Free HYROX Training Program: The Complete 8-Week Foundations Plan

This is the complete 8-Week HYROX Foundations program — the same plan we give away free inside the FORMD app, published here in full. Every session, every week, nothing held back.

It is built for one person: someone doing their first HYROX. Four days a week, eight weeks, from an aerobic on-ramp to a half-distance race rehearsal.

Two ways to use it. Print this page (or save it as a PDF) and tick sessions off on paper — or follow along free in the FORMD app, which tracks every session, times your intervals, and shows the technique guide for each station. Same plan. No subscription needed.

Who this plan is for

• You have never raced HYROX, or you have raced once and want a real structure
• You can currently jog for about 20 minutes without stopping (walk breaks are fine)
• You have roughly 4 days a week to train

If you cannot yet jog 20 minutes, spend 2-3 weeks walking and run/walking first, then start Week 1.

Equipment you will need

• Somewhere to run (road, treadmill or track)
• Dumbbells or a kettlebell (one moderate weight is enough to start)
• Access to a sled, SkiErg and rower for the station days — most HYROX-affiliated gyms have all three
• A wall ball, or a medicine ball and a target on a wall
• A sandbag (or a heavy backpack) for the loaded lunges

No gym access for the machine days? Substitute a bike, an incline treadmill walk, or heavy carries. The engine still gets built.

How to read a session

Each session lists the work (sets, distance, effort and rest), a form note, and a coach note explaining why the session exists. Efforts are described in plain language:

• Z2 / easy — conversational. You can speak a full sentence.
• Moderate — you can speak in short phrases, not sentences.
• Moderate-hard — roughly your 5K effort. A few words at a time.
• Tempo — comfortably hard. The pace you could just about hold for an hour.

Training days are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Move them to suit your week — just keep at least one rest day between the two hardest sessions.

Focus: Aerobic on-ramp + first exposure to every station movement pattern

Monday — Easy Zone 2 Run

25min continuous @ Z2 (conversational pace, nose-breathing)

Form: If you cannot speak a full sentence, slow down. Walk breaks are fine this week.

Coach: Week 1 is about time on feet, not pace. We are teaching your aerobic system to show up.

Tuesday — Full-Body Foundation Strength

Goblet Squat 3x10 @ light, 90s rest Single-Arm Dumbbell Row 3x10/side, 75s rest Plank 3x30s

Form: Pick a weight that leaves 3-4 reps in the tank on every set.

Coach: Strength before endurance on shared days. Groove the squat and hinge — these underpin sled, lunge and wall ball.

Thursday — Station Skill: SkiErg + Row Technique

Ski-Erg 4x250m @ easy, 90s rest Rower 4x250m @ easy, 90s rest

Form: SkiErg — hinge from the hips, arms finish at the thighs. Row — legs, back, arms, then arms, back, legs to recover.

Coach: Pure technique day. Distances are short on purpose so form never breaks down.

Saturday — Long Easy Run

30min continuous @ Z2 (run/walk as needed)

Form: This is your longest run of the week. Keep it relaxed.

Coach: The long easy run is the single biggest driver of HYROX engine. Protect it every week.

Focus: Extend aerobic volume + introduce carries and lunges under load

Monday — Easy Zone 2 Run

30min continuous @ Z2

Form: Aim for fewer walk breaks than last Monday.

Coach: +5min vs week 1. Small, honest progression — this is how base is built.

Tuesday — Full-Body Foundation Strength

Goblet Squat 3x12 @ light-moderate, 90s rest Single-Arm Dumbbell Row 3x12/side, 75s rest Walking Lunge 3x20m bodyweight Plank 3x40s

Form: Lunges added — upright torso, knee tracks over toe.

Coach: Lunges prep the sandbag lunge station. Bodyweight first, load comes later.

Thursday — Station Skill: Carries + Wall Ball Intro

Farmers Carry 4x40m @ moderate, 60s rest Wall Ball 4x10 @ light, 90s rest

Form: Carry — ribs down, quick relaxed steps. Wall Ball — squat to full depth, drive through the floor, aim above the line.

Coach: First wall-ball exposure. We care about the squat-to-target rhythm, not the rep count.

Saturday — Long Easy Run

35min continuous @ Z2

Form: Last base-phase long run. Should feel comfortably hard at the end, not destroying.

Coach: End of base block. Next week we add intensity — your engine is ready for it.

Focus: Introduce running intervals + first compromised-running (run into station) exposure

Monday — Run Intervals: 400s

6x400m @ moderate-hard (~5K effort), 90s walk recovery 10min easy jog warmup + 5min cooldown

Form: Hold the SAME pace across all six. If number six is way slower, you went out too fast.

Coach: First taste of structured intensity. Pacing discipline now pays off on race day.

Tuesday — Lower-Body Strength + Sled Prep

Goblet Squat 4x10 @ moderate, 90s rest Heavy Sled Push 4x15m @ moderate, 90s rest Walking Lunge 3x20m light dumbbells

Form: Sled — stay low, arms long, drive through the balls of your feet in short choppy steps.

Coach: First loaded sled. Short distance, full recovery — this is strength-speed, not a grind.

Thursday — Compromised Running: Run + SkiErg

3 rounds: 600m run @ easy-moderate + Ski-Erg 250m 2min rest between rounds

Form: The point is learning to ski on tired legs. Settle your breathing in the first 20m of the ski.

Coach: This is the heart of HYROX — running INTO a station. Keep effort honest, transitions smooth.

Saturday — Long Easy Run

40min continuous @ Z2

Form: Back to relaxed pace to recover from the week's intensity.

Coach: Polarized week: hard days hard, easy days truly easy. No grey-zone shuffling.

Focus: Add station volume + a second weekly compromised-running session

Monday — Run Intervals: 400s

8x400m @ moderate-hard, 90s walk recovery 10min warmup + 5min cooldown

Form: Two more reps than last week. Same target pace.

Coach: Volume creeps up while intensity holds — classic build-phase progression.

Tuesday — Lower-Body Strength + Sled Prep

Goblet Squat 4x10 @ moderate-heavy, 105s rest Heavy Sled Push 4x20m @ moderate, 90s rest Heavy Sled Pull 4x20m @ moderate, 90s rest

Form: Sled Pull — hand-over-hand, sit back into the rope, big pulls.

Coach: Both sleds now in the program. Build the specific drive-and-pull strength the race demands.

Thursday — Compromised Running: Run + Burpee Broad Jumps + Wall Ball

3 rounds: 600m run + Burpee Broad Jump x10 + Wall Ball x15 @ light 2min rest between rounds

Form: Burpee broad jump — chest to floor, stand fully, then jump forward. Find a rhythm you can repeat.

Coach: Layering the two highest-skill stations after running. Pace the burpees — they spike the heart rate fastest.

Saturday — Long Easy Run

45min continuous @ Z2

Form: Fuel and hydrate beforehand — this is getting long enough to matter.

Coach: Halfway point. Your aerobic base is real now; the back half makes it race-specific.

Focus: Peak build volume + all 8 stations touched across the week

Monday — Run Intervals: 600s

5x600m @ moderate-hard, 2min walk recovery 10min warmup + 5min cooldown

Form: Longer reps mean more time at race-like discomfort. Lock pace by rep 2.

Coach: Stepping from 400s to 600s extends your tolerance for sustained effort.

Tuesday — Full-Body Strength + Sandbag Lunges

Goblet Squat 4x8 @ heavy, 120s rest Sandbag Front-Loaded Lunge 4x20m @ light-moderate, 90s rest Single-Arm Dumbbell Row 3x12/side, 75s rest

Form: Sandbag lunge — bag high on the chest, knee taps near the floor, stay tall.

Coach: Loaded lunges introduced — the station that ends most first-timers. Build it deliberately.

Thursday — Mini Simulation: 4-Station Circuit

4 rounds, each = 400m run + 1 station: Round 1 — Ski-Erg 250m Round 2 — Heavy Sled Push 20m Round 3 — Rower 250m Round 4 — Wall Ball x15 90s rest between rounds

Form: Move through transitions with purpose — that lost time adds up on race day.

Coach: Your first multi-station flow. Half the stations today, the other half live in your strength and skill days.

Saturday — Long Easy Run

50min continuous @ Z2

Form: Longest run of the program. Steady, patient, controlled.

Coach: Peak aerobic volume. From here we sharpen and convert this fitness into race speed.

Focus: Race-specific intensity + longer station blocks under fatigue

Monday — Tempo Run

10min easy + 20min @ tempo (comfortably hard, ~10K effort) + 5min cooldown

Form: Tempo is the pace you could hold for an hour if you had to. Steady, controlled, strong.

Coach: Tempo work trains the exact sustained pace HYROX demands between stations.

Tuesday — Strength + Heavy Carries

Goblet Squat 4x8 @ heavy, 120s rest Heavy Sled Pull 4x25m @ moderate-heavy, 105s rest Farmers Carry 4x50m @ heavy, 75s rest

Form: Carry heavier than station weight when you can — it makes race weight feel light.

Coach: Peak-phase strength: heavier loads, race-relevant patterns, full intent.

Thursday — Race-Pace Intervals: Run + Station

4 rounds: 800m run @ race effort + 1 station to fatigue Round 1 — Wall Ball x20 Round 2 — Burpee Broad Jump x12 Round 3 — Sandbag Front-Loaded Lunge 20m Round 4 — Rower 300m 2min rest between rounds

Form: Run hard, then hold technique while breathing heavy — that is the whole game.

Coach: Longest runs paired with the toughest stations. This is the most race-like session yet.

Saturday — Moderate Long Run

45min @ Z2 with the final 10min lifted to moderate

Form: Finish faster than you started — practice running strong when tired.

Coach: Pyramidal intensity now: still plenty of easy, but more time at moderate to sharpen race fitness.

Focus: Full half-distance race rehearsal + dial in pacing and transitions

Monday — Tempo Run

10min easy + 2x12min @ tempo with 3min easy between + 5min cooldown

Form: Broken tempo lets you hold quality longer. Match both blocks.

Coach: Final hard run before taper. Sharp, controlled, confident.

Tuesday — Maintenance Strength + Sled

Goblet Squat 3x6 @ moderate-heavy, 120s rest Heavy Sled Push 3x20m @ moderate, 90s rest Walking Lunge 3x20m light dumbbells

Form: Crisp and snappy — maintain strength, do not dig a fatigue hole before the rehearsal.

Coach: Strength volume pulled back slightly so Saturday's simulation lands fresh.

Thursday — Recovery Spin + Mobility

Bike-Erg 20min @ very easy, then 10min full-body mobility flow

Form: Keep the legs turning over without adding fatigue.

Coach: Active recovery between two demanding sessions. Loosen up, do not train.

Saturday — Half-HYROX Race Simulation

4 rounds in order: 1km run + 1 station Round 1 — SkiErg 500m Round 2 — Heavy Sled Push 25m Round 3 — Burpee Broad Jump x20 Round 4 — Wall Ball x40 Transition-only rest

Form: Run every km, hit each station, minimise standing around. Note your splits.

Coach: The dress rehearsal. Confirm pacing, fueling and transitions now so race day holds no surprises.

Focus: Shed fatigue, stay sharp, arrive at race day fresh and confident

Monday — Sharpener Run

10min easy + 4x200m @ race effort, 90s walk recovery + 5min cooldown

Form: Short and snappy. You should finish wanting more — that is the point.

Coach: Taper rule: keep the intensity, slash the volume. The fitness is already in the bank.

Tuesday — Primer Strength + Stations

Goblet Squat 2x5 @ moderate, 90s rest Heavy Sled Push 2x15m @ light-moderate Wall Ball 2x12 @ light

Form: Light, crisp, full intent. Prime the patterns, do not fatigue them.

Coach: Just enough to keep the body switched on. Leave the gym feeling fresh.

Thursday — Shakeout Jog

20min @ Z2 with 4x20s race-pace strides at the end

Form: Easy effort with a few quick pickups to feel race speed.

Coach: Legs stay primed, fatigue keeps draining. Last real movement before race day.

Saturday — Race Day (or Final Rest)

RACE DAY — full HYROX. If your race is another day: 15min very easy walk or jog only.

Form: Trust the work. Pace the first run, control your breathing into station 1, smile at the finish.

Coach: Eight weeks built this. Run your race, work your stations, finish your first HYROX.

Eight weeks is the shortest honest runway to a first HYROX. If your race is 12 weeks out, do not pad the end — extend the front:

• Weeks 1-2: repeat Week 1 twice, adding 5 minutes to each run the second time
• Weeks 3-4: repeat Week 2 twice, adding the loaded carries in the second pass
• Weeks 5-12: run Weeks 1-8 of the plan above exactly as written

That gives you a 12-week block with a longer aerobic base — which is exactly where extra time is best spent for a first-timer. The build, peak and taper phases stay intact, so you still arrive sharp rather than stale.

The one thing not to do is add weeks to the taper. Week 8 is short on purpose.

Your first HYROX is 8 x 1km of running with 8 stations between the runs, in a fixed order: SkiErg, Sled Push, Sled Pull, Burpee Broad Jumps, Row, Farmers Carry, Sandbag Lunges, and Wall Balls.

Three things that decide a first race:

1. 2
   Go out slower than feels right. The first run should feel almost easy. Nearly every first-timer runs kilometre one too fast and pays for it from station 4 onward.
2. 4
   Breathe into the station, not after it. Get your breathing under control in the first 20 metres of each station rather than trying to recover afterwards.
3. 6
   Respect the wall balls. They are the last station, 100 reps for every division, and they come after 8km of running. Break them into manageable sets from the very first rep.

If you would rather pick a workout than follow a full program, we publish the entire free workout library too — 34 free HYROX workouts, every session written out, from 15-minute station work to 90-minute engine builders.

You now have the entire 8-Week HYROX Foundations program.

Print this page (or use your browser's print dialog to save it as a PDF) and tick each session off as you go.

Or download FORMD free and follow the exact same plan in the app — every session laid out day by day, with interval timers, technique guides for all 8 stations, and your progress tracked automatically. The 8-Week HYROX Foundations program is included on the free tier. No subscription, no credit card.

Same plan either way. Pick whichever one you will actually stick to.