CROSS-TRAINING
HYROX is for everyone !
If you haven ’ t yet heard of HYROX , then lend us your eyes and ears for a few minutes , especially if you ’ re a runner looking for a new , challenging fitness sport , with races and competition levels for all ages , that will give you a full body workout , but still play to your strengths as a runner . – BY CAMERON CLEAVER
Billed as the World Series of Fitness Racing , the sport of HYROX has taken the world by storm in a short couple of years . Athletes from various sporting codes are jumping across to test themselves , from Olympians to Tour De France champions , and HYROX is gaining global acclaim as the fitness test for all age categories and levels of fitness . As a result , HYROX is the fastest-growing fitness racing sport on the planet ,
The first HYROX event took place in 2018 in Hamburg , Germany , with 600 competitors taking part . Today , there are over 175,000 active competitors across 70 global events in 20-plus countries , and the events continue to grow in
popularity . HYROX London had over 13,000 athletes competing , necessitating a move to a ballot entry system for the next event , in order to control the number of entries !
The sport is both accessible and inclusive , with a standardised format of racing and movement standards that aren ’ t technical and are functional by their very nature . Training comprises of running and functional fitness , with equipment widely available at HYROX Affiliate Gyms , CrossFit Boxes and traditional gyms like Virgin Active , Planet Fitness and F45 .
The HYROX Racing Format
The HYROX race comprises of 8x1km runs with eight workout stations splitting them . This is broken into a variety of racing formats , from Singles to Doubles and Relays , including same sex and mixed teams . There are also Open and Pro divisions that differ in weights per station , as well as different age categories , making the sport accessible to all athletes , and giving it longevity from a training , racing and competing perspective .
In the Singles division , the age groups for competition are : 16-24 , 25-29 , 30-34 , 35-39 , 40-44 , 45-49 , 50-54 , 55-59 , 60-64 , 65-69 and 70 +. ( The HYROX Pro Division ’ s last age group is 65 +). For the Doubles competition , the age groups are as follows : 16-29 , 30-39 , 40-49 , 50-59 , 60 +
The standardised racing format is almost always in an indoor arena or stadium , with the running loops around an internal workout zone from functional fitness stations one to eight . The requirements are always exactly the same , in the same order , for each HYROX . 1 . 1km Run 2 . 1000m Ski Erg ( on Concept2 Ski Erg ) 3 . 1km Run 4 . 50m Sled Push ( 102kg to 202kg *) 5 . 1km Run
6 . |
50m Sled Pull ( 78kg to 153kg *) |
7 . |
1km Run |
8 . |
80m Burpee Broad Jump |
9 . |
1km Run |
10 . |
1000m Row ( on Concept2 Rower ) |
11 . |
1km Run |
12 . |
200m Kettle Bells Farmers Carry ( 16kg to |
32kg *) |
13 . |
1km Run |
14 . |
100m Sandbag Lunges ( 10kg to 30kg *) |
15 . |
1km Run |
16 . |
100 / 75 ** reps Wall Balls ( 4kg to 9kg *) |
* Weights vary by category . |
** Reps vary by category |
HYROX has a 98 % completion rate , and the average time across all categories taken to complete a HYROX event is 1.5 hours , with the top elite athletes finishing the races in less than an hour .
The HYROX World Champs is held annually in June , with qualification coming from podium positions at global events , and this year will be the first time that countries will compete against each other in relay format . South Africa ’ s first global race is in Cape Town on the 21st September 2024 , with specific details of a Johannesburg race in November 2024 and a Durban race in early 2025 still to be confirmed . \
HYROX Cape Town
Cost of Entries
56 ISSUE 169 | www . modernathlete . co Singles . za – R1300pp
21 September 2024
Doubles – R1200pp Tickets Available NOW !
Relay – R600pp
Special Offer : 10 % Discount for Modern Athlete readers – use the discount code : CAM-10