Guide
How do you build a HYROX simulation workout?
Build a HYROX sim in steps. Start with 4 rounds of 1 km easy plus one station at 50% of race volume. Then move to 8 × (500 m + station at 50%) and later to 8 × (750 m at race pace + station at 75%). You do the full dress rehearsal, 8 × (1 km + 100% station) at race weight, in week 13 of a 16-week plan. The last hard sim falls 10 to 14 days before.
In short
- A sim combines running and stations with no break in between.
- Build up from 50% to 75% to 100% of station volume.
- One full dress rehearsal, in week 13 of 16.
- After the last hard sim comes a short, sharp version.
What is a HYROX sim?
A sim is a workout in which you alternate running and stations, like in the race. A race is 8 times 1 km of running with a station after each kilometre: SkiErg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmers carry, sandbag lunges and wall balls. In a sim you practise part of that, with less distance or less volume.
HYROX itself recommends imitating the race feeling, at home or in the gym. Brandt and colleagues (2025), the first study on HYROX, also advise combining running with the HYROX exercises. That trains your running economy in a fatigued state and the transition between efforts. More on that at compromised running.
How do you build a sim over 16 weeks?
From low volume to the full race volume. This is the build Benchmrk uses by default.
| Phase | Weeks | Sim | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 1–4 | 4 × (1 km easy + one station at 50%) | Technique; different stations each week |
| Threshold | 5–8 | 8 × (500 m + station at 50%) | Fast transitions, no walking anywhere |
| Compromised running | 9–12 | 8 × (750 m at race pace + station at 75%) | Run 8 within 12 s/km of run 1 |
| Peak | 13 | 8 × (1 km + 100% station), dress rehearsal | Race weight, race clothing, race nutrition |
| Peak | 14 | 4 × (1 km + 100% of your weakest stations) | The stations that decide your race |
| Taper | 15–16 | 4 × (500 m + station at 30%) | Stay fresh, keep the rhythm |
In the first half of the compromised running phase you run the sections 5 seconds per kilometre slower than race pace. You set the race pace itself with run pacing.
What does 50% or 75% station volume mean?
A part of the distance or the number of reps of the race. At 50% you do half. According to the season 26/27 rulebook, the race volumes are:
| Station | 100% | 75% | 50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| SkiErg | 1000 m | 750 m | 500 m |
| Sled push | 50 m (4 × 12.5 m) | 37.5 m | 25 m |
| Sled pull | 50 m (4 × 12.5 m) | 37.5 m | 25 m |
| Burpee broad jumps | 80 m | 60 m | 40 m |
| Rowing | 1000 m | 750 m | 500 m |
| Farmers carry | 200 m | 150 m | 100 m |
| Sandbag lunges | 100 m | 75 m | 50 m |
| Wall balls | 100 | 75 | 50 |
The weight stays the weight of your division, see Open or Pro. If you can't do that yet with good technique, train strength first and keep the volume low.
What does the dress rehearsal look like?
A full race, as real as possible. 8 × (1 km + full station) at your race pace, with your race weight, your race clothing and what you eat and drink on race day. In Benchmrk this is benchmark 5, in the first peak week. You log all splits, so the app can adjust your prediction per run and per station.
Don't do it too late. The last hard sim falls 10 to 14 days before the race in Benchmrk. After that comes a short, sharp version with about half the volume. A meta-analysis by Wang and colleagues (2023) found that a taper gives more after a block with extra load; the peak weeks are that block. Read on in HYROX taper.
How do you keep the transitions short?
By practising them in every sim. In the threshold phase the focus is: no walking between running and station. When you train alone, the goal in Benchmrk is to keep every transition under 20 seconds. In the race you run through the Roxzone at every transition, see save time in the Roxzone.
What do you do without HYROX equipment?
Use replacements that work the same muscles. A few examples that Benchmrk uses:
| Station | Replacement |
|---|---|
| SkiErg | Rower, same distance |
| Sled push | 20 m heavy walking lunges with dumbbells or barbell |
| Sled pull | 3 × 12 heavy rows + 20 m backwards walking |
| Wall balls | Thrusters with dumbbells or kettlebell |
All replacements per station, also for home, are on train for HYROX without a HYROX gym.
How Benchmrk does it
Every week there is a sim in your plan, matching your phase. If you train in a gym with a gym code, you follow your gym's sim template. You can also choose your own build. Benchmarks 3, 4 and 5 are sims in which you log your splits; they adjust your prediction per run and station. If you follow a template with hard sim weeks, the rest of that week gets lighter.
Frequently asked questions
How often should you do a full HYROX sim?
Not often. In Benchmrk there is one full dress rehearsal in the plan, in the first peak week. The other sims are shorter or have less station volume.
Should you do a sim at race weight?
In the dress rehearsal, yes, with your race clothing and your race nutrition. In the earlier phases the volume can be lower, so your technique stays good.
What if my gym has no sled or SkiErg?
Use a replacement exercise. You can replace the sled push with heavy walking lunges, for example, and the SkiErg with the rower.
How do you measure whether a sim went well?
Log your splits per run and per station. Compare run 8 with run 1; in the compromised running phase the goal is for run 8 to stay within 12 seconds per kilometre.
How long before the race do you do the last hard sim?
In Benchmrk, 10 to 14 days before the race. After that you do a short version with about half the volume and the same race pace.
Sources
- HYROX Singles Rulebook, season 26/27 (accessed on 22 October 2026)
- Brandt et al. (2025), Frontiers in Physiology (accessed on 22 October 2026)
- HYROX – Best HYROX Preparation (accessed on 22 October 2026)
- Wang et al. (2023), Effects of tapering on performance in endurance athletes, PLoS One (accessed on 22 October 2026)