Eight weeks is enough to get ready for a HYROX race if you already exercise three or more times a week and can run 5 km without stopping. This plan uses four sessions a week: an easy run, a quality run, strength with station work, and a hybrid session that teaches you to run on tired legs. It builds for five weeks, rehearses the race in week 6, sharpens in week 7, and tapers in race week. If you're starting from scratch, use the 12-week beginner plan instead.
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A week-by-week plan to your race
- 8weeks to race day
- 4sessions a week
- 5 kmcontinuous run you need to start
This is general guidance, not medical advice. Check with a qualified professional if you have injuries or health conditions.
Is 8 weeks enough to train for HYROX?
Yes, if you have a base. Eight weeks is a compressed block: it assumes your body already handles regular training, and it spends the time on HYROX-specific skills instead of building fitness from zero.
You're ready for this plan if you can tick most of these:
- You can run 5 km continuously at a comfortable pace.
- You've trained at least three times a week for the last two months or so.
- You can do bodyweight squats, lunges and push-ups with good form.
- You have access to a gym with a rower and, ideally, a SkiErg and a sled.
If that isn't you yet, the 12-week plan or a few months of base building is the safer route. Squeezing a big jump in training load into eight weeks is how niggles start.
Why 8 weeks works
- Short enough to stay focused and motivated
- Fits a race you booked late, or a second race in a season
- Enough time to learn the stations and practise compromised running
The trade-offs
- Little room for missed weeks through illness or travel
- Not enough time to build a big running base from scratch
- Ramping up too fast raises injury risk, so the progression has to stay modest
How the plan works
The four weekly sessions
| Session | What it is | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| A: Easy run | Conversational running, builds your aerobic base | RPE 3–4 |
| B: Strength + stations | Legs, back, grip and station technique | Controlled, moderate to heavy |
| C: Quality run | Intervals or tempo running | RPE 7–8 in the work bouts |
| D: Hybrid | Runs and stations back to back | RPE 6–8 |
Put at least one easy day or rest day between B, C and D. Two full rest days a week is a good default. A simple layout is Monday B, Tuesday A, Thursday C, Saturday D.
Effort guide
- RPE 3–4 (easy): you can hold a full conversation.
- RPE 5–6 (steady): short sentences only.
- RPE 7–8 (hard): a few words at a time.
- RPE 9–10 (all-out): you won't go here in this plan.
The phases
- Weeks 1–2: Foundation settle into four sessions, learn station technique at moderate loads, establish your easy pace.
- Weeks 3–5: Build longer runs, heavier stations and more run-plus-station rounds, with a slightly lighter week 5.
- Week 6: Rehearsal a half simulation of the race at controlled effort.
- Week 7: Sharpen race-pace work at lower volume.
- Week 8: Race week a short taper so you start fresh.
Weeks 1–2: Foundation
The goal is consistency and technique. Nothing in these two weeks should leave you sore for days.
| Session | Workout |
|---|---|
| A: Easy run | 30–35 min at RPE 3–4 |
| B: Strength + stations | Goblet or front squat 3×8, Romanian deadlift 3×8, walking lunges 3×10 per leg, dumbbell row 3×10 per arm, push-ups 3×10. Then 3 × 250 m SkiErg and 3 × 250 m row, smooth technique, 1 min rest |
| C: Quality run | 10 min easy, then 6 × 400 m at a pace you could hold for about 5 km, 90 s walk/jog between, 10 min easy |
| D: Hybrid | 4 rounds: 800 m run at RPE 6, then 20 wall balls (light ball) and 15 m farmers carry. Rest 90 s between rounds |
In week 2, add 5 minutes to the easy run and one round to the hybrid session if week 1 felt comfortable.
Weeks 3–5: Build
Now you stack runs and stations, which is the core skill of HYROX. Increase one thing at a time: distance, load or rounds, never all three in the same week.
| Session | Workout (week 4) |
|---|---|
| A: Easy run | 40–45 min at RPE 3–4 |
| B: Strength + stations | Back or front squat 4×6, Romanian deadlift 3×8, reverse lunges 3×10 per leg, overhead press 3×8. Farmers carry 4 × 50 m at or near race weight. Sled push and pull 3 × 12.5 m each at race weight if you have a sled |
| C: Quality run | 10 min easy, then 4 × 1 km at your goal HYROX run pace, 2 min easy jog between, 10 min easy |
| D: Hybrid | 5 rounds: 1 km run at RPE 6–7, then one station in race order (500 m SkiErg, 25 m sled push, 25 m sled pull, 20 burpee broad jumps, 500 m row). Rest 2 min between rounds |
Week 5 is lighter. Keep the same sessions but cut the volume by about a third: shorter easy run, one fewer set in strength, three or four hybrid rounds. It lets your body absorb weeks 3 and 4 before the rehearsal.
Week 6: Half simulation
This is the most important week of the plan. You rehearse half the race so nothing on race day is a surprise.
| Session | Workout (week 6) |
|---|---|
| A: Easy run | 40 min at RPE 3–4 |
| B: Strength (reduced) | Squat 3×5, lunges 2×10 per leg, farmers carry 3 × 50 m at race weight, 3 × 25 wall balls at race weight |
| C: Quality run | 10 min easy, 3 × 1 km at goal pace, 2 min jog between, 10 min easy |
| D: Half simulation | Warm up well, then 4 × (1 km run + one station) for stations 1–4 in order: 1,000 m SkiErg, 50 m sled push, 50 m sled pull, 80 m burpee broad jumps. Use race weights if you can, at RPE 7 |
Record every split: each run, each station and the time in between. Notice how your legs feel on the run after the sled push. That heavy, wooden feeling is "compromised running," and the more you meet it in training, the less it scares you on race day.
If you only have time for one half simulation, stations 1–4 teach you the most. If you feel good, do stations 5–8 (1,000 m row, 200 m farmers carry, 100 m sandbag lunges, 100 wall balls) as your hybrid session in week 7 instead of the plan below.
Week 7: Sharpen
Volume comes down, intensity stays. You should finish every session feeling you could have done more.
| Session | Workout (week 7) |
|---|---|
| A: Easy run | 30–35 min at RPE 3–4 |
| B: Strength (light) | Squat 2×5 at a moderate load, lunges 2×8 per leg, 2 × 25 wall balls, 2 × 50 m farmers carry |
| C: Quality run | 10 min easy, 5 × 2 min at goal pace with 2 min easy between, 10 min easy |
| D: Hybrid | 3 rounds: 1 km at goal pace, then 25 sandbag lunges (race weight), 25 wall balls. Rest 2–3 min between rounds |
This is also the week to lock in your race-day kit, breakfast and fueling. Test them on session D. Our race nutrition guide covers what to eat and when.
Week 8: Race week
Cut total training by about half. Keep a little intensity so you feel sharp, and do nothing new.
- Early in the week: 30 min easy run with 4 × 20 s relaxed pick-ups.
- Midweek: a short session of 2 × (500 m run at race pace + 250 m row + 10 wall balls), easy between.
- Two days out: 20 min very easy jog or rest.
- The day before: rest or a 10–15 minute shake-out walk or jog, then pack your bag.
The race-week guide has a day-by-day countdown, and the warm-up guide covers race morning.
How to adjust the plan
- Only three days a week? Keep B, C and D. Make D slightly longer and add 10 minutes of easy running to the start of B.
- No sled? Push a weight plate on a towel across turf, do heavy step-ups and backward band walks, and try to book a few sessions on a real sled before race day. Sled friction on the race carpet is a common surprise.
- Racing Doubles? Do the plan as written. Doubles partners share station work but both run every kilometre, so your running fitness matters just as much. See the Doubles strategy guide.
- Racing Pro? Use Pro loads from week 3 onwards and consider the advanced plan for your next race.
- Missed a week? Don't try to catch up. Repeat the week you missed if you have time, or skip to the next one at slightly lower volume.
- Pain that changes how you move? Stop that exercise and see a qualified professional. Our injury prevention guide has a prehab routine.
Station loads to train towards (26/27)
| Station | Open women | Open men | Pro women | Pro men |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sled push (50 m) | 102 kg | 152 kg | 152 kg | 202 kg |
| Sled pull (50 m) | 78 kg | 103 kg | 103 kg | 153 kg |
| Farmers carry (200 m) | 2 × 16 kg | 2 × 24 kg | 2 × 24 kg | 2 × 32 kg |
| Sandbag lunges (100 m) | 10 kg | 20 kg | 20 kg | 30 kg |
| Wall balls (100 reps) | 4 kg | 6 kg | 6 kg | 9 kg |
Sled weights include the sled. Check the full table in our stations and weights guide, and confirm loads in the current rulebook for your event.
FAQ
Is 8 weeks enough to train for HYROX?
Yes, if you already train three or more times a week and can run 5 km without stopping. Eight weeks gives you time to learn the stations, practise running on tired legs and taper. If you're starting from little exercise, allow 12 weeks or more.
How many days a week should I train for HYROX in 8 weeks?
Four sessions a week works for most people: an easy run, a quality run, a strength and station session, and a hybrid run-plus-stations session. Three is the minimum if you keep the hybrid session.
Should I do a full HYROX simulation in an 8-week plan?
A half simulation in week 6 is usually enough. A full simulation takes a lot of recovery, and with only eight weeks you can't afford to lose several days to fatigue close to the race.
Can a beginner follow an 8-week HYROX plan?
Only if you're already active. Complete beginners should use a 12-week plan, which builds the running base more gradually and lowers the risk of injury.
What should I do in the last week before HYROX?
Cut your training by about half, keep a few short race-pace efforts so you feel sharp, sleep well, and don't try any new kit, food or exercises.
Next steps
Read how to train for HYROX for the reasoning behind the sessions, find more session ideas in our HYROX workouts guide, and pick a race eight weeks out from the race calendar.
About the author
Tim Grassin, Founder of RoxSkin. Tim founded RoxSkin to help amateur HYROX athletes get sponsored. He races HYROX himself as an amateur, and checks each guide against the sources listed at the end before it goes live.
Sources
The pages we checked this guide against, last on October 22, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email us.