- This is the full twelve weeks, not a sample week. Four phases, weeks 1 to 12, with the sessions written out.
- The race is eight rounds, each a 1 km run followed by one functional workout station, so the plan builds running volume first and layers station work on top of it.
- You cover 8 km across 8 legs, and every one after the opening run starts on legs a station has just taxed, which is why compromised running sits at the centre of the build rather than fresh intervals.
- Deload in weeks 4 and 8, peak with a full simulation in week 10, then taper through week 12.
- Set your station loads from your own division before week 1 on the weight standards tool, and treat every session below as coaching guidance rather than a rule.
Twelve weeks is enough time to build a HYROX race from scratch if the weeks are actually planned. What follows is the whole block, week 1 through week 12, with the running, the strength, the station work and the simulations written out for each one. It is not a sample week repeated twelve times, and it is not a phase summary you have to fill in yourself.
What a HYROX 12 week training plan actually looks like
A HYROX 12 week training plan splits into four phases. Weeks 1 to 4 build an aerobic base and clean movement. Weeks 5 to 8 add threshold running and station load under fatigue. Weeks 9 to 11 rehearse race pace, transitions and one full simulation. Week 12 tapers so you arrive fresh.
Every one of those weeks is laid out further down this page. The shape of a 12-week HYROX training plan is not controversial, and most published plans agree on it. What almost none of them give you is the session detail inside each week, which is the part you actually have to train.
| Phase | Weeks | The job | Weekly shape |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 1 to 4 | Aerobic volume and clean movement patterns | Mostly easy running, light station work |
| Build | 5 to 8 | Threshold running and station load under fatigue | One hard run, one heavy station day, one compromised-running brick |
| Specific | 9 to 11 | Race pace, simulations, transitions | Race-pace intervals plus one simulation |
| Taper | 12 | Arrive fresh | Volume down, sharpness kept |
Who this plan is for, and who should change it
This block assumes you already run a little and train in a gym a couple of times a week. It does not try to argue you into the twelve-week length. Whether twelve weeks is the right number for your starting point belongs to our guide to how long to train, and the model underneath the plan sits on the HYROX training pillar. Settle the length there, then come back and start at week 1.
Before week 1: set your loads and take a baseline
Train to your own division's loads
Training to the wrong weight for twelve weeks is a slow, expensive mistake. Set your numbers before the first session. HYROX runs Singles, Doubles, Team Relay (4 athletes), and Adaptive, and the singles categories are Women, Women Pro, Men, and Men Pro.
| Station | Distance or reps | HYROX Women (Open) | HYROX Men (Open) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SkiErg | 1000 m | No load | No load |
| Sled Push | 50 m | 225 lb (102 kg) | 335 lb (152 kg) |
| Sled Pull | 50 m | 172 lb (78 kg) | 227 lb (103 kg) |
| Burpee Broad Jump | 80 m | Bodyweight | Bodyweight |
| Rowing | 1000 m | No load | No load |
| Farmers Carry | 200 m | 2 x 35 lb (16 kg) | 2 x 53 lb (24 kg) |
| Sandbag Lunges | 100 m | 22 lb (10 kg) | 44 lb (20 kg) |
| Wall Balls | 100 reps | 9 lb (4 kg) to 2.7 m | 13 lb (6 kg) to 3 m |
The week 1 baseline
Week 10 only means something if week 1 was measured. In the first few days, record a timed easy 5 km at an effort you could hold a conversation through, plus a short circuit of three rounds: light sled, a carry, 20 wall balls. Note how that sled felt at roughly half your race load. Write it somewhere you will find it in ten weeks.
How the HYROX 12 week training plan progresses
The progression logic is the same in every phase. Volume rises across the first three weeks, drops in the fourth, then the next phase raises intensity rather than piling on more volume. That is progressive overload applied to a hybrid race: you add one variable at a time and give the body a week to absorb it before adding the next. Skipping the absorb week is the most common way people arrive at week 9 already flat.
Rich Ryan covers the same ground from a coaching seat below, including how much aerobic work to run, how much strength to keep, and why a deload is not a wasted week.
Phase 1, weeks 1 to 4: build the base
The base phase is deliberately boring. Almost all of the running is easy, the station work is technique at a load you can hold clean form on, and nothing is meant to hurt. Resist the urge to prove something here, because the phases that follow are the ones that need you healthy.
| Week | Focus | Running | Strength and stations | Brick or simulation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Establish | Two easy runs of 30 to 40 min, one longer easy run of 50 min | Two full-body sessions: squat, hinge, press, pull, 3 sets of 8 | None. Take the baseline instead. |
| 2 | Add volume | Two easy runs of 40 min, long easy run out to 60 min | Same two sessions, plus a light sled over 50 m and a carry over 200 m | None |
| 3 | Peak base | Two easy runs of 40 to 45 min, long easy run of 70 min | Two sessions, plus unbroken wall-ball sets of 15 to 20, well short of 100 | None |
| 4 | Absorb | Volume down roughly a third, easy efforts only | One strength session, station work kept to technique | First brick: 1000 m easy then one station, four rounds |
That week 4 brick is the first honest taste of running on tired legs, and it is supposed to feel awkward. That gap is what the rest of the block closes.
Phase 2, weeks 5 to 8: add race-specific load
Phase 2 is where the plan starts to look like the race. Loads climb toward your division figures, one genuinely hard run appears each week, and the brick sessions get long enough to be uncomfortable.
| Week | Focus | Running | Strength and stations | Brick or simulation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | First threshold week | One threshold session of 4 x 800 m hard but repeatable, one easy run, long run of 60 min | Loads step up toward your division figures on the sled and the carry | Brick: 1000 m then one station, four rounds |
| 6 | Heavier station day | Threshold moves to 5 x 800 m, long run of 70 min | Heavy day: sled push over 50 m and sled pull over 50 m at close to race load | Brick lengthens to five rounds |
| 7 | Hardest week of the phase | Threshold of 6 x 800 m, long run of 75 min | Wall balls pushed toward 100 in broken sets, lunges over 100 m | Longest brick so far, six rounds |
| 8 | Absorb and check | Volume down, one sharp session of 4 x 400 m | Light technique work only | Shortened simulation that runs the front of the order and stops at Rowing. Time it and write it down. |
The week 8 checkpoint usually exposes one station that is costing you more than it should. Take that station to the station guides and fix the technique before phase 3, rather than trying to out-train it. If the sessions above start to feel stale, the HYROX workout library has variations that keep the same stimulus.
Phase 3, weeks 9 to 11: simulate and sharpen
The specific phase is short and expensive. Everything now happens at race pace or race load, and the priority shifts from building fitness to learning how to spend it.
| Week | Focus | Running | Strength and stations | Brick or simulation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Race pace | Race-pace intervals: 5 x 1000 m at goal pace, short recoveries | Station work at full race load, with the ROXZONE handoff rehearsed deliberately | Transitions drilled between every rep |
| 10 | Peak | One easy midweek run, nothing else hard around the simulation | Every station at your division loads | Full simulation: eight rounds, each a 1 km run followed by one functional workout station, in order, timed |
| 11 | Sharpen | Volume eases, 3 x 1000 m at goal pace | Short sharp station touches, no new stimulus from here | Transition rehearsal plus a kit and nutrition dress rehearsal |
The ROXZONE is worth rehearsing on purpose in week 9. It is the central transition zone athletes run through between every run and station, and the seconds people lose in there, fumbling for a belt or standing still to breathe, are the cheapest seconds in the race to win back. How you spend the rest of them is a separate question, and the pacing guide answers it station by station.
Week 12: taper into race day
You cannot add fitness in the last week. The only job now is arriving fresh, and the most common way to ruin twelve weeks of work is a panic session on the Wednesday before. Cut volume by roughly half, keep a little intensity so you do not feel flat, and put nothing new in the week at all.
- Six days out: easy run of 30 min, plus a few short strides.
- Five days out: short station touch, three rounds at race load, well short of failure.
- Four days out: rest, or an easy walk.
- Three days out: 3 x 400 m at goal pace, then stop while it still feels good.
- Two days out: easy 20 min shakeout, kit laid out, nothing heavy.
- Day before: full rest. Travel, register, stay off your feet.
Fitting the plan into your actual week
The repeating template underneath every phase is five sessions: one easy run, one strength and station day, one threshold run, one compromised-running brick, and one long easy run, with the remaining days as rest or easy movement. It runs at four days too, though which session gives way is not a free choice.
How you order those across a real week, where the recovery days sit, which session to drop when work or family eats one, and the three, four, five and six-day variants are all covered in the training schedule guide. If you want the shorter overview of the model before you commit to a calendar, the HYROX training plan overview is the lighter read.
Running the plan at home or with limited kit
Plenty of people run this block out of a home gym or a commercial gym with no sleds. Most of it substitutes cleanly. The sleds are the real gap.
| Station | If you do not have the kit |
|---|---|
| SkiErg | Banded or dumbbell overhead pulls for the same working time |
| Sled Push | Heavy incline treadmill push, or a loaded towel drag on a smooth floor |
| Sled Pull | Heavy band rows, or hand-over-hand pulls on a loaded duffel |
| Burpee Broad Jump | No substitution needed, it is bodyweight over 80 m |
| Rowing | An easy run of matched duration |
| Farmers Carry | Any two heavy objects of equal weight over 200 m |
| Sandbag Lunges | A loaded backpack or duffel held across the shoulders over 100 m |
| Wall Balls | A soft medicine ball to a mark on a wall at your target height, 2.7 m for women and 3 m for men |
Be honest about what a substitution does. It rehearses the movement pattern, not the load, and a towel drag will not prepare your legs for a real sled. Get on proper kit for a handful of sessions before race week, and confirm your loads on the weight standards tool rather than guessing from what your gym owns.
How to save or print this plan
There is no download to chase and no form to fill in. The whole plan is on this page, in the open. If you want it offline, your browser's print to PDF gives you a clean copy of the phase tables, and that works on a phone as well as a laptop.
The version that actually gets followed is the one living next to the dates. Copy the phase tables into a calendar or a notes app and put each week against a real date, counting back from your race. A screenshot of them on your phone is enough to run the block without opening this page again.
Mistakes that derail a twelve week build
- Training week 8 intensity in week 1. The base phase feels too easy on purpose. Spending it hard leaves nothing to add later.
- Skipping the deloads. Weeks 4 and 8 are where the previous three weeks actually turn into fitness.
- Only running fresh. Every run after the opening leg lands on legs a station has just taxed, so training exclusively rested trains the wrong thing.
- Training a division's loads you are not racing. Heavier is not better preparation if it wrecks your form or your recovery.
- Adding a new stimulus in the taper. Nothing introduced in week 12 will help, and plenty of it can hurt.
- Racing every simulation. A simulation is a rehearsal with a stopwatch, not a personal best attempt. Doing it repeatedly eats the training that builds fitness.
Frequently asked questions
Is 12 weeks long enough to train for HYROX?
For most people, yes. Twelve weeks gives four weeks to build an aerobic base, four to add station load under fatigue, three to sharpen and simulate, and one to taper. If you are starting from nothing, give yourself more runway. Our how long to train guide works it through by starting profile.
Is there a free HYROX 12 week training plan PDF?
The full plan is on this page, free and in the open, so there is no download to chase. If you want it offline, use your browser's print to PDF, or copy the phase tables straight into your calendar app. That way the sessions sit next to the dates you will actually train on, which is where a plan tends to survive.
Can a complete beginner follow this 12 week HYROX plan?
Yes, with the loads scaled down. Keep weeks 1 to 4 genuinely easy, treat the station work as technique practice rather than training, and hold the sled light. Build toward your division figures during weeks 5 to 8 rather than starting there, and check those figures on the weight standards tool.
How many days a week does this plan need?
Five sessions plus rest days is the default shape, and the block runs at four days too. Which session gives way, and which days the rest land on, is the training schedule guide's job rather than this page's.
What weights should I train with during the plan?
Your own division's, not a generic number. Open Men push 335 lb (152 kg) and carry 2 x 53 lb (24 kg); Open Women push 225 lb (102 kg) and carry 2 x 35 lb (16 kg). PRO divisions use heavier loads than Open. Confirm every station for your category on the weight standards tool.
When should I do a full race simulation?
Once, in week 10. A full simulation is eight rounds, each a 1 km run followed by one functional workout station at your division loads, and it is expensive enough that doing it repeatedly eats the training that actually builds fitness. Run a shortened version in week 8 as a checkpoint, then keep week 11 for sharpening rather than another full effort.
Can I do a 12 week HYROX training plan at home?
Mostly. Running, burpee broad jumps and lunges need nothing at all. Carries work with any two equal heavy objects over 200 m, and a loaded backpack stands in for the sandbag. The sleds are the real gap, so book a few sessions on proper kit before race week rather than meeting a loaded sled for the first time on the day.
What happens if I miss a week?
Repeat the week you missed rather than skipping ahead, unless the race date makes that impossible. If it does, drop a build week rather than a deload or the taper. Missing one week costs very little. Compressing the taper to catch up costs a lot, and it costs it on race day where you will notice.
How much of the plan is running?
Roughly half, which mirrors the race. You cover 8 km across 8 legs on race day, and only the opening one is run fresh. That is why compromised-running bricks appear from week 4 onward instead of being saved for the end of the block.
Ready to start week 1? Set your loads for your exact division first, then keep the phase tables above somewhere you will see them every training day.
Find my division's weights See the model behind the planReferences
Every HYROX figure on this page is drawn from the official rulebook and event guidance below. Standards can change by season, currently Season 9 (2026/27), so always confirm against the rulebook for your own event before race day.
- HYROX Official Competition Rulebook, Singles, the primary authority for the race format, station distances, loads and reps.
- HYROX, Best HYROX Preparation, official guidance on getting the running in and practising the stations.
- BarBend, How To Master Progressive Overload for HYROX and CrossFit, on adding load across a training block.
- BarBend, Different Types of Training Periodization, on the base, build, specific and taper block shape.
- Rich Ryan, Copy This HYROX Training Strategy and PR Your Next Race, the coaching source for the weekly structure and deload logic.