Training
What does a good HYROX training plan look like?
A good HYROX training plan lasts about 16 weeks and runs in five phases: base (weeks 1–4), threshold (5–8), compromised running (9–12), peak (13–14) and taper with race day (15–16). Your paces come from your own threshold pace and threshold heart rate, not from someone else's table. Five benchmarks adjust your paces along the way. Running gets the most attention, because in research more than 60% of race time was spent on the 8 kilometres.
In short
- 16 weeks in five phases, from base to taper.
- Paces and heart rate limits based on your own threshold.
- Five benchmarks that recalibrate your paces.
- A 2-week taper, at about 65% and then 40% of your volume.
What does a HYROX race consist of?
A HYROX race is 8 times 1 km of running, each followed by one workout station. The stations are always the same, in the same order. So your plan has to train two things: running and stations, and above all the combination.
| # | Station | Distance or reps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SkiErg | 1000 m |
| 2 | Sled push | 50 m (4 × 12.5 m) |
| 3 | Sled pull | 50 m (4 × 12.5 m) |
| 4 | Burpee broad jumps | 80 m |
| 5 | Rowing | 1000 m |
| 6 | Farmers carry | 200 m |
| 7 | Sandbag lunges | 100 m |
| 8 | Wall balls | 100 reps |
According to the season 26/27 rulebook, you push and pull the sled in 4 sections of 12.5 m. The weights differ per division. You can find them per division in the guide Open or Pro.
What does the 16-week build look like?
The plan runs in five phases, from general to race-specific. Each phase has its own goal.
| Week | Phase | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | Base | Build volume, technique on the stations |
| 5–8 | Threshold | Raise your threshold pace |
| 9–12 | Compromised running | Run at race pace after station work |
| 13–14 | Peak | Full dress rehearsal, race weights |
| 15–16 | Taper and race | Get fresh, hold your pace |
In the app, volume grows by about 6% per week, with a lighter week (70%) at the end of the base and threshold phases. How long you need in total is covered in how many weeks to train for HYROX.
Why train at your own threshold?
Because your own threshold pace and threshold heart rate decide what is hard and what is easy for you. Benchmrk uses heart rate zones as a percentage of your threshold heart rate, following Joe Friel's method. An easy run stays under 89% of your threshold heart rate, threshold repeats are at about 100%. How to find those values is covered in find your threshold pace.
The focus on running has a reason. In the study by Brandt and colleagues (2025), 11 recreational athletes ran a simulated race. The median finish time was 86.5 minutes, of which a median of 51.2 minutes was running. According to the researchers, that was more than 60% of the time. VO₂max was most strongly related to finish time.
Which five benchmarks are in the plan?
Five tests replace a normal session and then adjust your paces. In a 16-week plan they fall like this:
| Benchmark | Week | What you test |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Threshold test: 4 × 1000 m |
| 2 | 7 | Threshold endurance: 3 × 2000 m |
| 3 | 10 | Compromised pacing: all splits of a sim |
| 4 | 12 | Pace decay test: 8 × 1000 m with stations |
| 5 | 13 | Full dress rehearsal |
What does an example week look like?
This is an example week of 5 days in the threshold phase. The paces are relative to your threshold pace (T).
| Day | Session | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Threshold | 4 × 1600 m at T minus 3 s/km |
| Tue | Strength | Station strength for your two weakest stations |
| Thu | Easy | Easy run at T × 1.22, under 89% threshold heart rate, 4 strides |
| Sat | Sim | 8 × (500 m + station at 50% of race volume) |
| Sun | Long run | Easy, about a third of your weekly kilometres |
How to build a sim is covered in build a HYROX simulation.
How do you taper in the last two weeks?
The taper lasts 2 weeks. In the app's rules you train at about 65% of your volume in the first taper week and at 40% in race week. The last hard sim falls 10 to 14 days before the race, the last heavy strength session 7 to 10 days before. Those are Benchmrk's choices, not the results of one study. More in the guide HYROX taper.
How Benchmrk does it
Benchmrk builds this plan from your race profile, threshold pace and threshold heart rate. You choose how many days you train. The plan adapts to what you log: pace, heart rate and RPE. After each benchmark your paces are recalculated. Stiff tendons in the morning? An impact day becomes low-impact. To find out where you stand first, predict your finish time.
Frequently asked questions
How many weeks do you need for a HYROX plan?
Benchmrk uses 16 weeks as the standard. With less time the phases get shorter; with more time, weeks of aerobic base are added.
How many days a week do you train in this plan?
You choose 1 to 7 days yourself. With 5 days that is a threshold session, a sim, strength, a long run and an easy run.
Why is threshold training so central?
In research, more than 60% of race time was running, and that running happens while fatigued. Your threshold pace determines how hard you can hold those 8 kilometres.
What is a benchmark?
A fixed test in the plan, such as a threshold test or a full dress rehearsal. The result adjusts your paces and your prediction.
When do you do the last hard simulation?
In the app's rules, 10 to 14 days before the race. After that the volume gets smaller and the pace stays the same.
Sources
- HYROX Singles Rulebook, season 26/27 (accessed on 22 October 2026)
- HYROX – The Fitness Race (race format and weights per division) (accessed on 22 October 2026)
- Brandt, Ebel, Lebahn and Schmidt (2025), Frontiers in Physiology, doi:10.3389/fphys.2025.1519240 (accessed on 22 October 2026)