HYROX.
You’ve probably heard of it. It’s the flashiest thing in fitness right now, and it’s only getting bigger.
If you haven’t, it’s best described as a test of fitness, an event, a festival of fitness?! You really have to see it to get it… there were 24,000 participants in the Melbourne this past weekend, and we had a bunch of FitLab athletes participate, and even more going to support.
If you’re new to this world, HYROX is a sport, like a triathlon or marathon. The test involves running, sleds, carries, burpees, lunges, and more… all the stuff you do in the gym. It takes 1-2 hours to complete, and is a good test of overall fitness. While it’s mostly cardio and muscle endurance based, it will also test your strength and power…. Just try moving those sleds! It’s the same test each time, and there are 80+ events around the world each year. It’s now considered the fastest growing sport in the world, with over 650,000 participants.
The growth of HYROX has raised the inevitable question of:
“How is it different to CrossFit?!“
To answer this properly, we need to start at a fundamental difference:
HYROX is an event. CrossFit is a methodology.
CrossFit training is designed to bring GPP (General Physical Preparedness). That means being prepared for the physical demands of every day life… You can play with your kids, help a mate move house, jump into a sport, and you’re always ready to help an old lady with her shopping.
Being a training methodology, it can help prepare you for HYROX.
The overarching goal of CrossFitl is: “To increase work capacity across broad time and modal domains.” – CrossFit Journal.
A more direct definition of CrossFit is Coach Glassman’s Fitness in 100 words:
Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts… Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics… Bike, run, swim, row, etc., hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.
Broad, yes. General, yes. That’s the beauty of CrossFit. It aims to get you fit across the widest spectrum of fitness… From strength, to flexibility, to endurance, and much more.
Where HYROX gives you one very specific test, CrossFit prepares you for anything life (or sport) can throw at you, and has a particular focus on longevity.
Many of the fittest HYROX athletes in the world came from a CrossFit background — and there’s the reason for that is that CrossFit gives you the foundation to jump into these things.
- It builds a base of strength.
- It teaches efficiency in movement under fatigue.
- It improves your mental resilience.
- It prepares you for varied movement patterns and unexpected challenges.
It has also created a worldwide community of likeminded people who have benefitted from all of the above.
So if HYROX is your goal — we love that. It’s an awesome challenge.
If long-term, resilient, adaptable fitness is your goal?
CrossFit’s where the magic happens.
Another way to look at this is with opportunity cost… If you spend your time preparing only for HYROX, you will be sacrificing your time getting more flexible and agile through calisthenics, or training power through snatches and clean and jerks. CrossFit ticks both of these boxes.
What Should You Focus On?
The truth is, you don’t have to choose between the two. In fact, many of our members use HYROX as a goal to focus their CrossFit training, while others simply enjoy being well-rounded and ready for anything.
My general advice here is:
- Train CrossFit year-round to develop full-spectrum fitness.
- Add HYROX-specific prep in the lead-up to a race to sharpen your skills and running – there’s a lot of running.
- Keep your focus on movement quality, recovery, and longevity — not just short-term outcomes.
- Adhere to the nutrition principles of CrossFit year round.
You don’t need to pick sides. You just need to stay consistent, train smart, and know what each system is trying to achieve.
There has been some conflict between CrossFit and HYROX. As inevitable as this conflict seems, it’s it doesn’t need to be this way. The way I see it… CrossFit is having a party. HYROX comes along and starts a different party, somewhere else. Similar people, music and vibes. Some CrossFitters visit said party, and enjoy themselves. Upon telling their fellow CrossFitters that there’s this other party going on, they’re faced with hostility, and find themselves choosing between one or the other. Eventually, the two parties meet, greet, understand the similiaries and differences, then have have an even better party, and that’s the party we want to be a part of.
In Summary
- HYROX is a brilliant test of fitness. It’s fun, challenging, and engaging.
- CrossFit is the training that helps you do it, and so much more.
Want help training for HYROX? Or just want to level up your fitness for life?
Talk to a coach. We’ve got pathways for both — and you don’t need to do it alone.
Coach Steve