[ THE JOURNAL · 120 GUIDES ]
Hyrox, written by the people who race it.
Practical training plans, station-by-station technique, race-day pacing, recovery science. From the coaching team behind our 12-week plans, led by Elite 15 athlete Ben Sutherland. Plain English, no fluff.
[ FEATURED · First race ]
What is HYROX? The complete beginner's explanation
HYROX is a fitness race: 8km of running broken up by eight standardised workout stations, identical at every event in the world. Here is what that actually means if you have never done one.
Recovery
The most common HYROX injuries, and the training that prevents them
Almost every HYROX injury is a load problem rather than an accident: too much running added too fast, or a station trained at race weight before the tissue was ready. Here is where they happen and what prevents them.
5 min read
Recovery
DOMS after HYROX: what it means, what helps and what does not
Everyone is wrecked for a few days after their first HYROX, and the lunges are usually the reason. What the soreness is telling you, what genuinely shortens it, and what is just an expensive placebo.
5 min read
Nutrition
HYROX carb loading: what to do in the last 48 hours
Carb loading for a HYROX is not a pasta party the night before. It is two days of eating more carbohydrate and less fibre, and getting it wrong costs you more than getting it right gains you.
5 min read
Recovery
HYROX deload weeks: when to take one and what to actually do
A deload is not a rest week and it is not a taper. It is a planned drop in volume that keeps intensity, taken before you need it, and it is the first thing most people skip.
5 min read
Nutrition
Plant-based HYROX nutrition: what actually changes
Training for a HYROX on a plant-based diet changes less than people expect and more than nothing. Protein needs planning, iron and B12 need attention, and the carbohydrate side gets easier.
5 min readNutrition
Under-fuelling in hybrid training: the signs people miss
Training for HYROX means running and lifting in the same week, and the appetite rarely keeps up with the load. Under-eating looks exactly like overtraining, which is why people respond by resting instead of eating.
5 min read
Training
1-on-1 personal training vs group sessions: choosing honestly
One is not better than the other. They solve different problems, and picking wrong is the most common reason people stop paying for coaching within three months.
5 min read
Training
15 HYROX workouts for every fitness level
Fifteen sessions you can do this week, grouped by whether you are starting out, building, or sharpening for a race. Most need nothing more than a treadmill and a couple of kettlebells.
5 min read
Training
5 workouts that build a faster HYROX burpee broad jump
The station that spikes heart rate harder than anything else, immediately before the one place you can recover. Five sessions for rhythm, legal form and recovery control.
4 min read
Training
5 workouts that build a faster HYROX farmers carry
Your grip arrives at station six already spent by station three. Five sessions built around that coupling, which is the thing almost nobody trains.
5 min read
Training
5 workouts that build a faster HYROX row
The only station where going slower can make you faster. Five sessions for sequencing, split discipline, and using the row as the recovery it was positioned to be.
4 min read
Training
5 workouts that build faster HYROX sandbag lunges
Station seven, on quads that are already gone. Five sessions built on exposure rather than load, because the bag is not what makes this hard.
5 min read
Training
5 workouts that build a faster HYROX SkiErg
Station one, where races are lost by going too well. Five complete sessions for stroke power, pacing discipline and the lat endurance the machine actually asks for.
4 min read
Training
5 workouts that build a faster HYROX sled pull
Five sessions for the station with the most rules and the longest shadow. Rope work, lat strength, and the grip debt that lands three stations later.
4 min read
Training
5 workouts that build a faster HYROX sled push
Five complete sessions, not drills. Position work, heavy carryover, the compromised push, and what to do if you cannot move race weight at all yet.
4 min read
Training
5 workouts that build a faster HYROX wall ball
100 reps at the end of everything. Five complete sessions that build the squat endurance, the set discipline and the shoulder tolerance the last station actually needs.
4 min read
Technique
Burpee broad jump mistakes: what's costing you 60 seconds
There is no minimum jump distance, which changes the whole strategy. Five faults, the 5cm rule almost nobody knows, and why long jumps are usually the wrong answer.
5 min read
Race day
Elite 15 explained: HYROX's professional tier
Fifteen athletes per division, invited on a rolling 365-day points ranking that requires a paid Athlete Licence. How qualification actually works, from someone racing it.
5 min read
Technique
Farmers carry mistakes: what's costing you 60 seconds
Putting the bells down is the obvious mistake. The expensive ones are training grip fresh, not counting your laps, and losing the box on the way back in.
5 min readNutrition
Fat loss: what actually works, and what is noise
Four things do almost all of the work, and none of them is a supplement or a fasting window. What matters, in order, and why the scales lie to you weekly.
5 min read
Training
Group personal training online: cheaper, and it works for most people
Shared coaching delivered remotely. What it actually is, who it suits, where it fails, and how to tell a real group programme from a spreadsheet with a group chat.
5 min read
Training
Home personal trainers: how home sessions actually work
A coach in your living room with a bag of kettlebells. What is genuinely possible at home, what needs a gym, and the practical questions nobody thinks to ask first.
5 min read
Race day
How do HYROX waves and start times work?
Waves go off at scheduled intervals, often every ten minutes, and you are assigned one. Starting in the wrong wave is a disqualification, not a telling-off.
5 min read
Training
How long do you need to train for HYROX?
Twelve weeks if you already run. Sixteen to twenty if you do not. Six months if you are starting from nothing. Here is the honest answer by starting point, and how to tell which one you are.
5 min readTraining
How many times a week should you train?
Three is the honest answer for most people, and four is where the returns start flattening. Why more is usually worse, and the frequency that beats all of it.
4 min readFirst race
How to get fit when you're starting from nothing
Not from unfit. From nothing: no routine, no gym, no idea. The first eight weeks, what to ignore, and why almost everyone starts with the wrong thing.
5 min read
Training
How to start running when you hate running
Most people who hate running have only ever run too fast. Run-walk, the conversational pace test, and the eight weeks that change what running feels like.
5 min read
First race
HYROX age groups: categories, cut-offs and what they mean for you
Five-year bands from Under 24 to 85-89, set by your age on race day. The weights do not change with age, and the one rule that catches masters athletes out is about World Championship qualification.
6 min read
Race day
HYROX Birmingham: dates, venue, course and how to prepare
HYROX Birmingham runs 27 October to 1 November 2026 at the NEC. The race is identical to every other HYROX, so the venue, the travel and the twelve weeks before it are what you can actually control.
5 min read
Race day
HYROX calendar 2026/27: every confirmed race
100 confirmed races between August 2026 and June 2027, six of them in the UK and Ireland, ending at the World Championships in Hong Kong. Dates read from HYROX's own event pages.
5 min readRace day
HYROX Cardiff: dates, venue, course and how to prepare
HYROX Cardiff runs 20 to 29 May 2027 at the Principality Stadium. The race is identical everywhere, so the venue, the travel and a spring training block are what decide your day.
5 min read
First race
HYROX divisions explained: Open, Pro, Doubles and Relay
Four singles divisions, plus doubles and relay. Which one you should enter, what the loads actually differ by, and the age group rules that decide your ranking.
6 min read
Race day
HYROX doubles rules: who does what, and what's allowed
Both of you run all 8km. You share the stations, and how you share them is mostly up to you. The rules that actually constrain a doubles pair, and the tactics that come out of them.
6 min readRace day
HYROX Dublin: dates, venue, course and how to prepare
HYROX Dublin runs 11 to 15 November 2026 at the RDS in Ballsbridge. The race is identical everywhere, so the venue, the travel and the twelve weeks before it are what you control.
4 min readRace day
HYROX events explained: majors, opens and world championships
Regular events, Majors, the Elite Racing Series and the World Championships. What separates them, which ones you can just enter, and how qualification actually works.
5 min read
Training
HYROX exercise order: why the sequence is the strategy
Nine movements in a fixed order that never changes. Which means the whole tactical problem is not what you do, but what each thing does to the next.
4 min read
Training
HYROX exercises: the full movement list (and what they train)
There are only nine movements in a HYROX, counting running. No barbell, no gymnastics, nothing you need to learn a skill for. Here is every one, what it trains, and how to build it.
6 min readFirst race
HYROX FAQ: the questions the rulebook actually answers
Can you wear headphones? Walk the runs? Take a gel from a friend? Twenty common questions, answered from the official 26/27 rulebook rather than from what people assume.
6 min readRace day
HYROX Glasgow: dates, venue, course and how to prepare
HYROX Glasgow runs 10 to 14 March 2027 at the Scottish Event Campus. The race is identical everywhere, so the venue, the travel and a winter training block are what actually decide your day.
5 min readRace day
HYROX London: dates, venue, course and how to prepare
HYROX London runs 2 to 6 December 2026 at ExCeL. The race itself is identical to every other HYROX, so what actually matters is the venue, the travel and the twelve weeks before it.
6 min readRace day
HYROX Madrid: the travelling athlete's race guide
HYROX Madrid runs 17 to 21 March 2027. The race is identical to the one at home, so what you are actually planning is a trip. Here is what changes when you fly to a race.
5 min readFirst race
HYROX meaning: what the word actually refers to
HYROX is a brand name for a standardised fitness race, not an acronym and not a type of workout. Here is what the word refers to, and what people usually mean when they use it.
6 min readRace day
HYROX race day: what actually happens, hour by hour
Registration, wristbands, bag drop, warm-up area, start tunnel. The order of a race day nobody explains until you are standing in it wondering where to go.
4 min readFirst race
HYROX race format: distances, order and how the race flows
Eight runs, eight stations, one fixed order that never changes by city. Here is the full format with the official 26/27 weights, and what the sequence actually does to you.
7 min readRace day
HYROX results: how to find yours (and what it tells you)
Your official time lives at results.hyrox.com. Your splits, your history and how you compare live elsewhere. Here is where to look, and how to read what you find.
5 min readRace day
The Roxzone: the transition time nobody trains
Sixteen transitions, all of them timed, and almost nobody rehearses one. The cheapest minutes in HYROX, plus the arch mistake that costs two of them.
5 min readRace day
HYROX penalties: the official ladder, and what causes a DQ
Most penalties follow the same escalation: warning, then 15 seconds, then 15 seconds again. Here is the full penalty structure, what earns a no-rep, and the two mistakes that cost minutes rather than seconds.
6 min readTechnique
HYROX sled push weight: standards by division (and how it feels)
102kg, 152kg or 202kg, and every one of those figures includes the sled. The most misunderstood number in HYROX, and the station that ends more first races than any other.
6 min readRace day
HYROX station order: the exact sequence and why it matters
SkiErg, sled push, sled pull, burpees, row, carry, lunges, wall balls. The order never changes, and it is not arbitrary. Here is what each position does to the one after it.
4 min readRace day
HYROX trainers: how to choose, and what the race actually demands
One pair has to run 8km and push a loaded sled. Those two jobs want opposite shoes, and every HYROX trainer is a compromise between them. Here is how to pick your side of it.
5 min readFirst race
HYROX vs Hydrox: the fitness race and the biscuit
If you searched Hydrox and landed on gym results, you meant HYROX. One is a fitness race, the other is a chocolate sandwich biscuit that predates the Oreo. Here is the difference, briefly.
5 min readTechnique
HYROX women's weights: complete station standards
Every weight a woman lifts, pushes, pulls and carries in a HYROX race, for both Open and Pro, taken straight from the 26/27 rulebook. Including the two figures most sites get wrong.
6 min readTraining
Personal trainers for seniors: strength against ageing
The training that matters most after sixty is the training most people avoid. What a good coach actually programmes, what to ask before booking, and the myths worth ignoring.
5 min read
Technique
Rowing mistakes: what's costing you 60 seconds
The row is the only genuine recovery in a HYROX, and most people spend it digging a deeper hole. Five faults, plus the rule that lets you rest mid-station without penalty.
5 min read
Technique
Sandbag lunge mistakes: what's costing you 60 seconds
Station seven, quads already gone, and a bag that must stay on your shoulders. Five faults, including the resting position that costs 15 seconds every time you use it.
5 min read
Technique
SkiErg mistakes: what's costing you 60 seconds
The SkiErg arrives first, when you feel best, which is exactly why it wrecks races. Five faults that cost time here and more later, plus the one rule that gets people penalised.
5 min readTechnique
Sled pull mistakes: what's costing you 60 seconds
The sled pull has more ways to earn a penalty than any other station, and it quietly wrecks the farmers carry three stations later. Five faults, and the rules people break without noticing.
5 min readTechnique
Sled push mistakes: what's costing you 60 seconds
Standing too tall, bent arms, long strides and no plan. Four faults that turn a 90-second station into a three-minute one, and the loading error people make in training.
5 min readTraining
Strength training for beginners: the five movements
Squat, hinge, push, pull, carry. Everything else is a variation. How to start, how to progress, and why the programme was never the hard part.
4 min readRecovery
Training with a niggle: when to push and when to stop
Not every ache needs rest and not every pain is fine. A usable framework for the grey area, and the specific signs that mean stop and get it looked at.
4 min read
Technique
Wall ball mistakes: what's costing you 60 seconds
100 reps, last station, nothing left, and a standard that has to be met every single time. Five faults, the start position people get wrong, and why big sets are a trap.
5 min readFirst race
Beginner Hyrox kit list: what to actually buy (and what to skip)
You've signed up for your first Hyrox. The Reddit threads say you need £400 of kit. You don't. Here's the honest first-timer's kit list under £150.
6 min readTraining
Couch to HYROX: getting from nothing to a finish line in 24 weeks
If you cannot currently run a kilometre, this is for you. Six months, three sessions a week, and an honest account of what each phase feels like.
7 min readFirst race
How much does a HYROX cost? The honest total, not just the entry fee
The entry fee is the small part. Travel, a hotel the night before, food, kit. Here is the real number, with a calculator that works out yours.
5 min readTraining
How much is a personal trainer in the UK? Real prices, honestly explained
What personal training actually costs across the UK, what you get at each price point, and the maths on whether a trainer or online coaching gives you more for the money.
7 min readFirst race
The HYROX race day bag: what to pack and what to leave at home
A tickable list of everything worth bringing, what people always forget, and the things you genuinely do not need despite what the kit posts suggest.
6 min readFirst race
HYROX movement standards: what the judge is watching at each station
What the judges are actually watching for at each station, which rules people break without realising, and how penalties work on the day.
6 min readFirst race
The 8 HYROX stations explained: what each one actually feels like
The eight stations in order, what each demands, where they hurt, and which ones will decide your finish time. Written by someone who has raced them.
7 min readTraining
HYROX training near me: how to find a gym that can actually prepare you
You do not need an affiliated gym to train for this race. You need six pieces of equipment and somewhere you can run. Here is how to check what is near you.
7 min readTraining
The HYROX workout, explained: what a session actually looks like
People search for the HYROX workout as though there is one. There is not. There is a way of training, and once you understand it you can build sessions yourself.
6 min readFirst race
What does HYROX stand for? The name and where it came from
It is not an acronym, which is why nobody can tell you what the letters mean. Here is where the name actually comes from and what the race behind it is.
5 min readRace day
What is a good HYROX time? Honest benchmarks for every level
There is no single good time. There is a good time for your first race, and a good time for your fifth. Here is how I judge it as a coach, and how to work out yours.
7 min read
Training
Hyrox is a runner's race with a strength tax
Pure runners blow up at station 4. Pure lifters miss the time cut. The honest balance between strength and running for Hyrox, and what it means for your training week.
7 min readFirst race
The 16-week Hyrox training plan: a beginner build with a pre-block
The standard 12-week build assumes you can already run 5 km. This is the 16-week version, with a four-week pre-block that gets you to that starting line first.
7 min read
Training
Hyrox training apps: cheapest, best, and the honest middle
TrainingPeaks, Marchon, HAC, Suth Performance, free PDFs, what you get at each price point, and what you need. The honest comparison.
7 min readTraining
Hyrox for shift workers: training around nights, rotations, and broken sleep
Healthcare workers, police, paramedics, firefighters, your sleep cycle is broken by design. Here's how the Hyrox build adapts to your rota.
6 min readTraining
Six things that make the difference between 95 and 89 minutes
The athletes who break 90 don't have dramatically better fitness than those stuck at 95-100. They have six specific habits the others don't. Here they are.
7 min readRace day
Hyrox London vs Manchester: which UK race should you pick?
ExCeL or Manchester Central? Bigger field or tighter community? The honest comparison between the two biggest UK Hyrox weekends.
7 min read
Training
Hyrox for parents: training around school runs, bedtime, and small humans
You don't have 90 minutes a day for training. You have 35, after bedtime, three days a week. Here's how the Hyrox build works when you're a parent.
6 min readRace day
The Hyrox mental game: pacing the pain, not the clock
Most race-day disappointments aren't fitness. They're mental, going out too hard, panicking on the burpees, breaking pace strategy at km 5. The frameworks that hold.
7 min readRace day
The Hyrox taper week: exactly what to do in the 7 days before race day
Twelve weeks of training. One week to deliver it intact. The taper protocol that gets you to the start line fresh, not flat, not over-rested.
7 min read
Training
Hyrox doubles: the strategy of two athletes, one clock
Doubles isn't half a Hyrox per athlete. It's a different race, pace decisions, handoff strategy, and station splits that share weaknesses without amplifying them. The complete framework.
7 min readRace day
Hyrox transitions: the 80 unprogrammed seconds that decide your finish time
Between every station and every run, there's a transition. Eight of them per race. Most athletes lose 10 seconds at each, that's 80 seconds nobody trains for. The framework to take them back.
8 min readNutrition
HYROX macros: how much protein, carbohydrate and fat you actually need
Hyrox training is a 4-5 hour weekly stress dose. Eat too little and you don't adapt. Eat the wrong things and you don't recover. The protein, carbohydrate, and timing framework for a full 12-week build.
8 min readTraining
Training for Hyrox with young kids: the realistic plan
How parents of small children actually train for Hyrox without sacrificing family time. The 4-day plan that fits around the chaos.
6 min readTraining
How to break a Hyrox plateau: a diagnostic for athletes stuck at 90-95 minutes
If you've raced Hyrox three or four times and your finish time hasn't moved, the fix is rarely 'more training'. The diagnostic that locates the actual bottleneck, and the targeted intervention that breaks it.
9 min readRace day
The short Hyrox warm-up: 35 minutes when that is all you have
Traffic, a late bag drop, a wave that moved. When you get 35 minutes instead of 90, this is what to keep and what to drop.
6 min readTraining
Hyrox off-season: what to train when you're not racing
The 6-12 weeks between race blocks decide how good your next race block is. The off-season template that builds the engine for next year.
7 min readRace day
Hyrox in hot conditions: training and race-day adjustments
Indoor arenas get hot. Outdoor events get hotter. The training adaptations and race-day decisions that keep you racing when the temperature climbs.
6 min readRace day
Mental cues for the middle of a Hyrox race: 8 phrases that bring you home
Specific phrases to use at specific moments. The middle of the race is where mental tools matter more than fitness.
7 min readRace day
Hyrox first 5 km strategy: pace it like a finisher, not a runner
The opening half of the race decides the finish. Pacing the first five 1-km runs is a skill most first-timers learn the hard way.
6 min readRace day
The 90-minute Hyrox race-day warm-up: minute-by-minute
A bad warm-up costs you 3-5 minutes on race day. A good one costs nothing. The exact 90-minute protocol Suth Performance athletes use, from arrival to start gun.
9 min readRace day
What to wear for Hyrox: shoes, kit, and the choices that matter
What to actually wear on race day. The shoe question settled, what to put on, what to leave in the drawer, and the kit decisions that change how the race feels.
7 min readTraining
From CrossFit to Hyrox: what transfers, what doesn't, what you'll find easy
CrossFitters arrive with most of the strength a HYROX needs. What is usually missing is the aerobic base, and it decides whether you finish in 75 minutes or 95.
6 min readTraining
Hyrox simulations you can run at home with limited kit
No sled, no ski erg, no wall ball target. The home substitutions that still build race-specific fitness.
6 min read
Training
Hyrox doubles handoff strategy: transitions that win the race
Doubles is two athletes, one clock. The handoff and split-station strategy decides 5-12 minutes against pairs of similar fitness.
7 min readTechnique
Hyrox farmers carry: grip, pacing, and the strategy that earns back 40 seconds
The farmers carry is the deceptive station. Strong athletes drop the kettlebells; smart athletes finish in 90 seconds. The technique, breathing, and pacing that turn the carry into a recovery station instead of a redline.
8 min readRecovery
Recovery between Hyrox races: when to push, when to back off
Racing 3-5 Hyrox events in a year demands a recovery framework. The decision rules for the weeks after each race.
5 min readTraining
Hyrox training week structure: how to split your sessions
Whether you train 3 days or 6, the right split changes more about your race-day outcome than your total volume. Sample weeks for every commitment level.
6 min readNutrition
Hyrox 12-week nutrition timeline: what to eat, when, and why
Macros, meal timing, hydration, and race-week fuelling for the 12 weeks before your Hyrox. Practical, not faddy.
6 min readFirst race
Hyrox station weights explained: men's, women's, doubles, pro
Every Hyrox weight by category in one place. What's heavy, what's light, what each category means, and why the weights do not scale with age.
10 min read
Technique
Hyrox burpee broad jump: technique, breathing, and the rhythm that saves the back end
The burpee broad jump is where pacing goes to die. Twenty metres of compounding fatigue. The technique fixes, breathing pattern, and scaling options that protect the second half of your race.
8 min read
Technique
Hyrox rowing strategy: pace targets, posture, and the zero-cost transition
The rower sits at station 5. Get the splits, the posture, and the exit right and you save 30-90 seconds against the field.
5 min read
Technique
Ski erg for Hyrox: stroke rate, damper, and the 1-km split
The ski erg is station one. Get it wrong and you've taxed your shoulders for the next 80 minutes. The technique and pacing that protect the race.
6 min read
Technique
Hyrox sandbag lunges: technique, breathing, and the 4-step recovery
The sandbag lunges look easy in training and ruin athletes on race day. The technique, the rhythm, and the recovery trick that saves your wall ball legs.
6 min readTechnique
Hyrox sled pull technique: feet, hands, and the rhythm that wins
The sled pull is a station most athletes underestimate. The technique fixes that take 90 seconds off your time, in detail.
7 min readTraining
Women's Hyrox: weights, pacing, and what's different
The women's standards, the strategy shifts that matter, and the training adjustments that get a woman from finisher to sub-90.
6 min readTraining
Hyrox for Masters athletes: training over 40, 50, and 60
Masters categories make Hyrox accessible at any age, but the training has to change. Recovery, intensity distribution, and what to drop as the years add up.
7 min read
Training
How to qualify for the Hyrox World Championships
The qualification times, the categories, and what your training year looks like if you actually want to be on the start line in May.
7 min readFirst race
Hyrox vs Spartan vs DEKA: which race is right for you
Three of the biggest fitness races sound similar from the outside. The training, the venues, and the kind of athlete each rewards are very different. The honest comparison.
7 min readRecovery
Hyrox recovery: sleep, mobility, and the boring habits that compound
Twelve weeks of Hyrox training is a stress dose. Without recovery, you don't adapt, you just accumulate fatigue. The simple inputs that decide whether the build works.
7 min readFirst race
Your first Hyrox: a complete preparation guide
What to expect, how to train, how to fuel, and how to pace yourself. A start-to-finish guide for anyone signing up for their first Hyrox race.
8 min readRace day
Hyrox race-day pacing: the eight stations, the seven runs, the one mistake nobody warns you about
Race-day pacing decides whether the build pays off or quietly falls apart at minute 60. A station-by-station plan, the warm-up that works, and the one error first-timers always make.
8 min readTraining
The 12-week Hyrox training plan: structure, progression, and what each week is for
A week-by-week breakdown of the standard 12-week Hyrox build. What changes week to week, why the order matters, and how to adapt it to your life.
7 min readTechnique
Hyrox sled push: technique, programming, and the mistakes that cost minutes
The sled push is where most first-timers lose two to four minutes. Body position, breathing, and pacing fixes that transfer to race day.
7 min read
Technique
Hyrox wall balls: weight, technique, scaling, and the rep count that breaks people
The final station. 100 reps for men, 75 for women, after 7,000 metres of running and seven stations of work. How to make wall balls survivable.
8 min readTraining
Hyrox vs CrossFit: which one actually suits your goals?
Same kit, different sport. A frank comparison of Hyrox and CrossFit, the demands, the community, the training load, and which one fits you.
7 min readNutrition
What to eat before, during, and after a Hyrox race
Race-day fuelling without the noise. Breakfast timing, mid-race carbs, recovery within 60 minutes, and the mistakes that cost first-timers.
7 min readRace day
The UK and Ireland HYROX calendar: every race, venue and prep window
All six UK and Ireland HYROX races for the 2026/27 season, with venues, transport and the date your twelve-week build should start. Dates read from HYROX's own event pages.
6 min read