HYROX is a new sport where endurance and strength athletes get their money's worth. The highlight: 1 km runs are paired with functional training, including rowing and skiing ergometers - both workouts on our ergometers, of course.
But what is HYROX?
HYROX is a large indoor sports event, usually held in huge exhibition halls, where running is combined with other functional training elements. These include wallballs, indoor rowing or lunges with a sandbag. The new sport is not to be confused with Crossfit or obstacle courses. That's because HYROX events last much longer than typical Crossfit events, averaging 90 minutes. The concept is aimed at mixing popular and elite sports. The organizers therefore also speak of an "everyman event".
For whom is HYROX suitable?
Basically, HYROX is aimed at all sports enthusiasts, especially those who want to try something new or test their fitness at an official event. Complex and technically demanding exercises, such as Olympic weightlifting, have been deliberately avoided. Participation as a duo or in a team is possible. In addition, there are different age groups and two different fitness categories, which means that there is a suitable sporting challenge for almost everyone. The exact requirements (exercises, repetitions and weight) result in the different performance categories. No matter which fitness category you choose, the HYROX events are by no means a foregone conclusion! After all, it is not just a matter of keeping up the 90 minutes of sport already mentioned, but also of being confronted with new exercises and changing loads in a single tour. That lets the muscles burn and the pulse upward shoot.
How exactly does a HYROX event work?
The running course is done indoors on a laid out circular track. Inside there are then the various fitness stations that need to be completed after each running interval. In total, 8 times 1 km running intervals and 8 different fitness exercises are completed. The complete event takes 90 minutes on average, which is roughly comparable to a triathlon in the sprint distance. To avoid waiting times on the running course or at the weight stations, 30 to 40 participants are let out onto the course at 10-minute intervals. Only the time needed to complete the course counts. During the last events more than 2000 participants took part in Germany. In London, even more than 4,000 athletes have registered. The first official event took place in Hamburg in April 2018. According to the organizers, the finisher rate was an incredible 100% for women and 98% for men.
These are the 8 fitness stations to complete, alternating with running intervals:
- Ski Erg: 1,000 meters on the Concept2 SkiErg.
- Sled Push: here you have to push a sled with a given weight over a distance of 2 x 25 meters.
- Sled Pull: the same as the previous exercise, except that you have to pull the sled over this distance.
- Burpee Broad Jump: is a combination of burpees and standing broad jump over a distance of 80 meters.
- Rowing: 1,000 meters on the Concept2 RowErg.
- Farmer`s Carry: two kettlebells must be carried over a distance of 200 meters.
- Sandbag Lunges: Using a shouldered sandbag, one must complete lunges over 100 meters.
- Wall Balls: Out of the squad, you have to throw a medicine ball at the wall around 100 times over a certain height.
Source and image source: Concept2
Published on: 10 March 2023