4 Elite Athletes Share Their Best HYROX Prep Tips

As HYROX continues to dominate the fitness industry, everyone is trying to get a piece of the pie, whether it’s getting tickets, trying to take classes at a local gym, or implementing the workouts into their own routines.

The endurance race consists of eight-kilometre runs interspersed with eight functional fitness stations – from farmer’s carries to sledding – all of which are performed against the clock.

Although the race is not easy by any means (trust us we tried it ourselves), HYROX’s appeal has spread fast and wide, and it all comes down to the fact that everyone can take part in the race thanks to its low-skill moves and repeatable format. However, preparation is still recommended if you want to give your best and Avoid common pitfalls on competition days.

While there’s plenty of advice out there on how to best prepare, we turned to members who really know what they’re doing. We spoke to four of the sport’s top athletes, including Women’s Elite 15 World Champion Meg Jacoby and three-time World Champion Lauren Weeks, to share what their best advice would be when preparing for HYROX. After all, who knows how to break down a HYROX better than the pros themselves, right?

Meg Jacoby

(Image credit: Sportograf/Fittest PR)

Meg Jacoby has been dominating the HYROX scene since she heard about the race back in 2022. Since then, she has enjoyed rapid success, breaking the (at the time) world professional women’s record in Chicago, her second ever race. However, it was during this year’s Elite 15 World Championships in Nice that she finally took the top spot on the podium. Not only that, but she made history by becoming the first woman to complete the HYROX in under an hour. Quite a badass.

Meg’s advice: “Work on your aerobic capacity. The race is first and foremost an endurance race, so improving your running will make the overall experience of the race much more positive. Familiarize yourself with the station’s movements so you are prepared for the demands of the race. Most importantly, don’t put so much pressure on yourself, it’s you against you. Come out and have fun!”

Jake Dearden

(Image credit: Sportograf/Fittest PR)

Representing 247 athletes, Jake Dearden has a particularly impressive (and inspiring) HYROX resume. At just 25 years old, he has already won 10 HYROX races and finished first in the professional doubles at this year’s World Championships with his doubles partner Mark Dean. Even after suffering a back injury that forced him to undergo six months of rehabilitation, he bounced back and broke a world record by performing 11 HYROXs in one weekend. It’s no surprise that he is the head trainer for HYROX in the UK.

Jake’s advice: “Give preference to running in your workouts! Running makes up more than half of the HYROX race with a total distance of 8.7 km including the Rox zone. Try to include three running workouts in your training block each week: one interval workout, one long run, and one intense running workout (where running is combined with HYROX movements). Your longer run should be zone 2 and you can incorporate it into your training on active recovery days.”

Lauren Weeks

(Image credit: Sportograf/Fittest PR)

With three world titles under her belt, Lauren Weeks has been one of HYROX’s most consistent and successful competitors to date. Resilience is in her DNA after finishing the 2022 Elite World Championships while eight months pregnant (finishing 9th out of 14), and even after falling to 7th place at this year’s World Championships in Nice (due to… for the difficult tension of the sled) she still managed to return to 2nd place.

Lauren’s advice: “You are defined more by your efforts than by your results. This is a tough race and some days will be tougher than others. Fight and dig deeper when intrusive thoughts creep in that tell you it’s okay to give up. There is great power in recognizing a challenge and then facing it head on.”

Michael Sandbach

(Image credit: Sportograf/Fittest PR)

Presenting athlete, Michael Sandbach, is another competitor who has shown consistent strength on the HYROX floor, despite only discovering the event in 2021. He finished second in the elite 15th race at the 2024 World Championships, finishing the race in a mind-blowing time of 00:56. :32 (just 11 seconds behind first place) and also becoming the fastest male HYROX athlete in the UK. Somehow he managed to combine sports with his full-time job as an engineer and his role as a father.

Michael’s advice: “Strength is at the core of everything, so don’t be afraid to lift heavy weights, especially in the 1 to 5 rep range for the core exercises. The goal is to become strong, fast and explosive.”

If you missed out on getting tickets this time around or just want to set some new goals, check out these four alternative HYROX fitness challenges.

4 Elite Athletes Share Their Best HYROX Prep Tips

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