HYROX Training Blocks

If you’re reading beyond the heading of this blog, chances are you’ve got an interest in HYROX—and if that’s the case, you’re probably more than familiar with the ongoing battle of getting tickets.

While it’s a proper pain in the proverbial, there is a silver lining. If the opportunity was always there, those of us who’ve truly caught the HYROX bug would probably be signing up for events every other weekend. As fun as that sounds, overly frequent racing almost always leads to injury and leaves little room to focus on structured training blocks.

Here’s where I see a lot of people go wrong with their HYROX prep:

They throw all their energy into HYROX-style training—engine class after engine class, sim after sim. And while keeping a portion of your training at that intensity is important, it often means neglecting the ‘other stuff’, otherwise known as auxiliary training.

Auxiliary Training Definition: “Exercises or routines done to support the primary sport activity.”

So, what does that look like in the context of HYROX?

First up, the more general stuff: strength and conditioning, zone 2 running, mobility and flexibility, plyometric and power drills, etc.

Then comes the important bit—doubling down on your personal weaknesses. Let me use myself as a real-world example:

My weakest stations have always been lunges and wall balls—by quite a margin. Most people would just try to improve this by doing more lunges. While that can help, the first step is figuring out why these movements are costing me so much time. In my case, it’s due to poorly conditioned hamstrings and a lack of medial glute strength (my physio, if I recall correctly, compared me to a 60-year-old woman—cheers for that).

So, alongside everything else, when I’m in the ‘off-season’ and can take my foot off the gas a bit, my focus shifts to—you guessed it—hamstring conditioning and medial glute strength. Oh, and making sure I allow for proper rest and recovery too.

My 2025 Plan working towards my first pro-singles event in October, following a fairly intensive stretch that included four official HYROX singles races (Manchester, Glasgow, Barcelona & Cardiff) between January and May.

June/July: I’m intentionally taking an 8-week hiatus from HYROX. I’ve signed up for a white-collar boxing match as a way to stay intense while mixing it up. I’m also throwing in some good old-fashioned bodybuilding workouts—purely for enjoyment and therapy. And just to make sure I don’t completely forget about running (my least favorite part of HYROX), I’ve signed up for a 10K race.

August: This is when I’ll start significantly increasing the mileage in my zone 2/3 running. It’ll be my biggest mental challenge (boring!!), but the payoff in overall performance will be worth it. I’ll also begin building strength in preparation for the increased weights in a pro race. Gulp.

September/October: After a de-load over the extended bank holiday, September is go-time. I’ll be tackling my first pro-weight JWC sim, smashing an engine class each week, and committing to three HYROX-focused strength and conditioning sessions—plus 20km of road running weekly.

Mid-October (approx. two weeks out): I’ll begin a gradual taper, reducing training intensity and frequency, prioritising sports massage, getting more sleep, and increasing calories.

As you can see, there’s way more to a successful HYROX event than smashing yourself to pieces day in, day out.

Want to nail your HYROX prep? We’re here to help!