A Wren Says

Can you do Hyrox with no training?

The short answer: No. Despite what the countless YouTube video titles will lead you to believe, no. No you cannot. No training, zero training? I highly discourage you. However, if you do a search on social media, you will find countless videos where people claim they did the race with no training. That is highly inaccurate. Many of those people were training for a marathon, or bodybuilders, or fitness influencers. They did not have, “no training”. They just didn’t focus their training to this event. If you are actually untrained (i.e. you don’t do any physical activity beyond walking to and from your car) this event will be a struggle for you. You need a base level of fitness. And that base can’t be from 20 years ago when you played high school sports. Mind you, that doesn’t mean you can’t train for months to get prepared and then do the race. It just means, this is not the kind of race you roll out of bed and signup for the day of.

Can you do Hyrox with little training?

This, this is a different question. If you are the average gym goer this event is doable. It will be very difficult, but you might surprise yourself. This is my story

I signed up for Hyrox Atlanta as my motivation to finally start taking my training seriously. As I registered for the event, I got excited for how fit I would be in 6 months once I was at the finish line. And then life happened.

I would continue to do my solidcore classes and go to the gym here and there. But with my work schedule I found it hard to prioritize getting workouts in. I tried the movements out here and there, but I wasn’t consistent. And somehow, I didn’t magically find the time to train more regularly. Then the time crept up on me and I found myself searching “Hyrox no training.” I contemplated dropping out of the race, but I decided to challenge myself. The worse that would happen is that I would discover that I really couldn’t do it and get kicked off the course. (Or injured, but I would sooner quit.)

I got into the start tunnel and worked my way to the back, to keep me and my slowness out of the way of people trying to break records. Then we were off. I chose to run with everyone just to avoid being all the way behind for pictures.

Can you walk Hyrox?

Yes, yes you can. And that was precisely what I did. I did build up a running base before the event. That plus that hard concrete floor was a recipe for an injury for me. So I did my best to speedwalk my laps.

Station 1: Ski Erg: Cardio. Full body burner

Luckily I used a ski erg once before in my life and understood the technique. I did my best to stay steady and not go for time. But, I could feel my triceps starting to fatigue. I finished and was off to the laps

Station 2: Sled push: Strength

Never in my life have I pushed a sled that heavy. I had practice on sleds here and there at the gym but never at that weight. I was glad that I was able to get the sled going. Instead of taking breaks, I made my way (slowly) across to the end and allowed myself to rest and recover between lengths of the floor.

Station 3: Sled Pull:

While I played tug a war as a child, I had a whole class to help me out. This was difficult and challenged my grip strength more than I was expecting. My low back started to get fatigued as I struggled to pull the sled all the way across.

Station 4 Burpee broad jumps

Hell, pure hell, in a Sisyphean kind of way. The finish line looked so far. Every time I got off the floor and made a meager hop, I was daunted by just how far I had left to go. But I finally finished.

Station 5 Rowing

This station was cake. I had been using the rowing machine at the gym. This was my comfort zone, but I still kept it slow and steady.

Station 6: Farmers carry

As I prepped for my race, I had seen a video where a pro level competitor torn a muscle trying to maintain control of the weights for the entire way. Being nowhere at her level, I let myself take multiple breaks before my body forced me to. At the end of the event I dropped the weights andI had a feeling of lightness that propelled me around for my lap.

Station 7: Walking lunges

Hell. In the fiery excruciating kind of way. Never in my life had I ever felt this exercise in my upper hamstring before, but I did that day. I had to come to terms with potentially losing them with how tight they started to feel. I had fight to keep going, while also remembering I am not a professional athlete. Quitting is an option, but not that day. It was a grind, but I got through it.

Station 8: Wall Balls

After the lunges, these were surprisingly easy. I still broke these up into groups of ten. Once I finished, I walked up to the finish line and that was that.

I went into this event with the goal to finish. I had no delusions of my abilities, so I fully expected it to take me 3 hours, in stark comparison to the average of 1:30. My race management plan was that I would do my best to manage my efforts, avoid injury, and give myself the best chance to get across the finish line. That plan included letting myself to take breaks often. When I felt like I needed them and before. I also made sure to visit the drinks table every chance I could. Slow and steady, consistent and intentional. I didn’t care how long it took.

Would I do it again?

Absolutely. I don’t have my official time yet, but I know that I can get much better. Now that I have a benchmark, I have more motivation triggered by a competitive spirit.