up for another in Melbourne in December.
Moving up to the pro division, where additional weight is added to each station, Stevens placed third in the women’s division — and it earned her a qualifying spot for the world championships in Chicago in June.
"I haven’t even been doing it for long at all.
"To only sort of start getting involved in the sport, start training for it in April, do my first ever race in August, and then qualify for the world champs off my second race ever, it’s really cool."
Stevens loved the personal challenge of looking at the "daunting" event and putting her body through its paces.
It also had strategic and technical elements to it, working out how to get faster on stations to conserve energy for other events.
"Also the community aspect of it is huge.
"Anyone can do it. No-one’s there to say you can’t walk the kilometres.
"It’s so inclusive and everyone’s so supportive of each other in the space, cheering people on."
Stevens, and a crew of athletes across Dunedin gyms, are heading to Auckland this weekend and will compete in the first Hyrox event held in New Zealand.