Thinking of competing in a HYROX?
HYROX is one of the most rewarding challenges in fitness: eight one-kilometer runs paired with eight functional stations, which you’ll take on back-to-back. It’s demanding, but it’s built for everyday athletes, and – with the right preparation – it’s well within reach.
Provided, that is, you have the right training. That’s why the team at F45 has designed a balanced program that develops several fitness qualities at once and builds your stamina steadily, so you arrive at the start line prepared and confident for the full race.
Read on as we take you inside the F45 HYROX Prep Program and explain how each phase prepares our members – both physically and mentally – for race day through structured progression, expert coaching, and functional cardio, resistance, and hybrid training.
Why HYROX preparation requires more than practicing the race
Many first-timers assume HYROX preparation just means rehearsing the stations. But getting through a race comes down to both strength training and running endurance.
To complete a HYROX race, you’ll need to be able to:
- Sustain an aerobic effort: With eight kilometers of running in total, you’ll need the stamina to maintain a consistent pace throughout the race.
- Run under fatigue: Seven of the eight runs follow a workout station, challenging you to regain your rhythm on tired legs.
- Produce repeatable leg power: Sled pushes, sled pulls, sandbag lunges, and wall balls require your legs to keep generating force rep after rep.
- Maintain your grip and core stability: A strong grip supports exercises such as the farmer’s carry, while core strength helps you maintain your technique under load.
- Recover between efforts: Regaining control of your breathing after each station helps you settle into the next run sooner.
Want to know more about the exercises you’ll encounter on race day? Read our HYROX training 101 guide, which covers every station you’ll come across.
Inside F45’s HYROX training philosophy
As an official global gym partner of HYROX, we’ve built our program to give you a complete, race-ready path to the start line.
Rather than leaving you to piece your HYROX prep together alone, we fold HYROX-specific training into the F45 programming you already know – and love!
As F45 trainer and HYROX World Championships athlete Alice Evans explains, “We’ve built a curated program that trains the actual movements you’ll face on race day – the sleds, the carries, the wall balls – and layers them into conditioning work that mirrors real race scenarios. Your HYROX race strategy really comes down to teaching your body to run tired, lift tired and keep moving from one station to the next.”
How F45’s HYROX prep workouts build race-ready fitness
Our HYROX prep workouts are built across three phases – each one setting up the next. You start by building a fitness base that can handle hard work, add strength and speed, then sharpen everything into race-ready form. Find out how to prep for HYROX below.
Phase 1: Building the foundation
The first phase of our HYROX prep program focuses on movement quality and endurance. You’ll complete mainly time-based workouts, with work periods gradually increasing and rest intervals becoming shorter as the phase progresses.
This structure helps build the aerobic fitness needed to maintain your pace and recover more efficiently between runs and workout stations. You’ll also have time to practice each movement with proper form before introducing more speed, load, and fatigue.
Phase 2: Developing strength and power
Next, we’ll put those foundations under the timer – adding rep targets and movement goals into your HYROX prep workouts. This will help you start to get a sense of the pacing a HYROX race demands, seeing clearly where your strengths lie – and where you need work.
From there, our trainers work with you to understand your weaknesses and imbalances – sharpening your form and fitness, session by session, to help you build a HYROX race strategy that plays to your strengths.
Phase 3: Race-specific conditioning
Once your movements and timing are dialed in, we turn up the intensity. These weeks are HYROX-specific – supporting you to string movements together, while simulating real race scenarios so you know what’s coming.
We’ll push you to your limits – because race day will, too! By the end you won’t just be physically ready. You’ll have felt the discomfort, learned to sit with it, and proven you can keep moving when it gets hard. That’s the mental edge that will carry you to the finish line.
How long does it take to prepare for HYROX?
How long it takes to prepare for HYROX depends on your current fitness level and athletic background. As a rough guide, here’s how long you might need for your HYROX prep:
- Hybrid athletes (8 to 12 weeks) – if you already train at F45, or you lift and run consistently, you’ve got both the strength and the endurance. Your prep is mostly about sharpening what you have and getting used to HYROX’s specific movements and pacing.
- Strength training, no running (12 to 16 weeks) – you can handle the stations, but running off tired legs is the missing piece. You’ll need time to build the aerobic base and get comfortable covering distance under fatigue.
- Runners, no strength training (12 to 14 weeks) – you have that cardio fitness, but the sleds, carries and wall balls will test muscles you haven’t loaded before. Most of your prep will be about building strength and durability so the stations don’t drain you.
- Beginners (16 to 24 weeks) – if you’re new to structured training or coming back after a long break, you’re building strength and endurance from the ground up. Give yourself a longer runway to progress safely and arrive at the start line confidently.
Ready to get started? Find your local F45 studio and see when the next HYROX is coming to you!
What makes F45 different from training alone?
Signing up for HYROX is a brilliant challenge to set yourself, but that doesn’t mean you have to figure it all out alone. With expert trainers, purpose-built facilities, and structured programming, F45 can help you get more from every HYROX prep workout – here’s how.
Expert coaching
Training alone, you can’t see your own technique; and, over a long block, small faults can end up leading to injuries or wasted energy. All our coaches are qualified and trained to correct your form, scale each movement to your level, and give you the outside eye you can’t give yourself. Plus, a lot of them race HYROX themselves – so they come with firsthand knowledge of what the event demands!
Progressive programming
Our HYROX prep program works because it builds in the right order. Progressing from a solid base into heavier, race-specific work means your body adapts to each demand before the next one stacks on top. Your fitness, strength, and tolerance for hard sessions climb gradually, so you can keep improving week to week – instead of constantly battling delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and needing more rest days.
Community motivation
F45 sessions are functional group workouts, so during your HYROX prep you’ll train alongside people chasing the same goal as you. That shared effort pulls you through the flat days; when your own motivation dips, the energy of the room carries you, and knowing familiar faces are expecting you makes it much harder to skip a session.
Scalable workouts
Our HYROX prep workouts are designed to meet you at whatever point you’re starting from. Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or brand new to F45, our trainers adjust the intensity and the progressions to suit your fitness level, so you’re working toward race day – at your pace.
A key part of your HYROX prep is prioritizing rest. So, learn more about stress, recovery and how to listen to what your body is trying to tell you next.
