If you haven’t heard of HYROX by now—it’s an indoor fitness competition taking the fitness world by storm. It consists of eight serious exercise challenges (think 75 wall balls, 1,000m row and 200m farmer’s carry) with a 1km run between them. Oh, and there’s no rest—you’re aiming to complete the workout as quickly as possible. It’s a full-body challenge that tests stamina, endurance, strength and fitness.
I’m a huge fan. It hurts so much, yet I still go back for more. With four HYROX competitions already under my belt, and four more to go this year including the mixed doubles race at the World Championships, I am constantly in HYROX training mode.
That means combining running with various exercises which feature in HYROX, so my body is conditioned to run when fatigued. It also improves my overall fitness, ensuring I’m primed for competition. This week, my HYROX workout was especially tough. I threw running, burpees and walking lunges together in what can only be described as one of the sweatiest workouts I have ever completed.
Keen to try it? You need a treadmill and a set of dumbbells. Give yourself plenty of time—it took me about 40 minutes.
Warm-up
Run 1km at a steady pace. I set the treadmill speed to 12.5km/h, so it took just under five minutes.
The Workout
Repeat the below, four times, so in total you will have completed eight treadmill efforts and four lots of each exercise.
1 Run
Distance 600m
Set a speed that will leave you breathing hard by the end of the 600m. I increased my speed to about 15.5km/h.
2 Walking lunge
Reps 40
Stand holding dumbbells by your shoulders with your elbows pointing forward. Take a big step forward, bending your knees until your rear knee kisses the floor, and keeping your front knee directly above your ankle. Push up through your front heel and return to standing. Step forward into the next rep with the other foot, alternating sides each rep.
3 Run
Distance 600m
Maintain the pace established above. Try your best not to slow down because the aim is to train your legs to work under fatigue.
4 Burpee
Reps 30
Stand, then bend over and place your hands on the floor next to your feet. Jump both feet back to land in the high plank position. Lower your body to the floor. Push through your palms to return to the high plank, jump both feet forward to your hands, then jump straight up. Land softly and go straight into the next rep.
