HYROX training plan: 12 weeks to the start line
For most people, a good HYROX training plan takes about 12 weeks and has three phases. First you build a base in strength and fitness. Then you practise the stations while you're already tired. Finally you train at race pace and ease off before the big day. You train three to five times a week, with a mix of running, strength work and the eight stations. Below you'll find the whole plan, week by week, plus how to work out where you should start.
Maybe you've just bought a ticket. Or a friend talked you into it. And now you're thinking: right, what now? Eight kilometres of running, pushing a sled, a hundred wall balls. Where do you even begin? Right here. I'll walk you through each phase: what you do and why.
One thing first: 12 weeks isn't an official rule. It's just a handy way to build up. Can't run an easy 20 minutes in one go yet? Then give yourself more time for the base. Already training for a while? Then you can get away with fewer weeks.
Updated: 2026-11-04
What the race asks of you
A HYROX race is always built the same way: 8 times 1 kilometre of running, with one station after every kilometre. The order is fixed. Everyone runs the same distance. The difference between categories is in the weights. Want the basics first? Read what HYROX actually is.
- SkiErg: 1000 metres on a ski machine, pulling down with your arms and trunk.
- Sled Push: pushing a heavy sled forward, 4 times 12.5 metres.
- Sled Pull: pulling a sled towards you with a rope, 4 times 12.5 metres.
- Burpee Broad Jumps: 80 metres of burpees, each one with a jump forward.
- Rowing: 1000 metres.
- Farmers Carry: 200 metres walking with a kettlebell in each hand.
- Sandbag Lunges: 100 metres of lunges with a sandbag on your shoulders.
- Wall Balls: 100 throws of a ball at a target, starting from a squat.
Heads up: some plans online still say 75 wall balls. According to the official rulebook for the 26/27 season, it's 100, for every category. You'll find the weights per category on HYROX weights and distances.
So what does that mean for your training? You spend a big chunk of the race running. And every time you run, your legs are heavy from the station before. A good plan trains three things: your running fitness, your strength and switching between the two.
In CrossFit we've said it for years: train broadly and you're ready for almost anything. Except one thing. If you want to get better at running, you also just have to run. That's exactly the case with HYROX. A plan without regular runs in it won't work.
Before you start: find your level
A plan only works if it fits where you are right now. So do three short checks in week 1. Write down the results. You'll need them later to see if you're making progress.
- Easy run: how long can you keep running at a pace where you can still chat? Ten minutes, thirty, an hour?
- 1 km at pace: warm up properly and run 1 kilometre at a solid effort. Hard, but not so hard that you couldn't keep going. Note your time.
- Benchmark workout: 1 km run, 500 metres rowing, 30 wall balls, then another 1 km run. For time, at a tough but steady pace. Use a lighter ball or a lower target if you need to.
Use those results to pick your starting point:
| Your level | Sound familiar? | How to start |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | You can't run 20 minutes in one go yet, or you don't have much strength training experience. | 3 sessions a week. Consider 4 to 6 extra weeks of base training before you start week 1. |
| Intermediate | You can run an easy 30 minutes and you've been doing strength work for a while. | 4 sessions a week, following the plan as it's laid out below. |
| Advanced | You run 5 to 10 km comfortably and you've done a race or competition before. | 5 sessions a week, with an extra interval run or combined session. |
Stuck between two levels? Pick the lower one. You can always step up. Starting too hard and grinding to a halt after three weeks with sore knees or calves, that's what you want to avoid.
Got any complaints, an injury or on medication? If in doubt, check with your GP or physio before starting any plan. A coach can then adjust the exercises for you, but we don't take over from your doctor or physio.
How many times a week should you train?
More isn't always better. Your body adapts while you recover, not during the session itself. So you need to plan your recovery just as seriously as your training.
| Sessions per week | How to split them | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 easy long run, 1 strength session with a short run after, 1 combined session with stations | Beginners, or when your week is simply full |
| 4 | 1 easy long run, 1 interval run, 1 strength session, 1 combined session | The standard plan on this page |
| 5 | Same as 4, plus an extra easy run or a second strength session | Advanced athletes with time to recover |
Don't put your hard days back to back. A simple rule of thumb: after a hard day comes an easy day or a rest day. And plan at least one day a week where you do nothing at all.
Can strength and running go together in the same week? Yes. My advice: don't do your strength session and your intervals on the same day. If you can't avoid it, leave a few hours in between. And do the most important thing of the day first.
Phase 1 (weeks 1–4): a base of strength and fitness
The first four weeks are about building your base. No race simulations, no race pace. You work on three things: easy running, strong legs and a strong core, and the technique of the stations. It might feel a bit boring. But everything you do later builds on this.
Running. Mostly easy runs, at a pace where you can still hold a conversation. It'll feel too easy. That's right, that's the point. This is how you build an engine that can handle eight kilometres plus stations. Start with 20 to 30 minutes and add a few minutes each week. Once a week you run short stretches faster, for example 6 times 400 metres with a minute of walking in between.
Strength. Twice a week, or once if you're doing three sessions. Think squats, deadlifts, lunges, push-ups, dumbbell rows and planks. Those are exactly the movements you'll meet again at the sled, the lunges and the wall balls. Pick a weight you can move cleanly on every rep. Technique comes before weight.
Stations. You're learning the movements, not the race yet. Throw wall balls in sets of 10 to 15 at the right target. Row and ski at an easy pace, paying attention to technique. Practise burpees with a jump forward. Walk with two kettlebells and notice when your grip starts to give out.
Here's what a week in phase 1 could look like with four sessions:
- Monday: strength (squat, deadlift, push-ups, dumbbell rows), then 10 minutes of easy running.
- Wednesday: intervals, for example 6 times 400 metres with 1 minute of walking in between.
- Friday: station technique: wall balls, rowing, burpee broad jumps and farmers carry.
- Sunday: easy run of 25 to 40 minutes.
Week 4 is a lighter week. You train just as often, but shorter and less hard. At the end of that week you do the benchmark workout again. That way you can see if you're on track.
Phase 2 (weeks 5–8): stations when you're tired
Now it really starts to feel like HYROX. Your base is in place, so you start practising the stations while you're already tired. Because that's what the race is like: you never arrive at a station fresh.
Bricks. A brick is a session where you do running and a station straight after each other. For example: 1 km run, then 20 wall balls, then another 1 km run. The first hundred metres after a station, your legs feel like concrete. The only way to get used to that is to do it often. You'll find examples of sessions like this in HYROX workouts.
Intervals. You move from 400 metres to longer stretches. Start with 3 times 1 kilometre and build up to 5 or 6. Run at a pace you could hold eight times. So not as fast as you can.
Strength. You keep training strength, a bit heavier than in phase 1 but with fewer exercises. Squats, lunges and deadlifts stay the foundation. Carries get added: carrying something heavy over a distance. They make your grip and core stronger. You'll really need that for the farmers carry and the sled pull.
Long run. That stays in, at an easy pace. By the end of this phase it can last 40 to 60 minutes.
- Monday: strength, heavier than phase 1, followed by 2 rounds of a 500 metre run and 15 lunges.
- Wednesday: 4 times 1 km at tempo, with 2 minutes rest in between.
- Friday: brick: 4 rounds of a 1 km run plus one station.
- Sunday: easy run of 40 to 60 minutes.
In week 8 you do a half simulation: 4 times 1 km running with the first four stations in between, or alternatives for them. It doesn't need to be fast. The main thing you're learning is how to pace yourself.
Phase 3 (weeks 9–12): race-specific work and tapering
The last four weeks look more and more like the race. You train at race pace, practise the transitions and ease off at the end. That way you're fresh on the start line.
Week 9: race pace. Your combined sessions get longer, for example 6 rounds of a 1 km run with a station each time. Practise the Roxzone too. That's the transition area where you go from the running track to the stations. Moving through it calmly but without stopping easily saves you time.
Week 10: the big simulation. Do (almost) the whole race once. All eight rounds, with the stations or alternatives for them. Plan a rest day afterwards. Then look back honestly: did you start too fast? Did your grip go? Did you get stuck at the wall balls? Take that with you into the final weeks.
Week 11: staying sharp. Less volume, but still a few stretches at race pace. No new exercises. And no attempts to suddenly squat the heaviest weight of your life.
Week 12: tapering. Tapering means easing off. You train less and shorter, so your body can recover and you're rested on race day. You do keep some short, fast efforts so your legs stay sharp. The last two days before the race you do almost nothing: a bit of walking, some easy mobility and an early night.
Tapering feels strange. You'll think your fitness is slipping away. It isn't. What you've built over eleven weeks doesn't disappear in a few quiet days.
The full plan, week by week
Here's everything in one overview, based on four sessions a week. Training three times? Then drop the interval run in phases 1 and 2, and fold your strength work into the combined session in phase 3. Training five times? Add an extra easy run.
| Week | Focus | Running | Strength | Stations and bricks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baseline | Easy run 20–30 min + 6 × 400 m | 2× basic strength | Benchmark workout, wall ball and rowing technique |
| 2 | Base | Easy run 25–35 min + 6 × 400 m | 2× basic strength | Burpee broad jump and farmers carry technique |
| 3 | Base | Easy run 30–40 min + 8 × 400 m | 2× basic strength | SkiErg and sandbag lunge technique |
| 4 | Lighter week | Easy run 25 min + 4 × 400 m | 1× light | Benchmark workout again |
| 5 | Bricks | Easy run 35–45 min + 3 × 1 km | 1–2× strength, heavier | 3 rounds: 1 km + station |
| 6 | Bricks and test | Easy run 40–50 min + 4 × 1 km | 1–2× strength + carries | Benchmark workout as a test |
| 7 | Bricks | Easy run 45–55 min + 5 × 1 km | 1–2× strength + carries | 4 rounds: 1 km + station |
| 8 | Half simulation | Easy run 40 min + 4 × 1 km | 1× strength | 4 × 1 km + stations 1 to 4 |
| 9 | Race pace | Easy run 45–60 min + 5 × 1 km at race pace | 1× strength | 6 rounds: 1 km + station |
| 10 | Big simulation | Easy run 40 min | 1× light | (Almost) the whole race |
| 11 | Staying sharp | Easy run 30–40 min + 3 × 1 km at race pace | 1× light | 3 short rounds at race pace |
| 12 | Taper and race | 2 short, easy runs with a few strides | No heavy strength | Short wall ball and lunge sets, then race |
Only got 8 weeks? Then you cut most of the base phase. That only works if you already run and do strength training regularly. Got more time? Then stretch the base phase instead. That's what pays off most on race day.
Train the stations by the rules
A rep that doesn't meet the standard costs you time. A station you don't fully finish, or skip, costs you your result: that means disqualification. So from week 1, train to the standards in the 26/27 season rulebook.
- Wall balls: you start standing tall. In the squat, your hips go below your knees. You throw with both hands and the ball has to hit the target. The target hangs at 2.70 metres for women and 3.00 metres for men. Train at your height, with the ball for your category.
- Sandbag lunges: your back knee clearly touches the ground every time. You alternate legs and stand fully upright on every rep. Every fault costs 15 seconds. So does taking the sandbag off your shoulders.
- Burpee broad jumps: your chest touches the ground, then you jump forward. Don't throw yourself flat. Put your hands down and lower yourself under control.
- Sled push and sled pull: the sled has to be fully over the line before you change direction. Turning too early doesn't count.
- Roxzone: use the right entrance and exit. Taking the wrong way costs 2 minutes.
For the wall ball itself, I use the CrossFit coaching points. Squat as deep as you can on every rep. Keep your feet flat on the floor and your elbows low and tucked in. Then you throw from your legs instead of your arms. That saves your shoulders for the last fifty.
In the race, chalk is only allowed at the sled pull and the farmers carry, and only the event's own chalk. So train without your own chalk now and then, so you know how your grip holds up.
Training without a sled or SkiErg
Not every gym has a sled, and you probably don't have one at home. No big deal. You can mimic most stations pretty well. You will miss the real feel, though. So try to train on a real sled and SkiErg a few times before the race.
| Station | No equipment? Do this |
|---|---|
| SkiErg | Rowing, or pulling a resistance band down from a high point, in blocks of 1 to 2 minutes |
| Sled push | Heavy lunges, wall sits with your knees at a right angle and short hill sprints |
| Sled pull | Pulling a heavy bag towards you on a rope, plus dumbbell rows |
| Burpee broad jumps | Works anywhere: on grass, in the park or in a long hallway |
| Rowing | Exercise bike or air bike, at the same effort |
| Farmers carry | Two heavy bags, buckets or dumbbells |
| Sandbag lunges | A backpack full of books or a bag of sand |
| Wall balls | A medicine ball against a solid wall, or dumbbell thrusters (squat and press straight overhead) |
So training at home works fine for most of the plan. What you miss at home is someone watching your squat or your lunges. And that's exactly where the penalty seconds hide.
How to follow this plan in group classes
You don't have to do this plan on your own. At CrossFit Zeeburg in Amsterdam East, a big part of it is simply built into our classes. We're not an official HYROX gym, and we're upfront about that. But our Hybrid Endurance classes prepare you really well for a HYROX event. You train strength and fitness in one class, with a coach who watches you and scales the exercises to you. Read more about hybrid training in Amsterdam East.
Hybrid Endurance runs on Tuesday at 18:00, Wednesday at 13:00 and 20:00, and Sunday at 12:00. On top of that there are WOD classes every day (WOD stands for workout of the day), plus classes like StrongLifts and Weightlifting. Check the schedule to see what fits your week.
Here's how I'd build a week with four sessions:
- 2 Hybrid Endurance classes: your combined sessions and your tempo work.
- 1 WOD class: strength and general fitness.
- 1 easy run on your own: just a loop around the neighbourhood, at chatting pace.
In phase 1 you can swap a Hybrid Endurance class for an extra WOD class, for a bit more strength. In phase 3, do the opposite. And in week 12, take it easy. Tell your coach you're racing, and we'll scale your training with you.
Want to feel what that's like first? Then come and do two weeks of unlimited training with us. You try different classes and you'll soon find out what suits you.
Race day: how to pace yourself
You can undo twelve weeks of training in one day by starting too fast. A few simple agreements with yourself go a long way.
- Warm up easy. Ten minutes of running, a few strides and some wall balls and lunges without weight.
- Run the first kilometre slower than you think. It'll feel easy. That's the trap. You'll pay for it at the wall balls.
- Catch your breath in the Roxzone. Keep moving, but use those metres to settle your breathing before the station.
- Break up the wall balls. Decide your sets in advance, for example 10 or 15 at a time with a short pause. Short, planned breaks beat one long stop.
- Keep moving. Walking is better than standing still. At the lunges and the sled, it's all about steadily keeping going.
And above all: don't try anything new on race day. No new shoes, no different breakfast, no gloves you've never worn. Test everything during your simulation in week 10.
Common mistakes in a HYROX plan
- Only training stations. The stations are fun and tough, but you're running 8 kilometres. Don't skip your runs.
- Only running. The reverse happens too: a strong runner who grinds to a halt at the sled push. Strength belongs in every week.
- Going too hard every session. An easy run is genuinely easy. If everything's hard, you don't recover and you don't get better.
- Not practising the standards. A squat that's too shallow or a knee that doesn't touch the ground costs penalty time. Train the way the race demands from day one.
- No rest. Next week becomes next month, we all know that one. But the opposite exists too: training every single day until your knee starts complaining. Take your rest days as seriously as your training.
- Treating the plan as sacred. Ill, or slept badly? Move a session. A plan is a plan, not a punishment.
Ready for your first HYROX? Build a strong base first.
Phase 1 of this plan is all about strength, fitness and good technique. That's exactly what you do in Your Strong Start: you show up, the training is ready and a coach watches you in every class. We measure where you start and where you end up, so you begin your race prep on solid ground.
- 12 coached CrossFit sessions in 4 weeks, around 3 a week
- A personal starting assessment plus scalable Fit Test as your baseline
- A midway check, so one busy week doesn't break your rhythm
- Final assessment and repeat Fit Test: you see what changed
4.9 out of 5 on Google · 153 reviews
Short excerpts from public Google reviews.
€99 one-off · 12 sessions · personal guidance · no membership
No experience needed. No programmes to figure out. No subscription quietly running on.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be able to run 8 km before I start?
No. You only run those 8 kilometres on race day, and then in 1 km chunks with stations in between. If you can run an easy 20 minutes now, 12 weeks is a fine timeframe. If not yet, add a few extra weeks of base training first.
How fast should I run each kilometre?
There's no set pace. Use your 1 km tests from week 1 and week 6. In the race, run noticeably slower than that test time, because you're doing it eight times with stations in between.
What's the difference between Open and Pro?
Everyone runs the same distance and does the same stations. In Pro the weights are heavier, like the sled, the sandbag and the ball. For your first race, Open is the logical choice.
How old do you have to be to do HYROX?
According to the 26/27 season rulebook, you need to be at least 16. There's no upper limit: there are age groups up to and including 80+.
Can I do HYROX if I'm pregnant?
HYROX allows it at your own risk and strongly recommends seeing a doctor first. So check with your doctor or midwife before anything else. If you need adjustments, let the organisers know in advance. And tell your coach, so your training is adapted to you.
What if I miss a week?
Pick the plan up where you left off, but go a bit easier that week. Missed more than two weeks? Go back one week. Don't try to catch up by training twice as much.