Hybrid training. These are two more buzz-worthy sports and training methods entering the fitness scene these days. With the rise of new sports, there will always be countless coaches and programs claiming to have the “best” method for success. But when it comes to real, effective training, it’s all about keeping things simple and purposeful.

At Garage Strength, and for those using the Peak Strength app, we stick to the fundamentals—no fluff, no gimmicks, just results-driven training. When preparing for Hyrox, the goal is to build strength, endurance, and efficiency without unnecessary exercises that don’t translate to the race.

So, what are the best lifts to prepare for Hyrox? Let's dive in!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is Hyrox?

Importance of Strength Training

Top 4 Exercises

How to Incorporate These Lifts into Your Training

Final Thoughts

What is Hyrox?

First, what is Hyrox, to begin with?  It's one of the fastest-growing, new, and upcoming sports in the world of hybrid training. This sport blends functional strength and endurance into a single, high-intensity race. A typical Hyrox competition challenges athletes to complete eight 1K runs, each followed by a functional fitness station like sled pushes, lunges, rowing, and burpees—all performed for time. More specifically, the stations include: SkiErg, Sled Push, Sled Pull, Burpee Broad Jumps, Rowing, Farmers Carry, Sandbag Lunges, and Wall Balls.

It is not uncommon to see a crossover from CrossFit athletes into Hyrox athletes, leveraging their mix of strength and conditioning to tackle this demanding race format. At the same time, endurance athletes are also stepping into the Hyrox arena, bringing their unique aerobic capacity and mental toughness to the challenge. 

So, who has the edge—the endurance specialist or the strength-focused athlete? That’s still up for debate. And how strong are the elite Hyrox Elite? One thing is certain: strength training is an absolute non-negotiable for Hyrox success. Without a solid foundation of strength, even the fittest endurance athlete will struggle with the heavy sleds, lunges, and carries.

Importance of Strength Training

The unique blend of cardio and strength movements in Hyrox demands a high level of muscular endurance, strength, and power. To perform efficiently across all stations—without burning out which is key—athletes need to develop the ability to sustain strength under fatigue. The good news? Each of these qualities can be improved with smart, targeted strength training.  But before we dive into which exercises are worth your time let's unpack muscular endurance, muscular strength and power in regards to improving Hyrox performance. 

Muscular endurance might sound straightforward, but truly understanding why it’s essential—and how to develop it—can make a massive difference in your Hyrox performance. The ability to sustain repeated muscle contractions under fatigue is what keeps you moving efficiently through every station without hitting that wall you very much want to avoid. Prioritizing this type of adaptation in your training will not only improve your race-day stamina but also help you maintain power and efficiency from start to finish.

Muscular strength is exactly what you think it to be? How strong are you? Can you squat heavy, can you pull a heavy load and can you push a heavy weight?  Being strong is an asset in any sport, especially one where moving weight comes into play.  The stronger you are as an athlete, the lighter some loads can feel.  If you go to pick up a 95-pound barbell and its only 40% of your max as opposed to 60% of your max, that will make a difference in how quickly you fatigue. Getting stronger will only benefit you when it comes to moving load, any kind of load, in sport.

Why do you want to be powerful?  As you improve your muscular endurance and strength, one thing that can also improve your overall performance is your efficiency.  Pushing a sled, jumping up out of a burpee, and even refining your stride length in the run can save you time in a Hyrox event. Being more powerful allows you to move efficiently, conserve energy, and maintain speed under fatigue.

Top 4 Exercises

Now that you are sold on strength being an asset to improving your Hyrox game, what should you focus on in the gym?   Start with these top 4 movements to improve strength, endurance and power. 

Single leg squats

You are only as strong as your weakest link. All too often, athletes have one side that is stronger than the other, one leg that is more dominant than the other.  When you are able to balance out weak links, you will make general overall improvements.  The single leg squat is a great exercise not only for simply correcting imbalances but also improving strength.   Aside from the leg gains you will get from a properly performed single leg squat, you will also find the added benefit of a stronger back, improved dynamic trunk control, strength improvements in the hamstrings and glutes, and in some cases, stronger quads as well. 

To learn more about how to perform the single leg squat properly, check out this article.  In short, you want to focus on the front shin being vertical with your knee stacked over your heel at a 90-degree angle. Your back leg will be on an elevated surface, either a bench, box, or this single leg squat rack. Making sure your chest is up and back is also in an upright position, keeping your ribcage down while squeezing your lats, you will bend your front knee while keeping your body moving straight up and down rather than sitting back into a chair.  Once you reach the lowest part of your squat, you will press from the heel of the front foot to stand.  Avoiding your front knee from caving in as you stand and doing your best to not press your back leg off the surface it's on, this will allow the front leg, and specifically the glute, to work and see more of your strength improvements focused there. 

While that is the most common variation of a single leg squat, there are other options to consider when adding single leg work into your strength protocol. Step ups and even a full single leg squat, also known as a pistol, can be added for more or less of a challenge, depending on what's most appropriate for the athlete.

Pull ups

Hyrox is very leg-heavy in that the muscular endurance of your legs needs to be a top priority.  In order to run and wall ball and jump and burpee, and do everything that is demanding on your legs, yes, you need to focus on lower body fitness, but not at the expense of neglecting your upper body.  Having a strong upper body can take a good athlete to great.  Have you ever seen a great athlete unable to do a pull up? Me either.  So let's start there.

Training pulling strength, specifically pull-ups can help not just improve pull-up strength but what it translates can help most other components of a Hyrox event.  Being able to stay upright and strong in your running, keeping good posture on wall balls and sled pushes, and even having the strength to be powerful on the SkiErg all stem from a strong back.

An added bonus of training pull-ups is the improved grip strength.  A strong grip is telling of overall strength.  developing stronger grip strength enhances performance in various exercises, not just those involving pulling movements. It plays a vital role across all types of physical activities by ensuring stability and power.

There is the traditional pull-up that can be added to training.  Making it more challenging by adding weight or modifying it by using a band or machine to assist with the pull-up.  But incorporating different variations of a pull-up can be beneficial in training. Chin-ups, with palms up or in the supinated position will target the back differently, as well as pull in recruitment of the biceps.  Eccentric pull-ups, where you are starting at the top of the pull-up position and slowly lowering yourself while maintaining proper pulling mechanics, focusing on back recruitment, not just the arms, can improve pulling strength as well.  In general, getting a stronger back and specifically improving your ability to perform pull-ups can be a key exercise in becoming a stronger Hyrox athlete.

Back Squat

Now that you understand the importance of working on unilateral strength and upper body strength, building overall strength is also an important piece of this puzzle.  As traditional as it gets, the good old back squat gets the job done. The back squat is one of the few exercises that helps build overall strength.  In the most obvious of places, leg strength will improve, but also the less considered back strength, as well as dynamic trunk control gains can be found with this movement. Specifically, adding back squats and the improvements this exercise can provide will translate well into strength for sled pushes, sled pulls, and lunges.

When adding back squats, if you are considering ways to add different variations of this movement, consider not only the high bar version or the low bar version, but also adding in tempo squats as a way to switch things up can be an option. 

Kettlebell Swings

Power is important. Grip strength is important.  The best of both worlds in training is the kettlebell swing. The kettlebell swing, whether you're talking about American style or Russian style, both offer an opportunity to train power produced from the hips and lower body force.  This movement builds explosive power on top of improving grip strength. 

Unlike some other traditional strength exercises, the kettlebell swing is unique in that it also offers an opportunity for cardiovascular training.  With a set up that requires feet hip distance apart, soft knees and a slight bend at the hip to get the bell moving, with each hip drive as the weight swings up and the back stays tight and engaged to maintain proper form, this coordination and repetition will eventually get the heart pumping and lungs working.  

A few other ways to add this movement to your protocol, aside from practicing the American or Russian variations, could also be alternating arm swings and single-arm kettlebell swings.

How to Incorporate These Lifts into Your Training

A well-structured weekly strength routine for Hyrox should include 3-4 strength sessions focusing on full-body lifts, muscular endurance, and power to improve efficiency in race movements like sled pushes, lunges, and carries. A big challenge for most is understanding how to balance strength and endurance training while avoiding excessive fatigue.  Doing your best to place high-intensity strength work on days when you’re not doing long runs or race simulations can be helpful.  Training with tools like heavy-duty workout sandbags can also help simulate the load-bearing demands of Hyrox events, improving grip, core stability, and real-world strength under fatigue. Being sure that your programming has progressive overload—which is gradually increasing weight, reps, or intensity—ensures continued strength gains without burnout. 

Prioritizing recovery will not only make your races better but also allow for greater progress and adaptations with your strength work.  Your next workout is only as good as your current recovery protocol.  Trying to be the hybrid athlete that Hyrox asks of you means that recovery needs to be taken even more seriously. Fueling like the athlete you are training is important.  Adequate calorie intake and intentionality behind what those calories are made of, the macronutrient composition, can be helpful.  Hydration is one of the simpler aspects of recovery, but one of the things most athletes struggle with the most.  Staying hydrated will help not only with recovery but also ensure your joints are well lubricated and your body is working to flush inflammation from training as well. And lastly, sleep.  Sleep is where most of the recovery your body naturally does happens. Aiming for 7-9 hours of sleep, not just time in bed, is a great minimum to chase. 

Final Thoughts

Hyrox is the ultimate test of strength, endurance, and resilience, and the right training approach can make all the difference in the world. By incorporating key strength movements, balancing endurance and power training, and applying progressive overload with smart recovery, you’ll build the durability needed to show up with your best foot forward on race day. Stay consistent, train with intention, and trust the process—because the stronger and more efficient you become, the better you'll perform when it matters most.