How to warm up for HYROX

The timing challenge on race day

HYROX runs in waves, and you will usually need to be in a start area some minutes before your wave begins. That creates a timing puzzle: warm up too early and you cool down while you wait; warm up too late and you are rushing.

Work backwards from your start time. Find out when you need to be in the start area, then plan to finish your main warm-up just before that. If there is a long wait in the pen, keep moving and add a few short bursts right before the start. Check the event information for timings, and arrive early enough that you are not squeezing the warm-up into ten frantic minutes. The HYROX race day checklist covers how to plan the whole morning.

A 20-minute race warm-up

Adapt the details to what feels good for you, but keep the general-to-specific order:

1. Easy jog, 5 minutes. Genuinely easy, just raising your temperature and heart rate a little.
2. Dynamic mobility, 4 to 5 minutes. Leg swings forwards and sideways, walking lunges with a reach, hip openers, arm circles and thoracic rotations.
3. Activation, 3 minutes. Glute bridges, a few band pull-aparts if you have a band, and some bodyweight squats.
4. Movement prep, 3 minutes. A few slow hinges, some inchworms into a push-up, and three or four reps of a burpee broad jump at low effort.
5. Strides, 3 to 4 minutes. Three or four runs of 15 to 20 seconds, building up to slightly faster than race pace, with an easy walk back between.

Finish with a couple of minutes of walking and a few sips of water, then head to the start. You should feel warm, loose and slightly out of breath from the strides, but not tired.

Warming up in a small space

Venues can be busy, and you may not have room to jog. If so, replace the jogging with marching on the spot, high knees and skipping, and keep the strides short or turn them into quick bursts on the spot. The mobility, activation and movement prep need very little space.

Some events have a warm-up area with space for jogging and even some equipment. If yours does, use it, but do not add anything unfamiliar. Race day is not the time to try the SkiErg at full pace or push a sled you have not warmed up for.

Staying warm while you wait

Big halls can feel chilly when you are standing still in race kit. Keep a light layer on until the last minute, and hand it to a friend or put it in your bag before you start. While waiting in the pen, keep moving: gentle bouncing, leg swings, shoulder rolls and a few squats.

If the wait is long, add a short re-warm of 30 to 60 seconds of brisk movement and one or two quick strides in the final minutes. It is much easier to stay warm than to get warm again.

Warming up for training sessions

In training, the same principles apply, usually in a shorter form. Five to ten minutes of easy cardio and mobility, followed by lighter versions of the session's main exercises, is enough for most people. For strength work, ramp up with lighter sets before your working sets, as described in how to warm up for lifting.

Take a little longer on cold mornings, if you are over 40, or if you have a niggle you are managing. The guide to warm-ups and cool-downs explains what the evidence says about both.

Use training to rehearse your race warm-up. If you train at Lycan Strength, arriving a little early for an Engine class and going through your own race routine before it starts is a simple way to make it second nature.

Relay and Doubles warm-ups

Doubles pairs can warm up together, which helps with nerves and timing. Relay athletes have a harder job, because the later team members may wait a long time before their leg. Warm up with the team at the start, stay moving, then do a second short warm-up with strides in the ten to fifteen minutes before your turn. The guide to the HYROX Relay covers this in more detail.

Whatever your format, start the first run under control. A good warm-up makes it tempting to fly off, and HYROX pacing strategy explains why that almost always costs you later.