Hyrox isn’t new new—the German-born workout started in 2017—but it’s recently been picking up steam in the US. So much so that “what is Hyrox?” videos are popping all around GymTok. Give any one of these a watch and you’ll see loads of people participating in what looks to be a super-intense fitness competition, packed with exercises like burpee broad jumps, sled pushes, sandbag lunges, and running. Lots of running.
There’s a lot going on in Hyrox, but to break it all down, it can pretty much be described as the “marathon of functional fitness,” Bethany Robinson, CPT, an online fitness coach and Hyrox competitor in the UK, tells SELF.
And while that surely doesn’t sound accessible to the masses, Hyrox is actually a pretty welcoming and inclusive activity that’s doable for many different types of exercisers, Robinson says. Plus, unlike other forms of movement that focus on just one component of fitness—say, cycling to boost your cardio or weightlifting to elevate your max strength, for example—Hyrox ticks multiple boxes at once. “It’s one of the more well-rounded athletic competitions,” Casey McNutt, MS, CPT, a HYROX Level-1 coach in Evans, Georgia, tells SELF.
Curious to know more? Read on for a beginner’s guide to Hyrox, including what “type” of workout it delivers, the eight different exercises involved, how it compares to CrossFit, and how to get started with Hyrox at home.
So what kind of workout is Hyrox, anyway?
In a nutshell, Hyrox is a race that combines running and resistance training, which means it’s both a cardio and a strength workout. There are four competition categories: pro, open, doubles, or relay. In a Hyrox competition, people in the pro and open categories run a total of eight kilometers (about five miles), which really challenges the cardiovascular system.
They also complete a series of eight functional exercises (more on those in a minute), which ticks the box for resistance training. Specifically, those functional moves really hone muscular endurance (your muscles’ ability to work for long periods) and power (how quickly you can move a load), Robinson says. And they cover “all of the patterns in human movement,” McNutt says—from pushing and pulling to lunging, squatting, hinging, and carrying. This comprehensive approach to strength training, combined with the strong cardio element, makes Hyrox a well-rounded fitness program, McNutt says. (Folks competing in the doubles and relay categories divide up all the running and exercises among multiple people.)
People who train for Hyrox can boost their cardio fitness and improve their full-body strength, while also reaping some pretty awesome mental perks. Because it’s such an intense competition, “it gives you a sense of pride when you finish,” McNutt explains. In fact, the one thing McNutt hears more than anything from her clients who participate in Hyrox-style workouts? They feel like “absolute badasses,” she says. “It’s empowering. It’s satisfying.”
Keep in mind: You don’t have to sign up for a Hyrox competition to be involved—you can always just join a Hyrox-affiliated gym (or do online Hyrox-style workouts) and participate that way, Robinson says.
What are the eight exercises in Hyrox?
Let’s dig into the nitty gritty, shall we? Hyrox involves eight 1,000-meter runs around a track—giving you that 8K total when all is said and done—and eight functional exercises, completed in the area inside the track, known as the “rox zone.” In Hyrox, you alternate between the two, starting with running. The order for your functional exercises is always the same:
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