Training for HYROX: Chloe’s Guide to Building Strength, Fitness and Resilience
Thinking about signing up for a HYROX but not sure where to start or worried about picking up an injury?
Chloe Storey, Senior Physiotherapist at LDN PHYSIO, understands the demands of HYROX both as a competitor and as a physio treating athletes preparing for the event. In this article, she shares her practical guide to balancing running, strength training and recovery, building your capacity gradually, and getting to the start line feeling confident and prepared. BOOK IN WITH CHLOE
HYROX demands a lot from your body. It’s not just about getting fitter, but about preparing your body to repeatedly tolerate running and moving heavy weights under fatigue.
Having experienced the demands of HYROX both as a competitor and as a physio treating athletes competing in the event, here are my main lessons and takeaways to help you stay injury free in the process.
Understand the demands of the event
The difference with HYROX compared to a traditional running event is that your legs have to repeatedly produce force when they're already fatigued, while your cardiovascular system is working hard. This combination can catch people out.
HYROX combines 8 x 1km runs with 8 functional stations, meaning there is little opportunity for recovery. For many athletes, heart rate stays significantly elevated for much of the event. A study of HYROX competitors showed that they spent approximately 80% of race time at 90-100% of HRmax and another 20% at 70-90%.
Build your engine before you redline it
One of the biggest mistakes I see is athletes focusing too heavily on the stations and forgetting that you're still running 8km. Running makes up approximately 60% of race time. Added to that, running on fatigued legs feels significantly different to running on fresh ones.
You're running between heavy sled pushes, lunges, wall balls, rowing, burpees and more. A strong aerobic base allows you to run efficiently and recover between stations, rather than spending the entire race trying to catch your breath.
Your training should therefore include a mixture of:
Easy aerobic running
Tempo or threshold work
Intervals
Not every run needs to be hard. In fact, most shouldn’t be. Give yourself a long enough training block to gradually increase your running volume and allow your body time to adapt. This is particularly important if you're coming from a predominantly strength based background and aren't used to regular running.
If you're coming from a more strength based background, the extra load from increasing your running volume may mean you need to adjust your gym volume too. More training isn't always better training.
Get Strong... but make it specific to HYROX
HYROX requires strength, but you don't necessarily need to become the strongest person in the gym. Your training will combine strength work with running and high intensity sessions, so it's important not to continually fatigue your body by taking every session to your limit. Training muscular endurance is more important than maximal strength.
I'd prioritise:
Posterior chain strength
Upper body pushing and pulling
Grip strength
Calf and ankle capacity
If you're coming from a more strength based background, the extra load from increasing your running volume may mean you need to adjust your gym volume too. More training isn't always better training.
Prepare your tissues for the load
If you're new to running and suddenly start running a couple of times a week alongside multiple HYROX focused sessions, your cardiovascular system might feel ready before your tissues are. Your muscles, tendons and bones all need time to adapt. Load isn't inherently bad, unprepared for load is the problem.
We typically utilise the load vs capacity model in physiotherapy which suggests when the load you put your body through exceeds the capacity you’re able to handle at that present time, your risk of injury increases. We can influence our capacity by things like prioritising recovery, fuelling and reducing life stressors as well as training effectively.
Don't ignore early warning signs such as persistent soreness, pain or a drop in performance. It's much easier to modify your training early than to deal with an injury later.
Don't make every session a HYROX session
You don't need to recreate race day every time you train. Another common training error I see is stacking too many hard sessions together. You don't need multiple hard runs combined with back to back high intensity HYROX sessions every week. Your body needs time to recover and adapt between sessions.
It is important to practise working under fatigue, but you can plan this type of training into your block without constantly putting your body through a full race simulation.
My 5 Practical Tips for HYROX Training
1. Build your running gradually
Don't suddenly increase your running because you've entered a HYROX. Give your tissues time to adapt to the additional load.
2. Keep strength training in your programme
HYROX requires both aerobic fitness and strength. Don't abandon the gym; just make sure your strength work complements your running rather than competing with it.
3. Practise compromised running and transitions
Eventually, you need to learn what it feels like to run on tired legs. Combining running with individual stations can be more useful than constantly training everything separately.
4. Don't neglect recovery
Sleep, nutrition and rest are all part of your training programme. You don't adapt during the session; you adapt during recovery. Depending on your previous training experience and overall training load, make sure you're giving yourself at least 1–2 recovery days per week.
5. Practise pacing
HYROX is a long event. Don't treat the first kilometre like a sprint. The ability to maintain your output when you're fatigued is what will make the biggest difference towards the end. You don't want to reach the final 100 wall balls with nothing left to give!
Chloe's Takeaways
HYROX is an amazing test of overall fitness because it requires you to build both an exceptional aerobic base whilst also improving your strength and power.
From a physio perspective, my goal is to help you get to the start line feeling fully prepared with a body that’s ready to race.
Chloe works in Fulham, Old Street & Hackney
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