Hyrox exercises: the 8 stations and how to train them without a sled

The eight Hyrox exercises are, in race order: SkiErg, sled push, sled pull and burpee broad jumps. Then rowing, farmers carry, sandbag lunges and wall balls. The distances run from a 50 m sled push to 1000 m of rowing.

The table below lines them up. Between each station you run a kilometre. None of the eight is technically difficult, and that is exactly why people underestimate them.

In the first measured Hyrox, the heaviest stations were finished fastest (PMID 40230601). Everything peaked at the lightest one.

Below is what you do at each station and what to watch. And what to do instead when your gym has no sled or SkiErg. That last part is missing from almost every Dutch page on the subject.

Which 8 exercises do you do at Hyrox?

These are the eight stations with their distance or count and the weights for the Open division. Plus a substitute for a gym without Hyrox equipment. The weights are the organiser's; sled weights include the sled.

The order is fixed and the distances apply to every division. Why the order is fixed, and how far you run in total, sits in Hyrox stations. The weights for Pro, Doubles and Relay sit in Hyrox weights.

How do you train each station?

A strong lifter pushes the sled in ninety seconds. The kilometre after it can then cost him seven minutes. That is the whole lesson of this piece in one image.

On the SkiErg, technique beats strength. Pull with your whole trunk and hinge at the hips. Let the arms join only at the end. Anyone who pulls with the arms alone is empty after four hundred metres.

The sled push is a leg exercise, not an arm exercise. Low hips, arms almost straight, small fast steps. In the measured race this was the fastest station, at 128 seconds (PMID 40230601). Precisely because you have little choice there: push and go.

On the sled pull, most time is lost to a poor stance. Set your feet wide and sink through the knees. Pull hand over hand with your back, not your biceps. This one took 155 seconds in the measurement.

Burpee broad jumps are a breathing exercise. Do not jump far, jump often. Keep your pace low enough to run another kilometre after eighty metres.

Rowing is the station where you can buy rest. Long strokes, a low stroke rate. And accept that you are half a minute slower here than when fresh.

The farmers carry asks for grip and for not putting them down. Every time you lower the kettlebells costs you more than it gives. Train it over longer distances than two hundred metres.

Sandbag lunges are the station you still feel two days later. Knee softly to the floor, trunk upright, the bag high on the shoulders. And then the wall balls.

In the measurement this was where heart rate, lactate and perceived exertion all peaked (PMID 40230601). Always train them last, and always tired.

Which Hyrox exercises can you do at home?

Four of the eight stations need no equipment, or something you can imitate at home. Burpee broad jumps need only floor. Lunges work with a loaded backpack on the shoulders.

Wall balls become squats with a weight pressed high. A farmers carry works with two full shopping bags or jerry cans.

The sleds and the ergometers cannot be replaced at home. They do not have to be every week.

A home week then looks like this. Two runs outside and one session with the four equipment-free stations back to back. Plus one gym visit a week for the sleds, SkiErg and rower. How that week fits the bigger plan sits in Hyrox training.

Is Hyrox harder than CrossFit?

Hard in a different way. The first Hyrox study described it as functional training with an emphasis on endurance (PMID 40230601). The demands on maximum strength, coordination and mobility are moderate to low compared with CrossFit. There is no Olympic weightlifting in it and no gymnastics.

The hardness sits in the length and in running on tired legs.

Strength training does help with that, just not in the way most lifters think. In highly trained runners, two to three strength sessions a week improved running economy substantially (PMID 26694507). The loads sat at forty to seventy percent of maximum. That is the strength you need for Hyrox: enough to run efficiently, not enough to impress.

What your muscles tell you after a Hyrox exercise

The lunges and the wall balls are eccentric work: your muscles brake while they lengthen. That kind of work causes the most muscle damage. You see it in your blood as a raised creatine kinase. CK stays clearly raised for at least a day after a heavy session (PMID 17569697).

That is normal, and it is no reason to stop. So do not have blood drawn within three days of a lunge session.

It is a reason not to have blood drawn the day after a heavy station session. You would be measuring your training, not your health. What a high CK does and does not mean in athletes sits in high CK explained. The value itself is in creatine kinase.

Does your recovery after the lunges keep getting longer while your sleep and food are in order? Then a wider picture is sometimes sensible. Iron, haemoglobin and inflammation markers sit together in 360 health. A result is not a diagnosis, but it is a ceiling you can see.

Start this week with the four equipment-free stations, back to back, and write down your time. In four weeks do the same and you will know whether it is working.

Every blood test result includes a professional assessment from a BIG-registered doctor. For treatment decisions, discuss your results with your GP.

References

• Brandt T, et al. Acute physiological responses and performance determinants in Hyrox. Frontiers in Physiology, 2025. PMID 40230601.
• Brancaccio P, Maffulli N, Limongelli FM. Creatine kinase monitoring in sport medicine. British Medical Bulletin, 2007;81-82:209-30. PMID 17569697.
• Balsalobre-Fernández C, Santos-Concejero J, Grivas GV. Effects of strength training on running economy in highly trained runners: a systematic review with meta-analysis of controlled trials. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2016;30(8):2361-8. PMID 26694507.
• HYROX. The Fitness Race: race format and weights per division. hyrox.com/the-fitness-race.
• Gezondheidsraad. Beweegrichtlijnen 2017.