What is HYROX?
HYROX as a training form
By Oliver Kristensen · 7 min read
HYROX describes itself as fitness racing (HYROX, 2026). Fitness racing is competition where running and functional exercises are combined in a single race, and your finishing time is the result.
What sets the category apart from ordinary running races is that you do not only run.
You switch between running and exercises that demand strength and endurance, and your body has to handle both, even when it is tired.
HYROX is not the only one. ATHX Games and various hybrid competitions, where endurance and strength are combined, are other examples of the same idea.
HYROX is a global competition that combines running and functional training. The format is the same all over the world, so HYROX is a sport where you can compare times from race to race, just like in the marathon and the triathlon.
HYROX can be regarded as High-Intensity Functional Training (HIFT) (Feito et al., 2018; Brandt et al., 2025).
HIFT covers a broad spectrum of functional sport, including CrossFit and HYROX.