Hyrox Training Plan: A 12-Week Program for Your First Race

Hyrox has become one of the fastest-growing fitness races in the world. It shows up in CrossFit's top related searches, and "Hyrox" alone grew about 30% in the past year. The appeal is simple: the same format and the same stations at every race, so your time is comparable anywhere. It's also accessible to anyone who's reasonably fit.

This guide explains the race and gives you a 12-week Hyrox training plan for your first event.

The short answer

• The race: 8 × 1 km runs, each followed by a functional workout station. That's 8 km of running plus 8 stations.
• Most of your race time is running, so running is the priority in training.
• Train 4–5 days per week: 2 run sessions, 2 strength/station sessions, 1 "compromised running" session (running straight after stations).
• Finish times: many first-timers in Open finish in roughly 1:15–1:45.

The Hyrox format

You run 1 km, complete a station, run 1 km, complete the next station, and so on through all eight:

#	Station	Distance / reps	Open women	Open men
1	SkiErg	1,000 m	—	—
2	Sled push	50 m	102 kg	152 kg
3	Sled pull	50 m	78 kg	103 kg
4	Burpee broad jumps	80 m	Bodyweight	Bodyweight
5	Rowing	1,000 m	—	—
6	Farmers carry	200 m	2 × 16 kg	2 × 24 kg
7	Sandbag lunges	100 m	10 kg	20 kg
8	Wall balls	100 reps	4 kg to 2.7 m	6 kg to 3 m

2025/26 season Open standards; sled weights include the sled. Pro divisions are heavier. Standards can change between seasons, so check the official rulebook for your event.

Where the time goes

Two insights follow from this:

1. Your running is your biggest lever. Even a small improvement per kilometre adds up over 8 km.
2. The difficulty is compromised running, meaning running on legs already tired from sleds and lunges. You have to train that specifically.

The 12-week Hyrox training plan

Weekly structure (5 days)

Day	Session	Purpose
Mon	Strength A (lower-body focus)	Sled, lunge and wall-ball strength
Tue	Run: intervals	Speed and threshold
Wed	Rest or easy mobility / walk	Recovery
Thu	Strength B (upper body + pulling)	Sled pull, SkiErg, row, carries
Fri	Rest	Recovery
Sat	Compromised running ("Hyrox sim")	Race-specific fitness
Sun	Easy long run (40–70 min)	Aerobic base

Can only do four days? Merge Strength A and B into one full-body session.

Strength A (lower)

• Back squat or front squat: 4 × 6–8
• Walking lunges with sandbag or dumbbells: 3 × 20 steps
• Sled push (or heavy prowler / leg press): 4 × 20–25 m
• Wall balls: 4 × 20
• Romanian deadlift: 3 × 8–10

Strength B (upper and pull)

• Deadlift or trap-bar deadlift: 3 × 5
• Sled pull (or heavy rope row / cable row): 4 × 20 m
• Pull-ups or lat pulldown: 3 × 8–10
• Farmers carry: 4 × 50 m heavy
• SkiErg: 5 × 250 m hard, 1 min rest

Run intervals (Tuesday), by block

Weeks	Session
1–4	6 × 800 m at a comfortably hard pace, 90 s rest
5–8	5 × 1 km at target race pace or slightly faster, 90 s rest
9–11	4 × 1.5 km at threshold, 2 min rest
12 (race week)	4 × 400 m relaxed but fast, then rest

Compromised running (Saturday), by block

Weeks	Session
1–4	4 rounds: 1 km run + 1 station at half volume (e.g. 50 wall balls, 500 m row)
5–8	6 rounds: 1 km run + half-volume stations, rotating through all eight
9–10	Full half simulation: 4 × (1 km + full station)
11	Near-full simulation at controlled pace, or 6 × (1 km + full station)
12	Race week: 2 × (1 km + short station) to stay sharp, then rest 2 days before the race

No sled? Use heavy prowler pushes, a leg press or uphill sprints with a weighted vest. No SkiErg? Do band pull-downs or extra rowing. Gym equipment matters less than consistency.

Race-day pacing tips

• Start slower than you think. The first 1 km feels easy with fresh legs. Going out 20–30 s/km too fast will cost you later.
• Sled push: short, steady steps. Low body angle, arms locked, keep moving.
• Burpee broad jumps: find a rhythm you can hold. Don't sprint the first 20 m.
• Wall balls: plan your sets early (e.g. sets of 15–20 with short breaks) before failure forces long rests.
• Roxzone transitions count. Walk briskly and grab water, but don't dawdle.

Hyrox vs CrossFit

Hyrox is more running- and endurance-focused, with simple movements and a fixed format. CrossFit is more varied and technical, with Olympic lifts and gymnastics. Many athletes do both. Our Hyrox vs CrossFit comparison covers the details.

Track your stations and splits

Hyrox training generates useful data: 1 km split times, wall-ball sets, sled times, run paces. Seeing them improve week to week tells you whether the plan is working, and shows where your race is being lost.

GymMonster logs your strength sessions set by set and keeps personal records for every lift, so your squats, deadlifts and carries keep improving alongside your running.

The bottom line

Hyrox is 8 km of running split by 8 functional stations, and running is the biggest part of your time. Train 4–5 days a week: two runs, two strength sessions and one compromised-running session. Build over 12 weeks, pace conservatively on race day, and log your numbers to see where you're improving.