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- It\u2019s a lifestyle that you buy into.<\/strong> Prepping for a Hyrox race typically means taking classes at a Hyrox-affiliated gym and traveling to an attractive destination. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- It\u2019s (relatively) easy.<\/strong> Despite how punishing it looks at first glance, trainers insist that Hyrox is less difficult than other intense workouts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Since launching in Germany in 2017, Hyrox has become a worldwide phenomenon. As CNBC reported in June<\/a>, it initially started with just 650 people and now is projected to capture roughly 1.5 million participants across 121 events in 34 countries around the world. Revenue, which comes from a combination of contest entry fees, sponsorships, merch, licensing for Hyrox-affiliated gyms, and other avenues, is expected to reach $270 million in 2026. This year, 42,000 tickets were sold to the New York City race in the event\u2019s first 24 hours. In 2025, there were roughly 12,700 athletes registered for the event.<\/p>\n
Technically speaking, Hyrox is a timed competition that spans eight rounds; the person or team \u2014 athletes can compete as individuals, as doubles with a partner, or as part of a relay \u2014 with the fastest overall time wins.<\/p>\n
Each round consists of a 1-kilometer run followed by a more \u201cfunctional\u201d strength-based move, often done using a machine. These exercises<\/a> include: 1,000 meters on a SkiErg; a weighted 50-meter sled push; a weighted 50-meter sled pull; 80-meter burpee broad jumps; a 1,000-meter row; a 200-meter Farmers Carry<\/a> (lugging around two heavy weights at your side while walking); 100 meters of lunges with a sandbag on your back; and 100 wall balls (squat thrusts that involve launching a medicine ball into the air as you stand). It\u2019s run-exercise-run-exercise-run-exercise until all eight kilometers and all eight movements are completed.<\/p>\n
But Hyrox is also, Hyroxers say, a lifestyle. Because the best way to succeed at Hyrox \u2014 and for many participants, winning or at least finishing with a decent time is the goal \u2014 is to train for it. That likely means going to Hyrox-affiliated gyms that prepare you for the different exercises, and training alongside other people who also plan to run the race. And that\u2019s where it can get all-consuming.<\/p>\n
Abby Roskind, a 35-year-old project manager living in Washington, DC, who has finished two races, told me that Hyrox sort of subsumes your entire existence. Training for Hyrox, she said, involved 5:30 am workouts, an excruciating amount of time learning how to properly broad jump, daily soreness, and lots of complaining.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you are always with other people doing these things, it becomes a little bit of a hostile takeover of your life where you meet up with your \u2018fitness\u2019 friends, and then they become your actual friends, and all you end up doing when you\u2019re not training for Hyrox is talking about Hyrox,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Roskind and other Hyroxers told me that people who are very serious about wanting to do well in competition may go on a diet, cut alcohol before the race, or squeeze in extra workouts, which naturally leads to less dinners out, less meeting up for drinks, and, ultimately, less socializing. It makes sense that people going through this experience will want to talk about Hyrox since so much of their life centers on it, and that the best audience for a discussion on Hyrox strategy would be other people doing Hyrox.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt definitely didn\u2019t come across as culty where it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, welcome to my Scientology of Exercise and you\u2019re going to do this,\u2019\u201d said LJ, a 34-year-old with one Hyrox under his belt. (LJ told me he was afraid of being \u201ccanceled\u201d by fellow Hyroxers and maybe his friends for talking to Vox, so we agreed to let him use his first initials to maintain some anonymity.) LJ said that one of his friends had run races in Europe and talked him and a small group of others in their circle into competing this past year. They generally approach it as a fun, casual thing to do together.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut then when I got to the actual venue day of the race, I felt like Hillary Clinton walking through that apartment<\/a> like, What the hell is going on here?\u201d he said. \u201cBecause there are a lot of people where this is a big chunk of their life. I saw people walking around \u2014 I guess they [Hyrox] give out badges \u2014 showing all the badges that they had from all the different cities that they competed in.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea of someone, ostensibly with a day job, going from city to city to compete in Hyrox and then showing off commemorative brooches is what signaled to LJ that the workout he enjoyed could be experienced in a different, more serious way. In that moment, LJ saw Hyrox the way outsiders might. Still, for him, the positives of Hyrox \u2014 being in better shape; experiencing runner\u2019s highs, friendships, and the rush of competition \u2014 outweighed the possible cult-by-association.<\/p>\n
A lot of people want to feel like an elite athlete, and now we can pay for the experience<\/p>\n
If you make a Hyroxer feel comfortable enough, you will find that they all love to talk about the parts of the race they hate the most. It\u2019s the feeling of thick death rushing through their lungs as they stare down the number of meters left in the burpee broad jump section. It\u2019s the judges who are there to make sure participants are getting low enough during the wall balls. It\u2019s seemingly everything about the race.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a bottomless chasm between how much people love Hyrox and how much they love to talk about how much it actually sucks to do. The bridge that connects the two is getting to feel like an elite athlete.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you become an adult, how many times are you going to get a sticker?\u201d James McMillian<\/a>, a trainer and the president at Tone House<\/a>, a strength and conditioning facility in New York City, asked me. \u201cHow many times are you going to get a reward? How many times are you going to get a medal? People just want to be part of something. They want to feel close to greatness.\u201d<\/p>\n
McMillian, who has completed six Hyrox races, said that the vast majority of us will never ever know what it\u2019s like to be a GOAT like A\u2019ja Wilson or Lionel Messi, but Hyrox lets racers microdose it: the discipline sticking to a training schedule (as opposed to just working out day after day), the adrenaline of competing on game day, and the high of thousands of people cheering for you.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey turned working out into an athletic sport,\u201d McMillian said. \u201cMaking everyday people feel like an athlete and giving them that opportunity to compete like one \u2014 that\u2019s a smart business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because it turns out that people are more than willing to pay for that athlete feeling.<\/p>\n
While participants aren\u2019t required to work out at Hyrox-affiliated gyms to run the race, Hyrox-specific classes can cost more than regular group fitness packages. One Hyroxer told me that their 10-class package was around $600. There\u2019s also a microindustry developing around getting better times. You might, for example, purchase Hyrox-branded fitness trackers and training apps, Hyrox shoes, and Hyrox equipment for your home gym (like a Hyrox Official Competition Power Rope, $275; a Hyrox Official Competition Power Rope, $275 Official Competition Sandbag, $87; or Hyrox Official Competition Power Rope, $275 Perform Turf, starting at $1,799).<\/p>\n
The actual competition varies in price depending on the race and location, but can cost upward of $200. Racers can also opt in for a $35 photo package, which means a professional will take shots of themselves looking muscular and sweaty during the race.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to beat anyone else better or qualify to compete in Hyrox \u2014 you just have to buy a ticket in.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s Hyrox\u2019s travel aspect. Hyrox is a benchmark and a goal, and race day is the culmination of all the training and sacrifice. It\u2019s also where you get an official time. More competitive racers are training not just for their home city\u2019s Hyrox, but to go to other races on the Hyrox calendar.<\/p>\n
The races are often in desirable destinations like Rome, Berlin, and Miami Beach, which can make Hyrox seem like vacation or, I guess, make a vacation seem more like Hyrox. If you\u2019re traveling for Hyrox, that may mean paying for a plane or train ticket, or gasoline, and lodging. One Hyroxer I spoke to said that he spent roughly $1,500 on airfare and a hotel in addition to the official entry fees and photo options. Another said they spent roughly $500 in travel, saving money by splitting a hotel with a fellow racer.<\/p>\n
- It\u2019s (relatively) easy.<\/strong> Despite how punishing it looks at first glance, trainers insist that Hyrox is less difficult than other intense workouts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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