Hyrox is all the rage, but I know that for a lot of gym-goers, it appears to have popped up out of nowhere. Maybe you noticed a class on your gym’s schedule labeled “Hyrox” and wondered what on earth it was. Or maybe a video of an old friend appeared on your Instagram feed with a corny caption about how Hyrox has helped them push their limits. When I first started noticing Hyrox, I felt the same way I have about CrossFit, or Tough Mudders, or any other group fitness trend: a mix of skepticism, indifference, and a vague sense that it simply wasn’t for me.
Now that I’ve completed a Hyrox race, however, I gladly eat my words—or most of them, anyway. (I still think I’d rather run 20 miles than drag a weighted sled across a gym floor for 20 meters.) But even if I never compete in another Hyrox, I’ll definitely be returning to Hyrox-style workout classes. Here’s why I think Hyrox workouts are still worth your time, even if you have zero desire to compete in an official Hyrox race.
What exactly is Hyrox training?
Lifehacker senior health editor (and my doubles partner) Beth Skwarecki goes into more depth elsewhere, but here’s a quick primer on Hyrox: Launched in Germany in 2017, it is currently one of the fastest-growing competitive fitness events in the world. A lot of people will tell you Hyrox is short for “hybrid rockstar,” since “hybrid” is a term that athletes often use when they feel they exist somewhere between the extremes of endurance athletes and strength athletes. The company hasn’t confirmed this origin story, but it fits the bill.
The official race consists of eight one-kilometer runs, each followed by one of eight functional workout stations. It’s clearly designed to be accessible to everyday athletes—not just Olympic-level competitors—which is a big part of why it has caught on so quickly.
But Hyrox training, and the group classes that have sprouted up around it, do not require you to know anything about the race itself. Hyrox-style classes take familiar, functional movements and conditioning principles and repackage them into an intense, coached group workout.
What is included in a Hyrox workout?
The official race’s eight workout stations include the ski erg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmers carry, sandbag lunges, and wall balls. In a class setting, you’ll encounter some of these movements, but it really depends on your gym’s resources. And as far as a regular workout goes, the Hyrox framing is a great way to target strength, endurance, and coordination.
In my experience with F45 Hyrox classes, we cycled through intervals or circuits designed to spike your heart rate and challenge your muscles in ways that combine the perks of both traditional cardio and standard strength training—hence the keyword “hybrid.” Classes tend to be around 45 minutes; for context, Beth and I finished our actual Hyrox race in about 97 minutes.
What are the benefits of a Hyrox workout?
Here’s what I can tell you from personal experience: I did five weeks of weekly Hyrox classes at my local F45 gym in preparation for my first race. When I chatted with my fellow gym-goers, I learned I was the only one there with a race on the calendar. Everyone else was there simply because they thought the workout was a good one.
The main selling point of Hyrox training is that “hybrid” branding; your goal is to build aerobic capacity at the same time you’re developing functional strength. For regular gym rats, any class setting is a great way to add structure to your workout, and Hyrox in particular is appealing to anyone craving variety.
As a runner with limited strength training, these classes were crucial to traching me Hyrox-specific movements before race day (namely sandbag lunges, sled pulls, sled pushes). My coaches broke down the basics in a way that made the movements feel achievable, even for someone with no background in these specific exercises. How “effective” the workout will be depends on a number of factors, but I can tell you that—anecdotally, subjectively, vibes-wise—I definitely feel stronger after my five weeks training for Hyrox.
Is Hyrox considered HIIT or CrossFit?
I’m not surprised by how many people have asked me if Hyrox is just rebranded CrossFit, or if it’s just a glorified HIIT workout. Now that I’ve completed an official Hyrox race, I can tell you that Hyrox is its own thing, while pulling elements from both.
What do you think so far?
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) typically involves short, maximum-effort bursts followed by rest periods. This definition lines up with my experience in the Hyrox workout classes at F45. The race itself is more of an endurance event than you’ll find in a 45-minute class. As Beth and I discovered firsthand, Hyrox rewards pacing and efficiency over HIIT-style explosive bursts.
CrossFit is its own beast, in a league outside of Hyrox. They’re similar in their trendiness, and their communities certainly have some overlap, but that’s where the resemblance ends. CrossFit puts a much greater focus on lifting, which naturally requires more specialized training before you show up for a competition. Hyrox events are hard work, but they’re far more beginner-friendly. You won’t see barbell snatches like in Olympic weightlifting or handstand walks like in the CrossFit games. What seems to surprise most people (including Beth and me) is how much of Hyrox is straight-up running laps.
And if you’re not interested in racing at all, Hyrox classes tend to be more structured and approachable than CrossFit, with none of the technical lifting that sets CrossFit apart.
What to know before you try Hyrox
After racing, Beth and I agreed that our gym’s Hyrox classes alone weren’t enough to prepare us for race day. There are mechanics, pacing strategies, and race-specific skills that a 45-minute group class simply doesn’t have the time or resources to cover in depth.
For instance, I showed up to my race having never properly performed a wall ball. In my class, we did dumbbell thrusters as a substitute movement. That built some strength, but it gave me none of the technique required to hit the actual wall ball to race-day standards, and I suffered for that. The sled work was familiar because we had done it in class, but knowing how to pace yourself across eight rounds of running and eight different stations is another skill entirely.
None of this is a knock on Hyrox classes. It’s simply the reality of how much ground a group fitness format can cover in a session. If competing is your goal, you’ll definitely want to supplement with additional race-specific preparation. But if your goal is simply to get fitter, stronger, and more capable in the gym, you can show up for a Hyrox class with no competitive ambitions and walk out having gotten a great workout.
