What is a Hyrox Event? | Ski Erg | Sled Push | Sled Pull | Burpee Broad Jumps | Rowing | Farmers Carry | Sandbag Lunges | Wall Balls | Run

Hyrox is a fitness competition that consists of running and 8 functional workouts.

Hyrox competitors run 1km and then complete a functional exercise at each station - this is repeated 8 times.

These exercise stations are:

• Ski Erg
• Sled Push
• Sled Pull
• Burpee Broad Jumps
• Rowing
• Farmers Carry
• Sandbag Lunges
• Wall Balls

Hyrox is coming increasingly popular, and it's not just the events that are getting busier - more people are adding Hyrox exercises to their workout routines and heading to hyrox inspired classes.

So, whether you're preparing for your next Hyrox event or you're a beginner wanting to start doing Hyrox exercises, you're in the right place.

PT and Hyrox athlete, Darian Galloway is here to give you tips and tricks to make sure you're pace is right, your form is spot-on and your smashing each Hyrox station!

Want to know the weight and distance requirements in a Hyrox event? Learn more here!

Ski Erg

The Ski Erg is a piece of gym equipment that you will use in an Hyrox event.

It is designed to work the full body and doing this exercise will especially activate your lats, triceps, core, and your legs.

• When setting up for the Ski, grab both handles, give it a strong pull down, pushing the glutes back with a slight bend in the knee.

• Aim to keep your back as flat as possible and give nice strong pulls to make the move as efficient as possible.

• In a competition, you will be completing 1000 metres and you cannot get off the Ski Erg until a judge has checked your meters.

Top tip from Darian: "Spend as much time as you can on the Ski to understand how to get the correct form. When you have this form, your movement will be more efficient to reach that 1000m. For endurance, make sure you are doing interval training on the Ski Erg, including long and short intervals."

Sled Push

The Sled Push is a full-body movement that utilises a piece of equipment called a sled.

This movement predominantly activates muscles in the lower half of your body. You will also need to use your core muscles to stabilise yourself, and your upper body to push the sled along the track.

There are two popular Sled Push techniques in Hyrox.

• The first technique is to start with the arms extended, pushing the sled forwards with your arms in this position.

• The second is to bring yourself close to the sled, line up the shoulders, put your arms on either post and grasp your hands, lower on the posts. Then, use the core strength to push it forward.

Top Tip from Darian: "I would recommend incorporating exercises such as deadlifts, squats, leg press, and plyometric exercises such as hill sprints to improve the overall performance."

Sled Pull

The Sled Pull is a full-body movement that utilises a piece of equipment called a sled. This movement will predominantly activate your upper body, legs, and core.

• To set up for your Sled Pull, load a plate onto the sled. Then, (use the rope that can be found in the functional areas), create a knot and put it on top of that plate. Then, add another plate on top to secure the rope - it will be sandwiched in the middle.

• You can always use light weights, but you will need to use weights to put the rope on the sled. This is the best technique to set up a Sled Pull and will be the most similar to the exercise at a Hyrox event.

• Grab the rope with a nice flat back, bend your knees and brace your core.

• The walking back technique allows you to utilise your leg power - you walk back whilst pulling the rope. Darian particularly likes this technique as it allows you to take a small breather in between pulls.

• If you prefer to use only your upper body strength, you can step over the rope, and use the upper body strength only to pull the rope towards you.

Top Tip from Darian: "I would recommend incorporating exercises to help strengthen the legs, upper body, and core to improve the overall performance. Make sure you build your way to pulling higher weights with this one to avoid injury."

Burpee Broad Jumps

Burpee Broad Jump is a full body explosive movement.

When starting the movement, place your hands on the floor and bring the chest all the way down to the ground - this is required in a Hyrox event.

• When you come up from your burpee, you can either jump your feet in or step the feet in. To maintain endurance, stepping your feet in can often be better, rather than jumping.

• Your feet need to be as close to your hands as possible and you don't move them until you initiate the jump. Then, jump forwards in a position similar to a squat.

• Once the jump has been completed, you. then initiate the burpee and repeat.

Top Tip from Darian: "The key with this station is to improve your cardio fitness and muscular endurance in your legs. I would recommend burpees, plyometric exercises such as box jumps, and planks."

Rowing

The Row is a full body movement, done on a rowing machine. This exercise mainly targets the lats, upper body, legs and core.

• Strap your feet in and tighten the buckles so that your feet are locked into place.

• Grab the handle with a loose grip and start with a strong pull. Bring the handle all the way to the chest and straighten the arms out, making sure you're using a strong leg drive.

• Then, move back forwards, and repeat the pulling exercise.

• The chain should always be straight when pulling - make sure you keep an eye on this to check your form hasn't gone sloppy.

• Make sure you test out the resistance on the Rower to do what feels good for you.

Top Tip from Darian: "I would recommend a resistance of 7-8 on the Rower as you get enough power but you can maintain a good speed to get you through the 1000m. Additionally, make sure you work on tempo, speed, getting the resistance right and put interval training into your plan."

Farmers Carry

The Farmers Carry predominately uses the upper back, shoulders, traps, and core.

• Using kettlebells that suit you, pick up your kettlebells with a nice flat back, move up to a standing position.

• Lock your arms out and walk forward.

• You can either walk, or you can do a little shuffle and run. The shorter time the kettlebells are in your hands, the better.

Top Tip from Darian: "I would recommend practicing turning with kettlebells for efficiency. Exercises that can help your Farmers Carry performance are deadhangs (to improve grip strength) and core exercises such as knee raises and planks."

Sandbag Lunges

Sandbag Lunges predominately use the legs and the core.

• Pick up your Sandbag with a nice flat back and clean it up to the chest.

• Then, pop it into the back, making sure you're comfortable before you set off.

• Bring your knee to the ground and start your lunge. Repeat this process.

• There are two ways to complete your Sandbag Lunge: you can walk through it or create a bit of rest in between by stepping the foot in before placing the other knee down.

Top Tip from Darian: "Always make sure that you bring your knee to the ground when training - this is a standard in a Hyrox event that you have to adhere to. Additionally, you need to stand properly, not crouch into your lunge."

Wall Balls

Wall Balls predominately use the legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes), core, and upper body.

For a Hyrox event you will have to complete 100 Wall Balls.

The weight differs for the male and female categories, with a 3KG ball being required for women and 6KG ball being required for men.

• When performing the Wall Ball movement, you need to make sure you're looking up at the target. If you are using a Wall Ball target in a PureGym, you can move the ball in your arms out towards the squat rack - if it touches, you're at the perfect distance from the target.

• To initiate the movement, squat down, with the ball in your hands, aim for the target and when you come back up from the squat, release the ball.

• Then, catch the ball, go back down into a squat, and repeat.

Top Tip from Darian: "To improve your power, endurance and strength to complete 100 Wall Balls, I would recommend box jumps, goblet squats, and planks."

Running

Running is the most important part of your Hyrox event - you will be performing 8x1km runs in a Hyrox event. So, you need to get comfortable with running,

• You need to be putting in work to get confident with running - you can do this simply by running more.

• You can train for the running section of a Hyrox event on a treadmill or outside, but make sure that you're focusing specifically on Zone 2 running and Interval running work.

• Doing leg work can help your endurance, as well as prevent injury. Focus on doing leg exercises such as calf raises, squats, leg press, and lunges.

• Training your core is also useful for stability - focus on exercises such as planks, knee raises, and hollow holds.

Top Tip from Darian: "Make sure you always add compromised running into your training routine - for example, doing jumping lunges mixed with some intervals will help get your legs ready for your Hyrox event."

Whether you're excited about entering an event or you just want to add Hyrox exercises into your weekly routine, training hyrox-style can be a great way to push your ability, test your strength, and try new things.

Want to get on the Hyrox hype?

Take a look at our Hyrox articles and see if there's a Hyrox class near you!