Hyrox is fitness competition combining strength and endurance in a way that’s inclusive, fun, and, yes, tough.
It’s not a marathon, and it’s not CrossFit—but it’s a fitness challenge that combines elements of these disciplines in a trend that’s quickly growing around the world. If your idea of fun includes sled pushes, burpees, farmer carries, and lots of running, then you might find yourself attracted to this kind of challenge. Hyrox is fitness competition combining strength and endurance in a way that’s inclusive, fun, and, yes, tough.
Hyrox encompasses eight standard functional exercises you would undertake in a CrossFit or similar fitness session, but these exercises are broken up with running between them. You start by running 1 kilometer, followed by an exercise. Then you run another 1 kilometer. By the time you’re done, you’ve run 8 kilometers (almost 5 miles) and completed eight functional exercises.
These competitions started across the Atlantic over in Germany, where they were conceived by triathlete Christian Toetzke and Olympian Moritz Furste back in 2017. In only a few short years since then, Hyrox has spread around the world with competitions held in many major cities. A huge part of the appeal, according to Michele Wilder, a Hyrox performance coach based in the United Kingdom, is that it’s welcoming to everybody. “When you go to a race, you'll see all body types, and Hyrox publicizes stories of everyday people who have overcome adversity to race just as much as they publicize the professionals,” she says.
Another aspect of Hyrox’s inclusivity is the way the competitions offer divisions, so participants can share the work instead of doing it all by themselves (unless that’s the challenge you want!). Divisions you’ll find at a Hyrox competition encompass:
- Open: for general fitness enthusiasts (lighter weights, no elite qualifying)
- Pro: for experienced competitors (heavier weights)
- Doubles: for partnered competitors (split the workload)
- Relay: for team of four (each completes a portion of the race)
A typical competition format looks like:
- 1km Run
- 1,000m SkiErg
- 1km Run
- 50m Sled Push
- 1km Run
- 50m Sled Pull
- 1km Run
- 80m Burpee Broad Jumps
- 1km Run
- 1,000m Row
- 1km Run
- 200m Farmers Carry
- 1km Run
- 100m Sandbag Lunges
- 1km Run
- 100 Wall Balls
Hyrox presents a unique challenge because it’s about strength and endurance, rather than a marathon or strongman competition, either of which would require one or the other. You need strength to complete the functional exercises, but because they’re performed in succession with running interspersed, you need to have the endurance to follow through with all of them.
The average time for finishing is about an hour and a half, though few competitions have time limits and it’s not unusual for some competitors to take up to three hours.
Sound exhausting? If the idea of a Hyrox competition sounds exciting but you’re tired (and a little daunted) when you really imagine what it would be like, the best thing you can do is start training. Four key approaches you can take to train for a Hyrox competition include:
- Run Often: You need strong endurance to maintain running performance between exercises.
- Lift Heavy: The sled push and farmer carry require a lot of power.
- Train Functional Movements: Wall balls, burpees, and rowing should be regular in your workouts.
- Simulate Race Conditions: At least once a week, do a Hyrox-style workout with running intervals.
