Essential Training Tips for Your First HYROX – 4-Week Prep Workout Included

Unless you’ve been living under a rox (get it!), it’s most likely you’ve at least seen the name HYROX on social media.

I wanted to give you some information on what it is and, most importantly, some training guidelines to help you better prepare for the event.

What is it…?

HYROX is a competition consisting of a 1km run followed by one functional exercise, repeated for eight rounds. The exercise changes each round, while the run remains constant, equating to a total of 8km run and eight different functional exercises. It is a great test of overall fitness as it requires strength, speed, power, and endurance in abundance. These HYROX events take place all over the world and have a variety of categories to make the event accessible for all.

In between the runs, you have to perform, in this sequence, the following exercises:

1. 1000m SkiErg
2. 50m sled push
3. 50m sled pull
4. 80m burpee broad jumps
5. 1000m rowing
6. 200m farmers carry
7. 100m sandbag lunges
8. 75 or 100 wall balls

I completed my first HYROX at London Olympia on the 30th April, 2023. Since then, I have completed two more HYROX events and here’s what I have learned.

Related: Functional Fitness for Every Body – Why you Must Try HYROX

Essential Training Tips for Your First HYROX

General Fitness is transferable… If you’re fit, you’re fit. Specific skills may need to be refined in order for you to compete with the best, but if you train and maintain a good level of aerobic and muscular endurance, you really can do anything without fear of your body breaking down.

Running on heavy legs is horrible for everyone, no matter how fit or unfit you are… Train it, get used to it, and get over it! You’re going to suffer a little, but once it’s over, you can eat whatever your heart desires because you’re going to have burnt a bucket load of calories.

Know your plan, know your pacing—don’t get too excited. You will feel electrified by the crowd during your first run and the first station (1000m Ski) but remember, you’ve got a long way to go. If you’re running or skiing faster than planned, breathe and get back to your plan… You don’t want to peak too soon because if you’re working above capacity when you hit that sled, you’re going to suffer.

The sled will slay even the beastliest of beasts. If you get through the two sled stations with your plan and pacing intact, then you have a good chance.

Source: Sportgraph

Wall Ball reps will more than likely get missed… Take your time as a missed rep will cost more in energy than the 0.01 seconds you make up by trying to sprint these out.

Breath it in, man! Most importantly, if this is your first time, just have fun, soak in the atmosphere, enjoy the buzz and take it all in! You will learn what your strengths and weaknesses are for the next attempt.

Preparation I would advise giving yourself 8-12 weeks of preparation for the event. This gives you enough time to build up your work capacity, improve your running mechanics, and refine the movements required for the day.

I would use zone 2 running as the bulk of your work, building in shorter, more intense workouts as you progress through your programme, ensuring you peak for the event. The common barriers I see for most people are not being able to work for the 60-90 minutes+ it’s going to take you to complete the event and not being able to transition from movements to running very well.

This is where prioritising zone 2 running has its value; it’s going to help build the capacity to go for the longer duration and give you plenty of pavement underfoot time to get comfortable running when your legs are tired.

Source: HYROX

In addition to this, I would advise some compromised running to build that mental and physical tolerance for running when your legs are fully loaded.

This could be as simple as adding in some air squats and lunges to your running every 5-10 minutes, or during your MetCons transition from exercise to run without rest, making your legs run while fatigued.

Read Also: 8 Reasons Why HYROX Is Changing the Future of Functional Fitness

Training Volume

I would advise 2-3 runs per week initially, aiming to increase your running duration week on week at the start of the programme.

As the training programme progresses, I would look to start increasing the pace of running, adding in 2-4 mixed modality conditioning workouts per week, prioritising your weaknesses.

Exercise Selection I would prioritise the eight event movements required for the HYROX event so that you can figure out your strengths, weaknesses, and pacing. I would also ensure you have a good strength foundation built into your weekly programme, centred around squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, and heavy pull work, as well as some unilateral lower body work, as all of this will benefit you when it comes to moving the sled and generally performing every movement at HYROX.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Sample 4-week HYROX programme

If you have booked your HYROX event, then good luck to you! I’m rooting for you, so go out there and give them hell!

If you need any additional help with your preparation, feel free to contact me for a Instagram or through my website www.LukeyDPT.com.