Hyrox Workout: How to Train for the Hottest New Fitness Race

Curious about the international fitness race that is exploded in reputation? The Hyrox exercise has been integrated into boutique and large field fitness center regimens and little question infiltrated your Instagram feed.

Hyrox is a smorgasbord of cardio and purposeful fitness that marries running with exercises like wall balls, sled pushes, and rowing. The occasion hosts competitions throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, with the 2024 season together with over 60 races in 11 international locations and 30 cities, usually promoting out in fashionable locales in a matter of minutes.

We’re supplying you with the low down on the Hyrox exercise: the place it started, what it entails, and, most significantly, how to maximize your training.

What Is Hyrox?

Hyrox started in Germany in 2017 by Christian Toetzke, a longtime organizer of endurance occasions like triathlons, marathons and biking races, and Moritz Furste, a German area hockey participant and three-time Olympic medalist.

In the 2022/2023 season, over 90,000 athletes competed. A single occasion can embody as many as 8,000 individuals and 10,000 spectators, which is why the firm calls itself the “world’s largest mass participation fitness race.”

While Hyrox hosts a extremely competitive World Championships, the firm says it “welcomes every participant with open arms.” To assist alleviate considerations about being the final person to cross the end line, a brand new wave of athletes begins each 10 minutes all through the total race day. According to the firm, over 98 p.c of athletes full the race.

Additionally, the competitors presents 4 divisions:

Open, finest for people who’re simply beginning out
Pro, for skilled racers
Doubles, the place you and a accomplice partition the exercise stations
Relay, the place the work is break up amongst 4 folks.

What Is the Hyrox Workout?

Unlike a CrossFit competitors, the place the workouts are usually new and typically stay unknown till simply earlier than the athletes step on the ground, the format of a Hyrox exercise is all the time the similar: eight rounds of a 1-kilometer run adopted by a station.

The exercises are all the time the similar:

SkiErg
Sled push
Sled pull
Burpee broad jumps
Rowing
Farmer’s carry
Sandbag lunges
Wall balls

The common time for a Hyrox exercise is round 80 to 90 minutes, and the advantages are that it checks your strength, energy, core stability, stamina, and coordination, says James Kelly, Hyrox coach and winner of the most up-to-date Australian Hyrox race. However, what’s most significance is your endurance: “By far the biggest thing I’ve learned is that this is a running race before anything else.”

In addition to rising your VO2 max, you will need to prioritize glute exercises, leg exercises, abs exercises, again exercises, and arm exercises.

Here’s how to do every motion in the Hyrox exercise—plus a snapshot of the reps, distance, and weight by group.

	Women	Women Pro	Men	Men Pro
SkiErg	1,000m	1,000m	1,000m	1,000m
Sled Push	4 x 12.5m at 75kg (plus sled)	4 x 12.5m at 125kg (plus sled)	4 x 12.5m at 125kg (plus sled)	4 x 12.5m at 175kg (plus sled)
Sled Pull	4 x 12.5m at 50kg (plus sled)	4 x 12.5m at 75kg (plus sled)	4 x 12.5m at 75kg (plus sled)	4 x 12.5m at 125kg (plus sled)
Burpee Broad Jump	80m	80m	80m	80m
Rowing	1,000m	1,000m	1,000m	1,000m
Farmer’s Carry x 200m	2 x 16kg	2 x 24kg	2 x 24kg	2 x 32kg
Lunges	100m at 10kg	100m at 20kg	100m at 20kg	100m at 30kg
Wall Balls	75 x 4kg	100 x 6kg	100 x 6kg	100 x 9kg

SkiErg

The motion mimics squatting and pulling mechanics, recruiting each a part of your body for most effectivity.

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How to Do It

Grip the handles with a slight bend in your elbows and stand about an arm’s size away from the machine, to start.
Rise to the balls of your ft, attain arms up, then pull down laborious, sending hips again and fists towards the floor, dropping right into a slight crouch.
Immediately push by heels to reverse, then pull once more.
Your higher body provides the pressure for the first a part of the pull, then your decrease body (glutes particularly) energy the tail finish.

Pro Tip

Resist the urge to go all-out. Remember, that is the first station and burning out too quickly spells catastrophe for the remainder of the race. The SkiErg has a flywheel with a lever to management resistance and a digital show to monitor splits. For dash training, preserve the pressure at 5 to 8, and use distance traveled for every interval to guarantee consistency all through reps. If you’re training for endurance, bump it down to a 4 or 5 and set a distance to cowl. The damper in competitors is about to the following resistance, in accordance to division:

Women: 5
Women Pro/Men: 6
Men Pro: 7

You can modify the damper to no matter resistance you want, simply be aware you are not allowed to change it when you start.

Sled Push

Hugging your arms round the sled’s bars takes the pressure off your shoulders.

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How to Do It

Set the sled with the weight you will be utilizing in competitors, to start.
Determine which stance you will use or play with a mix: arms straight out with arms on high poles, arms on high poles with elbows tucked in, arms wrapped round the high poles, or arms wrapped down the poles.
Hinge hips ahead barely and lean into the sled along with your again straight and core engaged.
Drive by the balls of your ft and push the sled with small, fast steps.
You should keep inside the designated traces of the Athlete’s Box and push the sled over the line on every rep.
Penalty: If you full lower than 4 reps (lanes), you will get a penalty of three minutes per lacking lane.

Note: In competitors, you need to cowl 50m and Hyrox sleds weigh roughly 30 kg so total weight is as follows:

Women: 102kg
Women Pro: 152kg
Men: 152kg incl. sled
Men Pro: 202kg incl. sled
Mixed Doubles: 152kg incl. sled
Women Doubles: 102kg incl. sled

Pro Tip

Taller individuals would possibly discover the close-grip stance simpler to achieve momentum (arms bent, elbows tucked, arms on high bars), whereas shorter athletes would possibly discover arms prolonged higher as they’re at a degree peak with the bars. If you are too high over the sled and push down, you will trigger it to tip and dig into the turf. Think about maintaining a proud chest as you push the sled and keep as low and degree as you may.

Sled Pull

Pulling the rope to one aspect of your body retains it from bunching at your ft.

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How to Do It

Assume an athletic stance, ft simply wider than shoulder-width aside, to start.
One method will spare your legs and put the emphasis in your higher body: Grasp the rope with each arms and interact your lats to pull the rope towards one aspect of your body (proven), alternating which hand reaches ahead, letting the rope coil behind you and to the aspect.
The second method engages the decrease body to even the pressure: Come right into a quarter-squat place, then drive by your legs and lengthen by your hips as you concurrently pull the rope towards you with each arms to achieve extra momentum.
You should pull from a standing place always (no kneeling) and should keep inside the designated traces of the Athlete’s Box.
Penalty: Taking any steps ahead between repetitions is just not allowed. If you violate any of those guidelines, the rep is void and wishes to be repeated; furthermore, a second warning warrants a 5m penalty.

Pro Tip

Don’t let the rope pool and coil at your ft. You enhance your odds of tripping over it.

Burpee Broad Jumps

Step your ft collectively, somewhat than leaping to save vitality.

Beth Bischoff

How to Do It

From a standing place, bend down and contact your arms to the floor, behind the designated line, to start. Your arms can solely be one foot-length away to meet Hyrox guidelines and as soon as on the floor, they can not transfer ahead.
Drop your chest to the floor (it should contact) and shoot your legs out behind you so that you’re in the backside place of a pushup.
Step or soar your ft to stand, then soar ahead, touchdown with each ft concurrently.
Penalty: Taking any steps ahead between the repetitions is just not allowed. If you violate any of those guidelines, the rep is void and wishes to be repeated; furthermore, a second warning warrants a 5m penalty.

Pro Tip

Step your ft collectively to stand, then soar ahead to protect vitality. If you need to soar all through the period of the station, keep low and preserve your body tipped ahead to soar like a frog and keep momentum.

Rowing

How to Do It

Adjust the foot stretcher in accordance to your shoe dimension so the straps are aligned along with your midfoot, to start.
Hold the deal with at each ends, beginning at the catch, the place the deal with is closest to the monitor. Angle your body ahead so your shoulders are in entrance of your hips and arms are straight in entrance of you.
Initiate the drive along with your legs (consider an influence clear). When your legs are virtually straight, swing your body open whereas nonetheless maintaining your arms straight.
When your body is simply previous perpendicular, pull your arms into your body to end the stroke (deal with needs to be close to sternum).
Let your arms and body reset earlier than you start the slide and bend your knees.

The damper in competitors is about to the following resistance, in accordance to division:

Women: 5
Women Pro/Men: 6
Men Pro: 7

You can modify the damper to no matter resistance you want, simply be aware you are not allowed to change it when you start.

Pro Tip

A standard mistake is counting on the higher body and arms to energy the motion. Rowing is extra about the connection between your hips and core. Maintain a gradual tempo so you do not burn out.

Farmers’ Carry

Grab the kettlebell horn at the entrance to tilt the bells again and ease the pressure in your grip strength.

James Michelfelder

How to Do It

Stand tall with a kettlebell in every hand, to start.
Maintain a tall chest, retract shoulder blades, and preserve weights from resting on thighs.
Walk ahead, utilizing uneven, heel-to-toe steps.
Ensure that your head is dealing with ahead and your posture is inflexible. You might relaxation the kettlebells on the floor for those who want to reset.

Pro Tip

The Centr x HYROX Octo Kettlebell designed for competitors has a flattened, eight-sided design for even weight distribution and to higher carry the bells by your sides; they keep flush somewhat than bouncing round. Hold the horns at the entrance of the bell somewhat than the middle so that they tip again. This will reduce the pressure in your grip strength, as the weights naturally cling again so you do not want to maintain them so tightly. Try to transfer rapidly by this station to reduce time underneath pressure.

Sandbag Lunges

Don’t let the sandbag contact the floor, whether or not competing solo or with a accomplice.

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How to Do It

Start with ft hip-width aside and the sandbag in entrance of you, to start.
Grab the handles and clear the bag to your chest, press it overhead, then relaxation it in your shoulders behind your neck.
Keeping your torso upright, lunge ahead with left foot till proper knee grazes the ground.
Press by left foot to stand; then lunge ahead along with your proper foot till left knee kisses the floor. Continue alternating on every rep.
Penalty: You should not take any steps in between lunges, nor are you able to drop the sandbag. If you are competing with a accomplice, you need to switch the sandbag back-to-back with out decreasing it. Failure to achieve this with incur a 5m penalty. If competing in Doubles, the non-working accomplice walks behind the working accomplice, nevertheless in the event that they hinder different individuals, a 10m penalty is issued.

Wall Balls

A field or bucket could also be used to guarantee athletes decrease greater than 90 levels at the backside of the squat.

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How to Do It

Stand dealing with a sturdy wall or wall ball goal, with ft barely wider than shoulder-width aside, elbows bent at rib cage, ball underneath chin, to start.
Drop hips right into a low squat (hips should descend beneath 90 levels), then drive up with legs, extending arms overhead to toss the medication ball to the goal.
Women should hit the 9-foot goal in the middle and males should hit the 10-foot goal in the middle.
Catch and use the ball’s momentum to return to a squat and repeat.

Pro Tip

Make a technique. Since that is the final occasion, you will possible want to break the reps into sets to shake your arms out and take a breather in between.

Expert Tips for Hyrox Workouts

1. Treat Running Like a Skill

Because running is so basic to the Hyrox exercise, Kelly recommends first-timers deal with it as a talent they want to work on.

“You have to look at your running technique, volume, and training program,” he says. The key, he provides, is to get sufficient quantity underneath your legs by doing this: Estimate how lengthy the total race will take, together with the 8km (almost 5 miles) of running and the eight exercise stations. If that’s 90 minutes, you must work up to having the ability to run for 90 minutes straight. “Take it nice and slow,” he says, “no intensity whatsoever.”

Along those lines, Kelly says the biggest mistake he sees is people focusing too much on speed.

“They think the way to get faster is to go as hard as possible in their workouts,” he says, which is counterintuitive. “If you try to run 400 meters as fast as possible, your technique will break down, and you’re teaching yourself to run poorly.”

2. Train the Sled Pull and Push in Isolation

As for the workout stations, in Kelly’s experience as a coach and an athlete, the two most difficult movements are the sled pull and push. He recommends training these movements in isolation. Then, about a month out from the race, you can incorporate them into a larger workout with running and the other stations. “It blends in all together all by itself,” he says.

3. Practice Pacing

On race day, pacing is everything. Because the Hyrox workout will likely be at least an hour of non-stop movement, “there’s no point in going out too hot,” Kelly says. And because running is so essential, he suggests you pull back on a station so you can jump straight into the run when you finish. As you get more experience, you’ll naturally start to understand where you can push the tempo and where to hold back.

4. Get the Right Equipment

To simulate a Hyrox workout, you don’t necessarily need a specialized gym, but it’s best to have certain equipment that’s difficult to replicate, like the SkiErg and the rowing machine. If you don’t have a sled to push, Kelly points out that this is a unilateral movement (e.g. one leg a time), so you can sub in any comparable exercise, like heavy walking lunges, heavy box stepups, or heavy Bulgarian split squats. Similarly, for the sled pull, you just need to work your posterior chain through deadlifts (or deficit deadlifts), rope pulls, lat pulldowns, and bentover rows.

5. Practice the Race

Apart from that accessory work, and focusing on each of the stations in isolation, Kelly says the best way to prepare is to do some version of the race—especially if you’re just beginning your Hyrox workout journey. You don’t need to go full-send beforehand, but try these routines to familiarize yourself with the Hyrox workout.