{"id":968778,"date":"2026-07-30T09:58:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T09:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/968778\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T09:58:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T09:58:27","slug":"why-people-love-fitness-competitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/968778\/","title":{"rendered":"Why People Love Fitness Competitions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated5 min read<\/p>\n

THE MORE <\/strong>HUNTER<\/strong> McIntyre<\/a>, three-time Hyrox world champion, strains to push the 198-pound sled up the steep incline, the more its magnetic resistance, jacked to its max setting, pushes back. Oh, and his trainer, Sam Calavitta, topped the sled with two 110-pound dumbbells.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fitting metaphor: McIntyre pushing himself to improve, weighed down by the threat of Hyrox\u2019s growing legion of rivals. \u201cIt\u2019s not about \u2018Can you push a sled?\u2019 \u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s about \u2018Can you survive?\u2019 \u201d McIntyre is a prominent figure atop the ranks of the multievent sport of Hyrox<\/a>, but the competition is open to anyone. Hyrox is projected to have 2.5 million participants next year, according to Keith Barlow, the director of Fittest PR, a media agency that has worked with Hyrox for the past five years. That\u2019s up from the estimated 1.8 million this year, and a massive leap from the 550,000 in 2025.<\/p>\n

\"CompetitiveZach Craig<\/p>\n

Hunter McIntyre, three-time Hyrox world champion and veteran of the obstacle course racing craze of the 2010s, strides through a competition.<\/p>\n

You probably know the type of person lining up for events like this: They take on the CrossFit Open every year or post mud-soaked pics from the World\u2019s Toughest Mudder. These everyday racers aren\u2019t on McIntyre\u2019s level, though\u2014and they\u2019re not trying to be. They\u2019re just looking for exercise that\u2019s more engaging than a standard gym split\u2014and chances to compete.<\/p>\n

Adam and Liz Walter, both 42, from Paradise Valley, Arizona, say Hyrox gave their fitness new focus. \u201cI feel like for the last 10 years, I was stuck in the same workout,\u201d says Adam, who takes Hyrox classes and has two races under his belt. \u201cDoing a Hyrox workout, it was the next level.\u201d Liz has also finished two. \u201cIt brings out the inner athlete in you,\u201d she says. \u201cYou leave there every day feeling accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n

While McIntyre is among the sport\u2019s biggest names, Hyrox is just as focused on making competitors like the Walters feel as if they\u2019re stars, with plenty of \u2019gram-worthy moments as they race. But where did this wave of fitness competitions come from and what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

From Function to Fast-Paced Competition<\/p>\n

THE MODERN RISE<\/strong> of nonprofessional competitive fitness began in the 1990s. That\u2019s when \u201cfunctional training,\u201d which mimics everyday actions and prioritizes healthy movement over muscle mass, became popular. By the early 2000s, innovators combined functional movement with aerobic elements to create obstacle course races (OCRs), like Spartan Race and Tough Mudder in 2010.<\/p>\n

A year later, CrossFit held its first Open, an event consisting of a different workout test administered by local affiliate gyms each week for five weeks, with an international database tracking the leaders. By 2018, the Open was the largest single participatory sporting event in the world, drawing nearly half a million competitors. These events\u2014and the shirt-soaking training that fuels them\u2014matched what the average gymgoer thought an effective functional workout should be. \u201cPeople misunderstand what fitness training is over the long term,\u201d says Conor Heffernan, PhD<\/a>, a historian of physical culture at Ulster University in Belfast. \u201cWe\u2019re primed to think effective workouts are where we\u2019re drenched and say, \u2018Oh my god, I can\u2019t walk tomorrow.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

\"CompetitiveGIACOMO FORTUNATO<\/p>\n

Hyrox racers compete against each other at the New York City course earlier this year. The event, held over two long weekends, hosted 41,480 athletes across 14 divisions.<\/p>\n

Group-based training was also a plus. \u201cDespite the surge in popularity of running clubs, purely endurance sports carry an air of solitude,\u201d says Ben Feiden<\/a>, a certified functional strength coach at NYC\u2019s Performance HQ. It helped that the CrossFit Open and OCRs allowed normies to compete in the same workouts as the events\u2019 growing cadre of professionals. Fitness was no longer just something you did to stay in shape or train for a sport\u2014it was a proving ground for everyday athletes to measure themselves against others.<\/p>\n

Competition is also a stronger motivator for exercise than other forms of social interaction, like direct community support or even social media accolades, according to a University of Pennsylvania study<\/a>. Competition heightens the already powerful hit of dopamine from exercise, says Luis Torres<\/a>, a certified mental performance consultant at Premier Sport Psychology. \u201cYou\u2019re getting it from the community, from the energy, from exercise itself, and from completing something.\u201d It\u2019s the pull of the pack\u2014a factor that a whole new kind of competitive fitness has maximized.<\/p>\n

Enter Hyrox<\/p>\n

FUNCTIONAL FITNESS COMPETITIONS<\/strong> hit a rough patch a while back. Tough Mudder went bankrupt in 2020. Spartan Race failed as a TV sport. CrossFit became mired in controversies. Yet from the ashes of mud runs and WODs, Hyrox emerged, focused on elevating what its forebears established: the everyman athlete.<\/p>\n

Hyrox prioritizes visuals, with cameras along its courses. Races end with a podium photo moment, a shareable status symbol that can kick-start conversations IRL.<\/p>\n

\"Competitive<\/p>\n

GIACOMO FORTUNATO<\/p>\n

Hyrox is also even more accessible, fitness-wise. It doesn\u2019t have the high-skill moves of CrossFit or the extreme obstacles of an OCR. Hyrox consists of the sled push and pull, farmer\u2019s carry, rower, SkiErg, burpee broad jump, sandbag lunges, and wall balls. It\u2019s billed as challenging but achievable for everyone. (Older racers are often highlighted on the brand\u2019s social media channels.) Eric Bibb, a CrossFit coach in Columbia, South Carolina, says his experience at Chicago\u2019s event last year showed him that Hyrox \u201cwas a bucket list thing for many people who were there.\u201d<\/p>\n

And unlike the failed competitions of the 2010s, Hyrox is standardized: eight exercises with one-kilometer runs between them. \u201cEvery great sport has a scoring system that people immediately understand.\u2026 In a marathon, it\u2019s sub-three hours,\u201d Barlow says. \u201cIn Hyrox, it\u2019s sub-60 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event has now been around long enough (10 years in 2027) that its initial novelty is wearing off. While Hyrox still has runway for growth and innovation, rivals are emerging.<\/p>\n

Back to the Future?<\/p>\n

BARLOW WANTS TO<\/strong> elevate competitive fitness with a new event he hopes will have an appeal similar to Hyrox\u2019s. And\u2014plot twist\u2014he\u2019s partnered with CrossFit to build it. Xenom debuted in June in Dallas<\/a>. Unlike Hyrox\u2019s short races, Xenom is a two-day, 10-station affair that blends technical, skill-based strength moves with a standardized structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve got six months\u2019 experience lifting in a gym, doing gymnastics and stuff, you can come and do our most basic version,\u201d Barlow says. The goal is to create a shareable \u201cSuper Bowl moment\u201d that hasn\u2019t existed in the CrossFit space.<\/p>\n

\"Competitive<\/p>\n

GIACOMO FORTUNATO<\/p>\n

Xenom is not the only new competition, either. There\u2019s Adidas\u2019s ATHX<\/a> (a time-capped event rather than a race), APEX<\/a> (Hyrox as NFL Combine), METRIX<\/a> (a pairs event with five stations plus a DJ), and DEKA<\/a> (Spartan\u2019s indoor fitness race offering various divisions).<\/p>\n

The rise of these competitions is positive, says Heffernan, because it means more people are trying strength training\u2014and with what we know about the motivational power of competition, it\u2019s more likely they\u2019ll keep at it. And McIntyre appreciates the opportunity to keep chasing podiums. \u201cThe global interest of seeing who\u2019s the best at something is very fun,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

So whether you\u2019re racing for first place or just a PR, there\u2019s a spot in these events for you. You\u2019ll be almost guaranteed to get a good sweat that will ignite your inner competitor\u2014and score a few great pics for social media.<\/p>\n

This story originally appeared in the Summer 2026 Issue of Men\u2019s Health.<\/p>\n

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\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Greg Presto is a fitness and sports reporter and videographer in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n