It is 2025.
You want to run Hyrox.
Or maybe you are waiting until 2026 to actually sign up, but your legs should start complaining sooner. There is a specific workout for this. Designed by Gede Foster, a Hyrox competitor with fourteen races under her belt. Her solo PR? An hour and seven minutes.
She built this.
It is short. It is spicy.
Five exercises. All real. You will find them on race day, save for one tweak: dumbbells for the walking lunges instead of a heavy sandbag. Why? Convenience, mostly, but also because you are likely at home or in a gym without sleds. The goal here is muscular endurance, not maximal strength.
“You want to perform the workout with a RPE (rate of perceived exertional exertion) of 6–7.” Foster says. That means you should be able to hold a conversation, if you had breath left. Do not go all-in on minute one. Save it for the finish line.
“It is good to train with a slightly heavierweight than you’ll use on race day… race day weight will then feel lighter.”
The Structure
E2MOM.
Every Two Minutes On The Minute.
It sounds technical, it is just a clock game.
Set your watch.
Do the work for 90 seconds.
Rest for 30.
Hit the two-minute mark? Switch to the next movement.
Repeat.
The circuit runs three or four times depending on your ego. Three rounds is thirty minutes. Four is forty.
As you get stronger, Foster suggests shifting the split. Ninety seconds of work becomes one minute forty-five seconds of work. The rest shrinks to fifteen seconds.
Tighter intervals. Harder breathing.
The Gear
Weights matter, but so does sanity.
For the lunges, grab two 10-pound dumbbells. They mimic the drag of a sandbag fairly well. If you are a total novice? Skip the weights entirely. Just move. If you think you are better than the beginner box? Go to 15-pounders.
For the wall balls?
Grab an 8-pound med ball.
If you cannot throw anything without feeling like you are going to rupture a disc, swap the throw for a dumbbell thruster. Press up, step back, survive.
The Circuit
Do not think about round four yet.
Start with Exercise 1.
- Exercise 1: SkiErg. 90 seconds of pulling. Let the cord snap back.
- Exercise 2: Burpee broad jump. Floor to air. Horizontal distance is king here. 90 seconds.
- Exercise 3: Dumbbell walking lunges. Pick a side, step through, alternate. Keep moving forward.
- Exercise 4: Run. In place, on a treadmill, out the door if your neighbor isn’t watching. Just move your feet fast.
- Exercise 5: Wall balls. The change in rhythm. Throw the weight, catch the ball, stand up.
Rest between the blocks? 30 seconds.
Except after the wall balls.
You get a full 60-second reprieve before starting the ski again.
“Aim to pace yourself.”
Why do you think the rest period exists? To punish you for sprinting the ski.
Breathe.
Check the time.
You are not an athlete yet. You are becoming one.
Thirty minutes is not that long.
Start the clock.
See what happens at minute twenty-five.
Usually, it is not pleasant.
