A Sports Scientist & High-Performance Coach Shares His Best HYROX Training Tips
If you're preparing for a HYROX race, it's tempting to fill every training session with the exact stations you'll face on the day of the competitionsthink sled pushes, wall balls, lunges, and rowing until your arms give out. But on a recent episode of the mindbodygreen podcast, sports scientist and high-performance coach Fraser Thurlow, Ph.D., said the real gains come from outside the traditional HYROX stations.The athletes who perform best on race day aren't necessarily the ones grinding through the most HYROX-style circuits. They're the ones who've built a deep aerobic base, layered in the right strength and power work, and protected their joints for the specific demands of the event. Here's are Thurlow's best tips on how to approach the competition.Endurance is the number one factorThurlow is clear that the biggest predictor of HYROX performance isn't how many circuits you've done. He says the best performers in HYROX are the ones who have the best aerobic base to build on."The leading factor for performance in HYROX is having really good endurance. So the best endurance athletes are the ones that do well in HYROX," Thurlow says.Practically, this means the bulk of your training time shouldn't look like HYROX at all. It should be structured endurance work that helps you build the strong aerobic engine needed to sustain effort across the full race.RELATED READ: The 6 Best Electrolyte Powders To Keep Your Body HydratedBoost your VO2 maxVO2 max is your body's maximum capacity to use oxygen during exercise, and it's one of the most important markers of endurance performance. Thurlow considers boosting your VO2 max a key pillar of HYROX prep.Long high-intensity intervals, like four-minute efforts performed above 90% of your maximum heart rate, are among the most effective ways to drive VO2 max improvements.Sprint interval training is another great option that takes less time. It requires short, maximal efforts of 20 to 30 seconds with three to four minutes of rest in between. Thurlow says just two to six sprints per session, performed two to three times a week, can produce measurable changes in VO2 max.To get the most out of these VO2 max training methods, you have to push the intensity. Whether you're doing longer intervals or short sprints, the effort needs to be truly maximal, or close to it.And you don't have to commit to one method. Thurlow actually recommends rotating through different approaches to drive a wider range of cardiovascular adaptation. We broke down his exact weekly protocol for boosting your VO2 max here.Train at your lactate threshold to mirror race dayOne of the most specific ways to train for HYROX is to work at your lactate threshold. Lactate threshold refers to the point at which your body starts producing lactic acid, a byproduct of intense exercise, faster than it can clear it. When you push past this point, the buildup of lactic acid causes the burning sensation you feel in your muscles and forces you to slow down.Thurlow says HYROX races are performed right around this zone, which makes lactate threshold training one of the most directly transferable ways to prepare.In practical terms, lactate threshold training occurs when you're at about 82 to 90% of your maximum heart rate. Thurlow suggests doing three sets of eight-minute efforts at that intensity to work that threshold. It should feel demanding but sustainable, which is exactly the kind of discomfort a HYROX race asks of you.Strength train the HYROX movementsEndurance alone won't carry you through the stations. HYROX also requires real strength, and Thurlow recommends focusing your gym work on building maximal strength in the exact patterns the race throws at you.Sled push: A HYROX staple, so train it directly as part of your maximal strength work.Walking lunges: They appear in the race itself, so Thurlow suggests doing these them with Bulgarian split squats and single-leg squats to build the single-leg strength that supports them.Squats: Standard squats develop the foundational lower-body strength that underpins nearly every station.The goal is to increase strength when training these patterns, not just pile on the volume. Progressive overload, the practice of gradually increasing the load over time, will drive strength gains.RELATED READ: Taking Creatine For Muscle Growth? This Is How Much You Need DailyAdd power work for the wall ballsHYROX requires athletes to generate explosive power, most notably for the wall ball throws. Thurlow recommends layering in some power work alongside your strength training to prep for these, rather than relying on heavy lifting alone.He suggests doing all sorts of jumps, like box jumps, vertical jumps, and pogos (small, rapid jumps that build reactive strength through the ankle and calf). These movements train your muscles to produce force quickly, which will help you efficiently move through the race and excel at the wall ball station.Structure strength sessions with supersets to save timeOne of the best parts about HYROX is how many everyday athletes are competing on race day, which means most people aren't spending hours in the gym each day to train for the event.Thurlow's solution is to take advantage of supersets by using opposing muscle groups rather than working the same muscle back to back. A superset means performing two or more exercises back to back with little to no rest in between, then taking a full rest before repeating the group. It's a time-efficient way to get more work done in a single session.If you superset the same muscle group, you fatigue that muscle which means you can lift less load, which leads to reduced improvement in strength and muscle over time. Instead, he pairs movements that don't compete for the same muscles. For example, he will pair a dumbbell bench press, a split squat, and a calf raise, then take a rest before repeating.Thurlow says this is called increasing session density. You get more work done in less time and slightly elevate your cardiovascular demand, without sacrificing the heavier loads that drive strength gains. He also weaves mobility work into these supersets, pairing a squat with a dumbbell row and a hip flexor stretch, for instance. This addresses flexibility without adding time to the session.Protect your joints before race dayHYROX races are held in indoor convention centers, which means running on concrete. This hard surface, combined with the cumulative load of the event, creates real injury risk, especially for people who only give themselves a month or two to prepare.He sees two injury patterns come up repeatedly in HYROX athletes, knee tendinopathy and Achilles tendinopathy. Here are some specific exercises Thurlow suggests to prevent them.Calf raises: Both bent-knee and straight-leg variations. Thurlow considers these a weekly staple for strengthening the structures around the Achilles and knee.Isometrics: If you're already feeling tendon discomfort, static holds are effective. Thurlow suggests three to four sets of 45-second holds at a heavy load, and notes they can also be used preventively as part of normal training.Hip flexor work: You can use a cable machine while lying down to work your hip flexors, targeting areas Thurlow says are commonly missed.Adductor work: Most gym training happens in one plane of motion, but HYROX demands lateral stability too. Thurlow recommends side squats, side lunges, and adductor-focused work to fill that gap.To really allow your body to strengthen the muscles around your joints, Thurlow recommends giving yourself as time to train as possible. For anyone wondering how much lead time is enough, read about our co-founder's experience training for HYROX at 46. It's a good reminder that the athletes who do the best are the ones who build their base over time.RELATED READ: The 8 Best Collagen Supplements For Skin, Joints & MoreDon't overlook foot and calf strengthYou have to build strength from the ground up, which makes foot and calf work the foundation of your training. Thurlow is a former professional Australian rules footballer, and he has trained barefoot in the gym for the past 10 to 15 years. He recommends the same approach for HYROX athletes.For exercises like single-leg squats, Romanian deadlifts, and plyometrics, training barefoot allows you strengthen the intrinsic muscles of the foot, which help the entire body work more efficiently. He notes some lifts, like heavy squats or Olympic lifting, benefit from a slight heel raise, so use your judgement on what feels right.Beyond going barefoot, he suggests a simple exercise to improve foot strength. Scrunch your toes as if you're trying to drag a carpet toward you, or place a towel on the floor and use your toes to pull it in. It directly targets the small muscles in the arch and between the toes that most programs ignore. Thurlow recommends doing this as part of your warmup before a run or gym session.The takeawayThe strongest HYROX performances are built well before race day, and mostly outside the HYROX circuits themselves. Prioritize your endurance, train the specific strength and power the stations demand, and give your joints and feet the preparation the concrete floor requires.Above all, give yourself time and grace. Don't expect to master this beast of a race in just one month. The athletes who do best are the ones who build their base over the long haul.
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