What HYROX is, and what it changes in a gym
HYROX is a race with eight kilometres of running, broken up by eight stations, always in the same order. For a gym that prepares people for it, the scale of time changes. A race season sits on top of the class week.
The format, which never changes
A HYROX is eight one-kilometre runs. After each one there is a station, and the order of the stations never changes:
- 1.1000 metres of SkiErg
- 2.50 metres of sled push
- 3.50 metres of sled pull
- 4.80 metres of burpee broad jumps
- 5.1000 metres of rowing
- 6.200 metres of farmers carry
- 7.100 metres of sandbag lunges
- 8.Wall balls, with the number of reps changing by division
8 km
Sled weights, carry loads and wall ball reps change with the division and the age group. The order and the distances do not.
There are individual, doubles and relay divisions. In doubles the stations are split between two people, and that changes the preparation more than it sounds.
What this changes in a gym
A class gym works by the week: the timetable repeats and the sum that matters is capacity. A gym preparing people for races gets a second scale on top of that one, which is the season.
The race is a date, and the quarter before it counts backwards from there. Base, build, peak and taper are four periods with different shapes, and each asks for different hours and different sessions.
Capacity decides the week. The training block decides the quarter. Both sums run at once, in the same room.
The three things that break first
- The timetable. Changing block changes days, times and capacities. Done by copying sessions one at a time, it is an afternoon per block, and four afternoons a season.
- The marks. Without somewhere the thousand-metre time is recorded, nobody can say on peak week whether it improved since base.
- The taper week. Fewer sessions, different hours. Handled as a list of exceptions, one of them always stays uncancelled.
The equipment, and what it decides about capacity
You do not need all eight stations. You prepare with the equipment you have, and that decides how many people fit in a stations session.
Two SkiErgs and one sled make a session in rotation, and the capacity is the number of stations rather than the size of the room. That is a different capacity from the normal class, on the same day and with the same coach.
The running is where it is won and lost
Eight kilometres of running is a large share of the race time. A gym that only trains the stations sends people to the race doing the stations well and losing time between them.
For an indoor gym that means sessions outdoors or treadmills, and it means hours when that is possible.
Frequently asked
- Do I need all eight stations to prepare people?
- No. You need to cover the movement patterns and train the switch from running to working. A sled, an erg and sandbags cover most of the work, in smaller rotations.
- Can this be done inside normal classes?
- Partly. Base fits in a normal class, peak almost never: it asks for longer sessions and running volume. A simple way is a class type of its own, on the same calendar as the rest.
- How long before the race should people start?
- A block of twelve to sixteen weeks leaves time for base, build, peak and taper, for someone already training regularly. Anyone starting from scratch needs a base before that, and that base is not race specific.
- Is it worth it for the business?
- A date on the calendar gives people a reason not to skip for three months, and that shows up in attendance. The cost is your time building the season, and that cost is paid once or four times depending on the tool.
Rummo team
Written by the people who build Rummo, management software for gyms, boxes and studios: classes, bookings, members and payments.
Reviewed
Write your typical week once.
Every class has a capacity, a coach and a waitlist. Members book and cancel from their phones, within the window you set.
Lite is free up to 10 active members, with no card and no time limit. Pro comes with a 14-day trial, also with no card.