12-Week Hyrox Training Plan (With What to Eat for Every Session)

Hyrox is 8 km of running split into eight 1 km runs, with a workout station after each one: 1,000 m SkiErg, 50 m sled push, 50 m sled pull, 80 m burpee broad jumps, 1,000 m row, 200 m farmers carry, 100 m sandbag lunges, and 100 wall balls. It rewards a big aerobic engine, strength endurance, and the ability to run well on tired legs. It also punishes under-fueling, because the training mixes long runs, heavy sled work, and intervals in the same week.

This 12-week plan is built for first-timers and for athletes who have raced once and want to go faster. It has four phases, four or five sessions a week, and a fueling guide for each type of session. Adjust the volume to your level and your schedule, and check the official rulebook for your division’s weights.

How Hyrox Is Won

Studies of tens of thousands of Hyrox results show that running makes up about half of total race time, and that faster running explains most of the improvement at the top of the sport. The strength stations matter more further back in the field, where one bad sled push or wall ball set can cost minutes. In a study of Pro men racing in Madrid, running speed fell steadily from the first kilometer to the eighth, and the slowest running of the race happened in the Roxzone, the transition area between the runs and the stations.

So a good plan does three things. It builds your running. It builds strength endurance for the stations. And it teaches you to run at a steady pace straight after a station. That last skill is called compromised running, and it is the most Hyrox-specific thing you can train.

The Plan at a Glance

The Four Session Types

Weeks 1 to 4: Base

If your gym has no sled, use heavy prowler pushes, plate pushes on turf, walking lunges with a heavy bag, and rope pulls. Try a real sled at your race weight a few times before race day, because sled friction varies a lot between gyms and venues.

Weeks 5 to 8: Build

The goal on Fridays is to leave each station and settle into your target run pace within the first 200 m. Most people start too fast after the SkiErg and too slow after the sled. Learn what race pace feels like when your legs are heavy.

Weeks 9 to 10: Race-Specific

The full simulation is also your fueling rehearsal. Eat the breakfast you plan to eat on race day at the same time before the start, use the same pre-start snack, and practice drinking in the Roxzone if you plan to.

Weeks 11 to 12: Taper

• Cut total training volume by about a third in week 11 and by about half in race week. A two-week taper that cuts volume by 40 to 60 percent while keeping intensity is the most reliable way to peak.
• Keep one short quality session each week, such as 4 x 1 km at race pace or three run-station pairs.
• No heavy strength work in race week.
• Two or three days of easy running and rest before race day.
• Eat more carbs, not fewer, in the last two days. The race week plan linked below has the details.

What to Eat for Each Session

Hyrox training is hard on your fuel tank because it mixes long aerobic work, heavy strength, and high-intensity intervals. Athletes who train like this and eat like they are dieting are the ones who stall, get sick, or pick up niggles. Match your food to the session.

Across the day, most Hyrox athletes do well with 1.6 to 2.0 g of protein per kg of body weight, spread over four meals, and 4 to 7 g of carbohydrate per kg depending on the day: less on rest days, more on long-run and simulation days. Creatine is the one supplement with strong evidence for the strength side of Hyrox: 3 to 5 g a day, every day.

Race Day in Short

Race day is simpler than training. Elite athletes finish in about an hour and most age-group athletes need longer. Eat a normal carb-rich day before, a breakfast of 1 to 2 g of carbs per kg 2 to 3 hours before your wave, and take a gel about 15 minutes before the start. If you expect to be out there for longer than about 75 minutes, take a gel or some sports drink around halfway. The race day guide linked below has exact timings for morning and afternoon waves.

Signs You Are Under-Fueling Your Training

• Easy runs feel hard and your heart rate is higher than usual at the same pace.
• Sled pushes and wall balls get worse from week to week instead of better.
• You are starving at night, or never hungry at all.
• You catch every cold going around.
• You sleep badly even when you are tired.
• For women, a change in your menstrual cycle.

One of these is a warning. Two or three together usually means you need more food, most often more carbohydrate around training. Long-term under-fueling harms health and performance, and it is the most common reason Hyrox athletes stop improving.

Mavr sets different carb, protein, and fluid targets for lift days, run days, and simulation days from the sessions you sync or log, then plans race-day fueling for your wave time.

Fuel Every Hyrox Session

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources