Prepare for Your Next HYROX Race With This Strength and Endurance Workout

max. 30 min

foodspring

By Kristina Lauer
November 9, 2022

Why trust us?

If you fancy a new challenge that will put your strength and endurance to the test, a HYROX race might be just what you’re looking for. The season for this indoor fitness competition starts in November and the structure is always the same: 1 km of running, followed by a functional exercise such as wall balls or lunges with a sandbag, all repeated 8 times. Click here for all the exercises in this competition. Participants are lined up and put into groups to avoid long waiting times at the stations. In the end, the individual who completes the race fastest wins.

Find out more: What you should eat before, during and after race day.

How do you prepare for a HYROX race? Linda Meier, HYROX elite athlete and world record holder, talks us through her training plan. “You definitely have to like running!” says Linda. “A long running session is an integral part of my training plan.” She does a HYROX-specific workout once a week, which combines running and a maximum of two functional exercises. “As well as HYROX training, I do classic strength training four times a week, which consists of basic exercises such as squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, and bench presses,” Linda explains.

The results speak for themselves! In 2019, Linda competed in her first HYROX World Championships, finishing in an amazing second place. If the competitive spirit has got hold of you too, here’s Linda’s HYROX workout.

The Warm-Up:

Take 10 minutes getting your body warmed up for your workout. Start with some jumping jacks or a casual warm-up, then add in some shoulder rotations, a few lunges with torso twists and some walkouts and you’ll be ready for your workout.

The Workout:

There are two parts to your workout, which lasts a total of 60 minutes. The first part of the workout combines two functional exercises: 1000 m on the ski ergometer (SkiErg) and 6 to 8 circuits of Sled Pushes. You complete these two exercises alternately for a total of 5 rounds. The second part involves running, so an example workout would be spending 25 minutes on the first part, then the remaining 35 minutes running until your 60 minutes are up.

Take a break in between if you need one, but don’t forget that the clock is still ticking. Note how much time you needed for all the rounds, then try to beat your personal best next time.

The Exercises

#1 SkiErg

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and centered in front of the ergometer. Hold one handle in each hand with your little finger resting on the lower edge. Bring your hands to about eye level and bend your arms slightly. Tighten your core to the maximum to start the thrust, then pull the handles down as your arms pass close to your body. Hinge your upper body slightly forward, push your hips back, and bend your knees slightly. The thrust ends when the handles are at the side of and below your knees, with your arms extended. To reverse the move, straighten your upper body as you swing your arms forward, then start the next thrust immediately.

Muscles: The entire body.

Remember: Keep your arms close to your body so you don’t waste unnecessary energy and you perform the movement as efficiently as possible.

#2 Sled Push

Stand in front of the sled with your feet hip-width apart. Grasp the handles with both hands and walk your feet backward until your upper body is parallel to the floor, with your arms bent and elbows close to your body. Your knees should be bent at a 90-degree angle. Standing on the balls of your feet, tighten your core and push the sled forward by extending your legs and taking a step forward with your right leg, bending your knee at a right angle. Then straighten your right leg while you take a step forward with your left leg. Make sure that your back remains neutral.

Muscles: Entire body.

Remember: You can perform Sled Pushes with bent or extended arms. Try both variants for yourself to see which one feels best.

Done? Good job! Time to cool down. Click here to find out how to do that properly.

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Sources for this article

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