What a HYROX Competition Workout Actually Looks Like

A HYROX competition workout is a fixed, repeatable format: 8 kilometers of running split into eight 1km segments, with one functional fitness station wedged between each run, performed back-to-back with no scheduled rest; if you stop to recover, the clock keeps running. The sequence never changes from city to city, so once you know the eight stations and their order, you already know what you're training for.

What a HYROX Competition Workout Actually Involves

Every race follows the same blueprint: run 1km, hit a station, run another 1km, hit the next station, repeat until all eight are done. There is no surprise workout revealed at the last minute, but the known stations still require practice and familiarity with movement standards. Every HYROX event follows the same format, which is exactly what makes it trainable — you're preparing for a known quantity, not a surprise. For a deeper walkthrough of each station's technique and standards, see our complete guide to the 8 HYROX events and stations.

The 8 HYROX Stations, In Order

Each station sits immediately after a 1km run, so you're never doing it fresh. In race order:

1. SkiErg – 1000m, which pulls hard on the arms, shoulders, and core while still recruiting the legs when you drive through your hips.
2. Sled Push – 50m pushing a loaded sled, which targets the lower body, including the posterior chain, core, and anterior thigh muscles.
3. Sled Pull – 50m dragging a sled back toward you, which uses the glutes, back, biceps, trunk, and grip.
4. Burpee Broad Jumps – 80m of burpees combined with a broad jump, a full-body movement that can spike your heart rate.
5. Rowing – 1000m on the rower, marking the start of the second half of the race.
6. Farmers Carry – 200m carrying a weight in each hand, taxing your upper back, core, and grip once fatigue is already building.
7. Sandbag Lunges – walking lunges with a sandbag on your back, loaded at 10, 20, or 30 kilograms depending on category, a brutal finish for your quads and glutes.
8. Wall Balls – the final station, performed after the last 1 km run.

How Heavy Is It? Weights by Division

The station order and race structure stay broadly fixed, while loads and how the work is split vary by category. In Open, men push a 152kg sled, pull 103kg, carry two 24kg weights, lunge with 20kg, and throw a 6kg ball; women push 102kg, pull 78kg, carry two 16kg weights, lunge with 10kg, and throw a 4kg ball. Pro shifts everyone up a tier: Pro men push 202kg, pull 153kg, carry two 32kg weights, lunge with 30kg, and throw 9kg, while Pro women take on the Open men's loads exactly.

You can race any of four formats: Open (solo, standard loads), Pro (heavier loads), Doubles (split each station with a partner), or Relay Teams (four people splitting the whole race). All four categories run on the same eight stations, just with different loads or splits. If you're racing as a woman and want category-specific pacing and weight guidance, see our Hyrox for Women guide.

How Long Does a HYROX Race Take

Expect to be moving for roughly 90 minutes start to finish, since the race is 8km of running plus eight stations with no scheduled breaks — you will be out for an average of 90 minutes. That kind of sustained, fatigue-stacked effort burns a lot of fuel: estimates put the cost at 800 to 1,500 kilocalories depending on fitness and body weight, with your metabolism staying elevated for hours afterward. This is only a rough estimate; individual expenditure can vary substantially.

Is HYROX Harder Than CrossFit?

Harder is the wrong frame — they're hard in different ways. CrossFit competitions announce workouts late and regularly include Olympic lifts, muscle-ups, or handstand walks, so a missing skill can stop you from finishing the event at all. HYROX contains no barbell and no gymnastics, and every movement in the race can be introduced to a beginner quickly, although performing them at race volume and load still requires progressive training and coaching. HYROX asks you to keep running and completing loaded stations under accumulating fatigue, with grip, leg endurance, pacing, and aerobic capacity all likely to matter. If your weak point is barbell cycling and gymnastics skill, CrossFit will expose it faster. If your weak point is aerobic capacity and pacing under accumulated fatigue, HYROX will expose that instead.

How to Train for a HYROX Competition Workout

A quick safety note before you start: scale volume and loads, build gradually, include recovery days, and consult a qualified professional if you are new to intense exercise or have health or injury concerns.

Race-specific prep has two jobs: build the engine for 8km of running plus eight intense efforts, and build enough strength to move sled, sandbag, and carry loads without your technique collapsing under fatigue. Simulating race conditions in training matters because practicing stations back-to-back with running teaches pacing and lets your body adapt to working under real fatigue — heart rate and lactate climb steadily across the eight stations in simulated events, and that's exactly what you need to get used to before race day.

• Because HYROX includes 8 km of running, build a running base alongside station-specific strength work. A structured running progression can help, especially if running is a limiter.
• Rehearse the awkward stations on purpose: sled push and pull reward grip, shoe traction, and technique more than raw strength, so try them at least once before your race.
• Add brick workouts 4-8 weeks out — pairing 2-3 stations with running segments between them — before attempting a full or partial race simulation.
• Keep a strength base under the conditioning work, since the carries and lunges place clear demands on grip, trunk, thighs, and glutes, especially under fatigue — our leg day guide covers programming for that.
• If you want help structuring your own sessions, two planning tools on this site can speed that up: our HYROX training generator builds stations and running by level and equipment, and our full training plan breakdown walks through sequencing a training block over several weeks — use them as starting points to adapt, not as substitutes for coaching feedback.

FAQ

What are the 8 HYROX exercises?

In order: SkiErg (1000m), sled push (50m), sled pull (50m), burpee broad jumps (80m), rowing (1000m), farmers carry (200m), sandbag lunges, and wall balls — each one preceded by a 1km run.

Is HYROX harder than CrossFit?

Not harder across the board — just hard in a different way. CrossFit can punish a missing skill (a barbell lift, a gymnastics move) badly enough to stop you finishing. HYROX uses no barbell and no gymnastics, but demands that you keep producing force in your legs and grip for roughly 90 minutes of accumulating fatigue.

What is a typical HYROX competition workout?

It's the race itself: eight rounds of a 1km run immediately followed by one of the eight stations above, done consecutively with no scheduled rest, taking most competitors somewhere around 90 minutes.

What do HYROX workouts consist of?

Training sessions built around HYROX usually mix three things: running intervals, strength work for the stations (sled, carries, lunges), and brick sessions that combine both so your legs learn to run properly right after loaded work.