Fitness
Fitness Training
Inside coaching for HYROX: More than just "fitness plus running"
Training for a HYROX race is demanding and goes far beyond running and lifting. Find out how HYROX educates coaches and how to spot a truly good one for you.
HYROX athletes face a unique challenge: running and performing high-intensity workouts while already fatigued. They must prepare to push through mental and physical limits without a reset in training. Ralf Iwan, Head of the HYROX Academy, is helping coaches worldwide adapt to the sport's fast-evolving demands and develop training programs that prepare athletes for the demands of race day. He shared what's changed in coaching and what athletes still get wrong.
From a coaching perspective, what makes HYROX harder to coach than pure endurance or strength sports? Where do athletes and coaches underestimate the complexity?
In my view, HYROX is challenging to coach, because it refuses to stay in one physiological and psychological lane. Of course, the physical demands are obvious, but the mental demands are just as important. Endurance training, building an aerobic base, for example, requires a very specific mindset: patience, rhythm and the ability to settle into longer efforts, such as going out for a 60–90 minute run.
Pure strength or strength-endurance training demands a completely different mental approach: intensity, focus, precision and a willingness to push into discomfort in short, concentrated bouts. The biggest mistake is thinking HYROX is just fitness plus running. It isn't. It's constraint-based performance under repeated fatigue.
Are HYROX coaches primarily running coaches who learned strength, or strength coaches who learned endurance? And what should athletes watch for when choosing a coach from either background?
Right now, we see both pathways in HYROX and neither is inherently better. Some coaches come from an endurance background and have learned strength over time. Others are strength or S&C coaches who've had to seriously upskill in endurance training and running mechanics. Problems arise when coaches don't fully cross that bridge.
Running-first coaches often underdose true strength intensity or avoid heavy or complex loading, because they worry about interference or injury. The result can be athletes who cope well on the runs, but fall apart in sleds, lunges or carries. Strength-first coaches, on the other hand, often underestimate how fragile running economy becomes under fatigue. They may overload sessions, misjudge sequencing or underestimate cumulative stress, which leads to stagnation, poor pacing or injury
HYROX coaching is evolviong rapidly alongside the sport itself
© Philipp Carl Riedl/Red Bull Content Pool
Running-first coaches often underdose true strength intensity or avoid heavy or complex loading, because they worry about interference or injury
Is this why you established the HYROX Sports Science Advisory Council?
Exactly. HYROX is a new sport and pretending we already have all the answers would be dishonest. The role of the council is to initiate and coordinate applied sports science research specifically for HYROX, with a strong focus on planning, programming, interference effects and long-term athlete development.
The goal is very clear: to continuously improve the knowledge base of our coaching community, so coaches can offer the best possible service to their athletes, grounded in evidence rather than assumptions.
If someone wants to find a good HYROX coach, how can they tell who is really good?
Quality shows up in questions, not social posts. A good HYROX coach asks detailed questions about training history, injury patterns, running background, strength exposure, lifestyle stress and competitive goals. They talk about phases, not random workouts. They can explain race demands station by station and describe multiple pacing strategies depending on the athlete's profile.
Personal experience in the sport of HYROX is certainly an advantage here. Coaches who have raced themselves understand how fatigue alters pacing, technique and decision-making, and that insight helps them prepare athletes far more realistically.
HYROX coaching is about more than looking and sounding good on Instagram
© Stefan Voitl/Red Bull Content Pool
Good HYROX coaches talk about phases, not random workouts
As HYROX grows so fast, how do you make sure coaching standards grow with it?
This is exactly why we created the HYROX Academy and built a structured, sports science–based coach education pathway. With the HYROX Academy Level 1 course, we deliberately cover a wide spectrum of sports science, from functional anatomy and exercise physiology to the performance pillars of strength, power, speed, and endurance, as well as nutrition, training planning, and the mental side of the sport. The goal is clear: to establish a consistent quality standard in HYROX coaching. Latest research coordinated through our Sports Science Advisory Council flows directly into our education, ensuring coaches work with current, evidence-informed knowledge. I often describe Level 1 as the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in HYROX coaching. Where there is a bachelor’s degree, there is usually a master’s degree – which will be our HYROX Academy Level 2, planned for release in summer 2026.
What's the HYROX 365 Coaching Summit?
We want to bring together people from across the entire HYROX ecosystem worldwide. That includes personal trainers, performance coaches, sports scientists, physiotherapists, educators – and we're also very open to athletes attending. Many athletes are deeply interested in understanding the 'why' behind their training and bringing athletes and coaches into the same learning environment creates a richer, more informed dialogue.
Many coaches are still active HYROX competitors themselves
© Stefan Voitl/Red Bull Content Pool
The long term goal is to make sure HYROX coaches are truly professional
© Stefan Voitl/Red Bull Content Pool
What's the bigger goal behind it for the future of coaching in HYROX?
From a programme perspective, the summit is substantial. We have 28 speakers delivering around 50 sessions over two days. Many of these experts are directly involved in our Level 1 and Level 2 education pathways. We cover coaching fundamentals, coaching female athletes, coaching Youngstars and older athletes, alongside panel discussions and applied workshops. Our long-term vision to shape a global HYROX coaching culture that's evidence-informed, collaborative and connected.
One thing people notice about HYROX is that many of the coaches are extremely fit and often compete themselves. Is this something special about HYROX?
From my perspective, this is very much a reflection of how young HYROX still is as a sport. We don't yet have decades of former elite athletes who've fully stepped away from competition and moved solely into coaching roles. Many of the coaches you see today are still early or mid-career athletes themselves, often age-group competitors who've only recently discovered HYROX and decided they want to commit to it long term as athletes.
At the same time, many of them already come from a coaching background, whether that's endurance sports, strength and conditioning, personal training or physical education. Coaching was often part of their identity before HYROX entered the picture. I don't think this is about showing off fitness or proving something on social media. It's much more holistic. In a young sport like HYROX, athletes, coaches and the coaching culture are evolving together – and right now that overlap is one of the sport's real strengths.
How to get involved in HYROX coaching
Those looking to develop their skills and expertise in HYROX coaching, can access the HYROX Coaches Summit – a two-day international event focused on coaching practice, leadership, and the future direction of the sport.
