Your entry is confirmed, your bib is waiting, and then it hits you: you have no idea how to train. Good news: Hyrox is one of the most accessible endurance formats out there, as long as you understand what's coming and prepare for it smartly. Here's the program we follow with our members for their first race.
A Hyrox race is 8 km of running split into 8 sets of 1 km, each kilometre followed by a station (sled, rower, lunges, wall balls...). To finish your first race, aim for 8 weeks of prep at 2 to 3 sessions a week, working mostly on pacing and the run / station transition. The time will come later.
What a Hyrox race actually is
Hyrox is an indoor fitness competition with the same format everywhere in the world. You alternate 1 km of running and a functional station, eight times in a row. No surprises on race day: the movements and the order are always the same, which makes preparation very readable.
The difficulty isn't any single station: it's running with your legs already loaded, over and over. That's exactly what we train in CrossFit with conditioning.
The 8 stations in order
The order never changes, learn it by heart to manage your effort.
- 1000 m SkiErg
- 50 m Sled Push (the big one)
- 50 m Sled Pull
- 80 m Burpee Broad Jumps
- 1000 m Row
- 200 m Farmers Carry
- 100 m Sandbag Lunges
- 100 Wall Balls (the final wall)
How long and how many sessions to prepare?
Two questions that always come up. The honest answers:
- Duration: 8 weeks if you already have a sport base, 12 if you're starting from scratch.
- Frequency: 2 to 3 sessions a week is plenty for a first race. Beyond that, injury risk rises faster than the gains.
The idea isn't to exhaust yourself, but to teach your body to run tired. If you're truly a beginner, build a running base (being able to hold 5 km) before adding the stations.
The 8-week training program
Build volume gradually, then taper the last week before the race.
The single most useful session is compromised running: running right after a station effort, to reproduce the feeling of the race.
- 4 rounds:
- 400 m run (Hyrox race pace)
- 20 wall balls
- 15 burpees
- Rest 2 min between rounds
The most profitable skill for Hyrox is neither strength nor speed: it's the transition. Being able to start running again right after a station, without walking, saves more time than any strength gain.
The station that surprises everyone: the sled
The Sled Push is where beginners blow up. On paper, pushing a sled 50 m looks simple. In the legs, after 2 km of running, it's a different story.
- The sled fully crosses the 50 m line (4 lengths of 12.5 m).
- You push with straight arms, low hips, neutral back.
- You may stop and restart as many times as you need.
You start too fast and stall halfway down the length, legs on fire.
Start at a pace you can hold for 50 m. Small continuous steps beat a sprint followed by a stop.
You push with bent arms, the torso rises, you lose all the power from your legs.
Straight arms, eyes down, push off the ball of your foot. The sled moves with the legs, not the shoulders.
On race day, the floor and the sled aren't the ones you trained on. Keep 10% in reserve on the sled: it's the station that can wreck the rest of your race if you go into the red.
CrossFit to prepare for Hyrox: good idea?
Many people hesitate between the two. In reality, CrossFit is one of the best ways to prepare for Hyrox: it builds the engine, functional strength and the ability to link efforts.
| CrossFit | Hyrox | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Varied every day | Fixed: 8 runs + 8 stations |
| Technique | High (weightlifting, gym) | Low, accessible fast |
| Focus | Strength and power | Strength endurance |
| Good to prepare Hyrox? | Yes, excellent engine | It's the goal |
What time should you aim for on your first race?
To set your goal, some rough benchmarks (Open category, solo):
- Beginner finisher: often between 1h15 and 1h30.
- Intermediate: around 1h to 1h15.
- Strong amateur: under the hour.
For a first race, forget the clock: aim to finish without walking. The time will come naturally with compromised running sessions.
Gear and race-day logistics
You don't need expensive gear to train. The essentials are in a well-equipped CrossFit box.
Shoes
A versatile pair, stable for the sled and comfortable to run in. No spikes needed.
Pacing
Mentally split your race into 8 blocks. A steady pace always beats starting too fast.
Category
Open solo to start, or doubles to share the effort with a partner.
Where to train in Lyon and Villeurbanne?
CrossFit Gratte-Ciel runs Hyrox prep slots with the race gear (sled, ski erg, rower) and coaches who know the format. The box is open non-stop from 7am to 9pm, so you can fit your sessions in before or after work.
The best way to know if Hyrox is for you is to try. Your first session is on us, no commitment.