Hyrox: UAE's Emotional Fitness Race

Hyrox has been a part of the UAE fitness landscape since 2023, gaining widespread popularity by 2025. It is now regarded as one of the top fitness trends of the year.

Hyrox is a fitness competition that merges strength and endurance tasks with 1km runs in between each challenge.

The event focuses on functional, compound movements paired with cardiovascular and muscular endurance.

It incorporates a mixture of functional movements such as pushing, pulling, carrying, and running, evolving from CrossFit by adding running and additional strength challenges.

First introduced in Germany in 2017, Hyrox now hosts races in over 30 cities across 20 countries.

The UAE held its inaugural event in September 2023, with the next set to take place in Sharjah on April 12. This year’s World Championship will be held in Chicago in June.

Participants typically undergo a 12-week conditioning program to prepare for the event.

There are four competition formats available:

• Individual (open and pro categories)
  
  
• Doubles
  
  
• Relay teams of four
  
  

The race format includes a series of challenges such as:

• 1km run
  
  
• 1,000-meter SkiErg
  
  
• 50-meter sledge push
  
  
• 50-meter sledge pull
  
  
• 80-meter burpee broad jumps
  
  
• 1km row
  
  
• 200-meter farmers carry
  
  
• 100-meter sandbag lunges
  
  
• 75 or 100 wall balls
  
  

Each strength challenge is followed by a 1km run, totaling eight runs in all.

Doubles participants alternate completing the strength challenges but must both take part in every run, while relay teams divide the tasks, with each member completing two runs and two workout stations.

The training required for Hyrox is intense, demanding both physically and mentally.

Many athletes follow a strict training routine alongside a structured food plan, with one cheat day per week.

Despite the intensity, Hyrox is designed to be inclusive, featuring adaptive divisions to accommodate a wide range of participants.

The structured program helps build strength and fitness while balancing intensity with recovery periods.

Unlike CrossFit, which incorporates gymnastics elements, Hyrox is more accessible to a broader audience, focusing solely on functional fitness.

The goal-driven nature of the event enables participants to develop their overall fitness levels over time, making it a challenging but rewarding pursuit.

Source: thenationalnews

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