Hyrox: Complete Guide to the 8 Events and Stations

The Hyrox Format: Understanding the Race Before the Events

Before discussing the Hyrox events one by one, it's important to understand the overall competition format. Hyrox is a standardized fitness race held indoors, usually in large halls or exhibition centers. The principle seems simple: run 1 km, complete a functional workout station, repeat. Eight times in a row. This alternation between cardiovascular effort and specific muscular work is what makes Hyrox both demanding and accessible.

A full Hyrox race is structured as follows: 1 km run, then station 1, then 1 km run, then station 2, and so on up to station 8. The total running distance is 8 km, split into 8 segments of 1 km each. The 8 functional stations always follow the same fixed order, identical for all events worldwide. This standardization allows athletes to compare times, no matter the city or country.

What sets Hyrox apart from a simple obstacle run or triathlon is the exact identity of the events: the same exercises, in the same order, with the same weights according to category. There are no surprises on race day. Either you've prepared for each station, or you struggle through them. This predictability is both a strength for preparation and a source of pressure for performance.

Categories and Weights: Open, Pro, Double

Hyrox offers several participation formats suited to different levels. The Open category is accessible to all athletes, with moderate weights. The Pro category is for experienced competitors, with significantly heavier loads. There is also the Doubles format (two athletes alternating) and the Relay format (four athletes). Each category has its own weight and performance standards.

Here is a summary table of weights by category:

• Sled Push: Men Open 152 kg, Women Open 102 kg, Men Pro 202 kg, Women Pro 152 kg
• Sled Pull: Men Open 152 kg, Women Open 102 kg, Men Pro 202 kg, Women Pro 152 kg
• Farmer's Carry: Men Open 2 x 24 kg, Women Open 2 x 16 kg, Men Pro 2 x 32 kg, Women Pro 2 x 24 kg
• Sandbag Lunges: Men Open 20 kg, Women Open 10 kg, Men Pro 30 kg, Women Pro 20 kg
• Wall Balls: Men Open 6 kg, Women Open 4 kg, Men Pro 9 kg, Women Pro 6 kg

The SkiErg, Burpee Broad Jump, and Rowing events do not involve additional weights. They are the same for all categories.

Station 1: SkiErg - 1,000 meters

The SkiErg is a cardio machine that simulates the movement of Nordic skiing. The athlete pulls two cables downward from a high position, bending at the knees and hips to engage the whole body. The distance to cover is 1,000 meters on the ergometer, regardless of category.

Technique on the SkiErg is often underestimated by beginners. The most common mistake is pulling only with the arms, which quickly tires out the shoulders and back without generating optimal power. A good movement starts with an explosive hip extension, like a hip hinge, and the arms follow the pull rather than initiate it. The pace should stay controlled for the first 200 to 300 meters to save energy for the rest of the race.

Technical tips for the SkiErg:

• Keep your arms slightly bent throughout the pull, never lock your elbows
• Engage your core with every rep to protect your lower back
• Maintain a steady cadence rather than speeding up and slowing down
• Aim for a split (time per 500m) that matches your overall cardio level
• Don't hold your breath: exhale with each pull

Station 2: Sled Push - 50 meters

The Sled Push involves pushing a loaded sled for 50 meters. This is often the event that surprises athletes most on race day, especially those who have never trained for it. With 152 kg for men in the Open category (including the sled's weight), the resistance is substantial and requires full-body coordination.

Posture is everything in this event. The athlete should position themselves behind the sled with arms extended, back flat, and hips low. The push comes from the legs, not the back. Trying to straighten up and push with the shoulders is not only ineffective but also dangerous for the spine. Your feet should stay flat on the ground to maximize force transfer.

The two most common mistakes on the Sled Push are as follows. First: stepping too slowly, which creates dead time between each push. Top athletes use short, quick steps, almost like a fast power walk. Second: letting the sled come to a complete stop. If the sled stops, getting it moving again takes a huge burst of effort. It's better to keep a slow, steady pace than to sprint and stop.

Station 3: Sled Pull - 50 meters

The Sled Pull is often considered harder than the Sled Push by athletes who aren't expecting it. You pull the sled toward you while moving backward, using a rope attached to the sled. The weights are the same as for the Sled Push: 152 kg for men Open, 102 kg for women Open.

The pulling technique is different from pushing. The athlete faces the sled, grabs the rope with both hands, and moves backward, pulling alternately or simultaneously depending on their strength. The legs drive the body backward while the arms and back keep tension on the rope. This event heavily works the biceps, back, and hip flexors, areas that are often less developed in general fitness athletes.

To train for the Sled Pull without a sled, the best alternatives are weighted ring rows, horizontal pulls with resistance bands, and farmer's walks done walking backward. If you want to build a specific program to work on these exercises, the MyTrainer workout generator can create sessions focused on pulling strength.

Station 4: Burpee Broad Jump - 80 meters

The Burpee Broad Jump is the most cardiovascularly demanding event in the race for many athletes. It involves performing a full burpee (to the ground, push-up, jump) followed by a broad jump forward, repeating this movement over a distance of 80 meters. There is no additional weight: it's strictly bodyweight only.

What makes this event so grueling is the combination of repeated explosive effort with the fact that you're already tired from 4 km of running and the previous three stations. The key is to keep a steady pace rather than sprinting through the first burpees and ending up crawling over the last few meters. Experienced athletes use a slightly modified technique: they don't jump vertically during the burpee but keep the movement horizontal to transition directly into the broad jump.

The length of your jump is also a crucial factor. A 1.5-meter jump versus a 2-meter jump makes a difference of dozens of repetitions over 80 meters. Training lower body explosive power in preparation, through box jumps and broad jumps in your workouts, pays off on race day.

Station 5: Rowing - 1,000 meters

The fifth station is rowing on a Concept2 ergometer, over a distance of 1,000 meters. At this stage of the race, your legs have already put in a considerable effort. Rowing, which relies primarily on the legs (60% of the power comes from leg extension), is therefore especially challenging in the fifth position.

Rowing technique is structured and can be learned. The movement is broken down into four phases: the catch (arms straight, leaning forward), the drive (legs extend first, then the torso swings back, then the arms pull), the recovery (reverse order: arms first, then torso, then knees), and the slide forward to start again. Performing this sequence correctly allows you to transfer power from the major muscle groups and avoid overloading your lower back.

A split of 1'50" to 2'10" per 500 meters is a reasonable goal for an intermediate-level athlete during a Hyrox race. To see if your nutrition is supporting your endurance training properly, checking a calorie counter can help you calibrate your energy intake around your sessions.

Station 6: Farmer's Carry - 200 meters

The Farmer's Carry involves walking 200 meters while carrying two kettlebells or dumbbells, one in each hand. The weights are 2 x 24 kg for men (Open) and 2 x 16 kg for women (Open). The 200-meter distance is usually covered in 4 laps of a 25-meter stretch.

This event tests several qualities at once: grip strength, core stability, muscular endurance in the traps and shoulders, and coordination under fatigue. It's tempting to set the kettlebells down as soon as your grip becomes uncomfortable, but every stop costs time and makes it harder to get going again. The goal is to complete the 200 meters with as few stops as possible, ideally none at all.

Tips to optimize the Farmer's Carry:

• Hold the kettlebells slightly away from your thighs to avoid rubbing
• Pull your shoulders down and back to protect your joints
• Look straight ahead, not down
• Breathe regularly, don't hold your breath
• Walk at a brisk pace, not a sprint: stability is more important than speed

Station 7: Sandbag Lunges - 100 meters

Sandbag Lunges are walking lunges with a sandbag carried on your shoulders or in a front position, over a distance of 100 meters. The weights are 20 kg for men (Open) and 10 kg for women (Open). After the 200 meters of Farmer's Carry, your legs and core are already heavily taxed, making this event especially demanding.

The position of the sandbag varies between athletes: some carry it on their shoulders like a squat bar, others in a goblet position in front of the chest. Carrying it on the shoulders is generally more stable over long distances but requires good thoracic mobility. The front position engages the abs more. The important thing is to keep your back straight, whichever position you choose.

Lunge technique should remain controlled even when fatigued. The front knee should not go past the toes, and the back knee should come close to the ground without slamming into it. Short, well-executed lunges are better than big, uncontrolled strides that increase the risk of falling or knee injury.

Station 8: Wall Balls - 100 reps (Open men) / 75 reps (Open women)

Wall Balls are the final station, coming after 7 km of running and 7 stations. The exercise involves holding a medicine ball, dropping into a full squat, then propelling the ball upward to hit a target on the wall at a set height (usually 3 meters for men, 2.70 m for women). The weights are 6 kg for men (Open) and 4 kg for women (Open). Open men perform 100 reps, Open women do 75.

Wall Balls primarily test aerobic endurance, leg power, and coordination. After several kilometers of running and the previous stations, your quads are burning. Squatting with full range of motion becomes a challenge in itself. Athletes who haven't practiced this exercise enough in training tend to shorten their squat depth, which reduces the power transferred to the ball and makes each rep harder.

Wall Ball pacing strategy is essential. Going for 100 reps non-stop sounds tempting on paper but is a recipe for disaster in practice. Breaking it into sets of 15 to 20 reps with 5 to 10 seconds of passive rest is generally more effective than a poorly managed continuous effort. Dropping the ball and shaking out your arms for a few seconds between sets helps you maintain good movement quality right up to the last rep.

Most common mistakes and how to avoid them

Here's a summary of the most common mistakes seen in Hyrox beginners:

1. Starting too fast on the initial 1 km run. The first kilometer sets the tone: going out too hard puts you in oxygen debt right from the first station.
2. Neglecting the SkiErg in training because the machine is uncommon. Showing up on race day without ever having practiced this exercise is one of the most costly mistakes in terms of time.
3. Underestimating the weight of the Sled during simulations. Training with lighter loads than those used in the race doesn't properly prepare your neuromuscular system.
4. Doing Wall Balls with an incomplete squat range of motion. The rep does not count if the required depth is not reached, according to competition judges.
5. Not practicing the transition between running and the workout stations. Moving from cardio effort to muscular effort is a skill in itself that needs to be trained.
6. Ignoring pre-race nutrition and hydration. A Hyrox race lasts between 1 hour 15 minutes and 2 hours depending on your level: your glycogen stores should be fully topped up at the start.

To help you prepare specific workouts for each of these stations, the MyTrainer blog offers detailed articles on Hyrox programming and the most effective training methods.

FAQ

In what order do the Hyrox events take place?

The order is always the same at all Hyrox competitions worldwide. After each kilometer of running, the stations follow in this sequence: SkiErg (1,000 m), Sled Push (50 m), Sled Pull (50 m), Burpee Broad Jump (80 m), Rowing (1,000 m), Farmer's Carry (200 m), Sandbag Lunges (100 m), Wall Balls (100 or 75 reps depending on the category). This fixed order is one of the fundamental features of Hyrox.

What is the difference between the Open and Pro categories in Hyrox?

The Open category is accessible to all fitness levels and uses standardized weights that are manageable for a well-trained general fitness athlete. The Pro category is for advanced competitors: the weights for Sled Push and Pull increase to 202 kg for men and 152 kg for women, Farmer's Carry to 2 x 32 kg for men, Sandbag Lunges to 30 kg, and Wall Balls to 9 kg. Pro times are significantly faster, with the best men finishing in under an hour.

How can you train for Sled Push and Sled Pull without a sled?

The most effective substitute for the Sled Push is pushing a car on flat asphalt with a partner's help, or doing loaded isometric wall squats. For the Sled Pull, horizontal pulls with resistance bands, weighted ring rows, and low horizontal cable rows all closely mimic the movement pattern. The workout generator can create complete alternative sessions based on your available equipment.