Introduction
The 2024 Hyrox season is now well underway, with record numbers of people taking on the ultimate challenge in functional fitness. It’s estimated that the event has experienced a 1000% increase in participation in the past five years. However, whether you're a seasoned athlete, or a beginner looking for a new goal, conquering Hyrox requires strategic preparation and planning, as well as excellent fitness. To help you succeed, here are the five essential tips I picked up when I competed at Hyrox Amsterdam last year.
What Is Hyrox?
As you can see from the race structure below, Hyrox combines both strength and running, making it the ideal challenge for hybrid athletes. Moreover, it should also be noted that the simplicity of Hyrox movements makes the event incredibly accessible to beginners, especially in comparison to CrossFit.
Race Structure:
1km Run
- 1000m Ski
1km Run
- 50m Sled Push
1km Run
- 50m Sled Pull
1km Run
- 80m Burpee Broad Jump
1km Run
- 1000m Row
1km Run
- 200m Farmers Carry
1km Run
- 100m Sandbag Lunges
1km Run
- 100x Wall Balls
My Top Tips
1. Training: Compromised Running
The most important thing to remember about Hyrox is that it’s effectively a test of your compromised running ability. This basically means running after doing something else that is not running. For example, in the case of Hyrox, this requires you to be able to go straight from running, into burpees, sleds, C2 equipment, weighted lunges, farmers carry’s, and wall balls.
Therefore, it’s crucial that your training includes compromised running sessions. If you’re only doing strength training and cardio in isolation, you’ll come unstuck on the day. In hindsight, this is something I definitely should have done more of. This doesn’t mean completing a full race run-through every week, build up to that slowly, but allocate at least one session per week to compromised running.
Moreover, if you’re more advanced, make sure you’re also doing plenty of speed work in relation to your running. To clock what would be considered a very good time at Hyrox, realistically you need to be hitting 3:30/km to 4:30/km splits. This means plenty of speed interval work in your training to condition your body to running at speed for distance.
2. Pace Yourself
This sounds obvious, and I emphasise it to all of my athletes before they start a race or event, but everyone always gets carried away regardless. Much like any race, if you come out the blocks too quickly at Hyrox, you’ll crash and burn. For me, this is the worst way to derail a race, because it’s completely your own doing. You’ve put in so much work to get to this point, so stick to the f**king script. If you’re taking your training seriously, you should know the pace you’re aiming to hold by the time you reach race day anyway. Don’t leave anything to chance. If you’re still full of beans ¾ of the way round, that’s when you can start to turn on the afterburners.
3. Run Through The Roxzone
For anyone unfamiliar with Hyrox, the term ‘Roxzone’ will mean absolutely nothing. Put simply, the Roxzone is the area of no man’s land which connects the running track part of the course, with the functional workout stations. Despite serving no purpose other than joining up the different elements of the course, it’s important to keep running through the Roxzone between stations, as the clock is still ticking. If you walk through the Roxzone before and after each workout station, you’ll add several minutes onto your finishing time.
4. Learn The Course
Every Hyrox follows the same race structure. The beauty of it is the simplicity. However, given that Hyrox is now a global brand, events are held in all kinds of different venues, of varying sizes and shapes, across the world. Whilst all Hyrox venues tend to be a large rectangular hall or exhibition centre of some kind, the course design will always vary slightly. This makes it worthwhile to familiarise yourself with the layout before you start, because it’s a lot harder to navigate when you’re running at speed and concentrating on the race.
5. Doubles: Utilise The Stronger Runner
This final tip applies only to the doubles event. However, I think this is the preferred race for beginners, so I’ll include it in the list. This does exactly what it says on the tin. Again, it sounds obvious, but people forget. The stronger runner in the pair should start and finish each workout station. This is to allow the weaker runner more rest time, maximising their recovery before the next run.
Summary
In less than a decade, Hyrox has risen from obscurity, to become the hottest property in the functional fitness space this year. The inaugural event back in 2018 saw just 650 people take part. Compare that to today, with Hyrox stating almost 200,000 competitors are dotted around the world. Don’t miss out on one of the most enjoyable fitness events currently out there. Get yourself signed up to a Hyrox race, and use these tips to maximise your performance.
More Info:
If you have any questions regarding Hyrox, please feel free to get in contact with me, my inbox is always open. Moreover, if you’re looking to take on a Hyrox race, but don’t know how to best prepare, I can help you out. Again, just reach out to me.