‘I ran a Hyrox with no training — here’s what I learned’

MY HANDS, FUTILELY chalked, cling to two 24kg kettlebells. Traps and forearms ablaze, I lumber around the final bend of the 200-metre farmer’s carry course. Sweat pouring from my body, both weights hit the ground. I glance down at my watch’s heart rate reading: still firmly in the red.

Two kilometres of running, 100 metres of sandbag lunges and 100 wall balls stand between me and the finish. With just three makeshift Hyrox workouts under my belt, this was panning out even tougher than I’d expected.

The opportunity from Puma to take part in Hyrox Las Vegas had landed in my inbox just a week and a half prior. Filling in as a last-minute replacement, I had just 10 days before hitting the course to familiarise myself with what has been debatably dubbed ‘the fitness competition for every body’.

With it also being my first Hyrox, that meant learning the correct ski erg technique, practicing burpee broad jumps, testing out different sled grips, understanding the event’s rules and penalties, and bashing out as many wall balls as physically possible.

Cramming

With less than two weeks until race day, I headed down to my local gym to test my mettle against each of the eight weight stations. In an ideal world, I’d have 10 weeks to train for a Hyrox. I didn’t have that luxury. But undeterred, I took to the ergs, plodded about the gym with kettlebells, burpee broad jumped by the treadmills, and faux wall balled with a 10kg plate – all with the creeping realisation of the pain I’d let myself in for.

Thankfully, I also had Men’s Health‘s fitness director, Andrew Tracey, sat across from me in the office the week leading up to the event. He demonstrated the optimal technique for each of the eight weight stations, as I did my best to etch into my memory everything he’d shown me. My first lesson: find your AT. (Or, failing that, read his Hyrox tips here.)

Comparing notes

Leaning against the barrier of the spectators’ pen, I brace as 15 pro Hyrox athletes sprint past on their way to the ski ergs. The sound of thirty feet pounding the indoor track converge into one harmonised beat.

As one of the cities chosen to host Hyrox’s Elite 15 Series, the 2025 Las Vegas event welcomed the 15 fastest men and 15 fastest women to compete for spots in the Hyrox World Championships.

With spectators lining the parameters of the course, it’s here that get a feel for the venue and catch a glimpse of the likes of Jake Dearden, Hunter McIntyre and Lauren Weeks up close and personal, while picking up some last-minute pointers ahead of my race the next morning.

Pre-race

It’s 8:15am and I’m sat on an exercise bike in the athlete warm-up zone inside the Las Vegas Convention Center. I watch as the continuous stream of participants reels past. Each one, although at different stages of their individual races, progress towards their next station as one. In 15 minutes’ time, my wave will start, converging into the ever-flowing stream of competitors.

In the starting pen, the race marshal reminds us of the venue’s lap rules. Though I won’t know it until later, this is where I learn my second session. ‘Go in the third time you see the “IN” sign,’ he says, as we patiently wait for the wave to start.

A motivational video plays to the sound of the ‘woah’-ing from The Greatest Show by The Greatest Showman Cast. A 10 second count-down starts. Then, dressed in full Puma x Hyrox kit, I set off.

The race begins

The first run and ski erg pass with no issues and I enter the second run in good time, having stuck to my target 5-minute per kilometre pace. Passing through the ‘IN’ gate for the second time, I slow down, jogging through the ‘Roxzone’ to catch my breath before heading into the sled push.

As I crouch down and begin to push forwards, I get a feel for the weight of the sleds. Half way down the 12.5-metre track, my legs are burning and my heart rate spikes. My lack of preparation now fully on show, I’m forced to take a breather a couple of times each run. Heading out the station, I’m one of the last from my wave to exit. Third lesson: don’t underestimate the sleds.

During the next run, I take the opportunity to catch my breath and recover before heading into the sled pull. Once again, it’s heavier than I’d anticipated. Utilising my quads to walk the sleds back, I choose to save my upper body muscles in exchange for slower progress.

I’m now starting to struggle, but the burpee broad jumps prove easier than I’d anticipated. I jump further than expected and lying down between reps gives my body a momentary respite. My heart rate is out of control and sweat pours from my head, but I make quick progress.

Then, onto the row. This is the only part of Hyrox where you get to sit down, so I make the most of it, savouring every second. Reaping the benefit of long, powerful strokes, I manage to catch my breath and head into the next run in good spirit.

I miss count on the next run and almost begin the farmer’s carry having missed a lap. Head scrambled, I quickly realise and make up for my mistake before heading back into the sixth station. At this point, I’m in trouble. But keen to keep things moving, I pick up both kettlebells and run the entire first loop without stopping. Then, I hit a wall. Having to remind myself to breathe, I pick up the kettlebells and head round for the second loop, stopping half way, before eventually scuffling over the line.

Sandbag lunges continue in a similar vein. At this point, my quads are in pieces. It takes what feels like an age to hit the half way point of the course. At which point, the weight of the sandbag makes even standing still a workout in itself. I continue to plod on, dragging my rear foot on each lunge to steady my body.

After the next run, which is significantly slower than my 5-minute kilometre target, the end is finally in sight. But first, the part I’d been dreading. I pick up the 6kg wall ball, but with fatigued muscles, it feels infinitely heavier than the 10kg plate I’d ‘trained’ with.

I quickly lose count of the no-reps, taking long breaks between failures. I can sense the marshal’s sympathy, though it offers little help. Somehow, I carry on, contemplating taking the ‘DNF’, before committing to finishing and knocking out another 10 reps, 5 reps, 12 reps.

10-minutes after entering the final station, my electronic wall ball ticker hits 90 and I can sense the end is finally within reach. Hands on my knees, I pick myself up, squat down and, gritting through the pain, hit the remaining 10, before jogging, defeated, over the line into the finisher’s stage.

The results

As expected, I didn’t set a competitive time. In fact, it was very uncompetitive. I finished way slower than the 1 hour 32-minute average, crossing over into the finishers’ platform in 1 hour 41 minutes.

Reflecting back, the few chances I had to try each of the stations before heading to Vegas helped to calm my nerves, but in the end, my lack of training showed. I needed to be far fitter. Some extra muscle mass also wouldn’t have gone amiss. But despite my lack of preparedness, I’m glad I battled through it.

Above all, taking on a Hyrox without any training taught me that achieving a quick time isn’t the only barometer for success. It showed me that completing something hard, and taking on a challenge I previously thought out of reach, was an achievement in itself. Plus, it leaves me plenty of time to shave off next time around.

This article originally appeared on Men’s Health UK.

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