- HYROX runs Singles, Doubles, Team Relay (4 athletes), and Adaptive, according to the official Season 26/27 rulebook.
- HYROX Singles splits into HYROX (Open) and HYROX PRO, giving Women, Women Pro, Men, and Men Pro.
- HYROX Doubles carries both an Open tier and a Pro tier, and PRO divisions use heavier loads than Open.
- HYROX Team Relay has no Pro tier: its divisions are Women, Men, and Mixed, and every one races Open loads.
- Open women push a 225 lb (102 kg) sled and Pro women push a 335 lb (152 kg) sled, both over the same 50 m.
- HYROX Mixed Doubles teams use the men's load class throughout, for both partners, instead of each athlete using their own gender's loads.
- A HYROX mixed relay team loads each athlete by their own gender: each member races their own gender's Open loads on the stations they take, so the women on the team use the women's column and the men use the men's.
- The HYROX race format is fixed across every division: eight rounds, each a 1 km run followed by one functional workout station.
Most division guides give you a flat list of four names and leave you to work out where you fit. That list is incomplete, and in two places it is wrong. What follows is the whole map: which formats exist, which load tiers sit inside each one, how gender and age slot in on top, and where to go next once you know your cell of the grid.
What are the HYROX divisions?
HYROX offers Singles, Doubles, Team Relay (4 athletes), and Adaptive. Inside the solo format the split is HYROX (Open) and HYROX PRO, which produces Women, Women Pro, Men, and Men Pro. Doubles adds its own Open and Pro tiers plus mixed teams, and relay runs Women, Men, and Mixed on Open loads only. Age groups then layer on top of all of it.
- Singles. One racer covers the whole course, in Open or Pro.
- Doubles. A pair shares the station work, with an Open tier and a Pro tier.
- Team Relay. 4 athletes split the runs and stations between them.
- Adaptive. A separate format HYROX lists alongside the others.
If any of that is new, start with our guide to what HYROX actually is and come back. Everything below assumes you know the race is eight rounds, each a 1 km run followed by one functional workout station.
Format versus category: the two axes people conflate
A division is not one thing. It is two axes crossed. Format is how many people race and how the work is shared: Singles, Doubles, Team Relay (4 athletes), and Adaptive. Category is where you sit inside that format, which means the load tier you lift, the gender column you are scored in, and the age band you are ranked against. Almost every argument about HYROX divisions comes from someone naming a format when they mean a category, or the reverse. Every section below is one cell of that grid.
The HYROX formats
| Format | Athletes | How the work is shared | Load tiers available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singles | Solo | One racer completes every run and every station | Open and Pro |
| Doubles | A pair | Both partners run every leg together, then alternate the station work | Open and Pro |
| Team Relay | 4 | each member completes 2 of the 8 stations, and the team chooses which | Open only |
| Adaptive | See HYROX | Entry detail sits in a dedicated Adaptive rulebook | See HYROX |
Singles
The solo format is the default and the one the rulebook is written around. According to the official Season 26/27 rulebook, it splits into HYROX (Open) and HYROX PRO, which gives the scored categories: Women, Women Pro, Men, and Men Pro. The course, the station order and the movement standards are identical across all of them. Only the loads move. Our Open versus Pro comparison works through that load delta station by station and answers whether you are ready for the heavier column.
Doubles
In doubles both partners run every leg side by side, then split the station work between them so that only one of you is working at a time. The point that gets missed: according to the official Season 26/27 rulebook, doubles carries a Pro tier as well as an Open one. Plenty of guides claim doubles is Open-only. It is not. The Pro column is real, and it is the same heavier loading you would meet in a Pro solo race, so a pair can race heavy together. Our full doubles guide covers the division list, the work-split rules and the partner strategy.
Team Relay
The relay is a team format: a 4-person team splits the standard 8 runs and 8 stations, each member covering 2 x 1 km and 2 workout stations. Valid team makeups are 4 women, 4 men, or 2 women and 2 men.
Two things about the relay get repeated wrongly. First, there is no Pro relay. According to the official Season 26/27 rulebook, the relay divisions are Women, Men, and Mixed, and every one of them races Open loads. Second, there is no fixed rotation: each member completes 2 of the 8 stations, and the team chooses which, and a member may run and work back to back, or hand over in the Transition Zone after each leg. That freedom is the whole tactical game of the format, and our relay guide works through how to use it.
Adaptive
Adaptive is one of the HYROX formats, the full set being Singles, Doubles, Team Relay (4 athletes), and Adaptive, and it is the one almost every division guide leaves out. Entry criteria and event availability for Adaptive are set out in a dedicated Adaptive rulebook rather than the Singles, Doubles or Relay editions, so we point you there rather than describe mechanics we cannot source. Ask HYROX or your event organiser for the current Adaptive detail before you enter.
Open and Pro: what the load tier actually changes
PRO divisions use heavier loads than Open. That is the entire difference. Two stations show the pattern:
| Category | Sled push | Wall ball |
|---|---|---|
| Women (Open) | 225 lb (102 kg) | 9 lb (4 kg) |
| Women Pro | 335 lb (152 kg) | 13 lb (6 kg) |
| Men (Open) | 335 lb (152 kg) | 13 lb (6 kg) |
| Men Pro | 445 lb (202 kg) | 20 lb (9 kg) |
Two structural points that a load table alone hides. Reps do not change. Every division does 100 wall balls, Open and Pro alike, so Pro is a heavier race and not a longer one. Wall ball target height tracks gender, not tier. The women's target is 2.70 m and the men's is 3.00 m, and Pro Women keep the women's height at 2.70 m. Moving up to Pro raises what you throw, not where you throw it.
For the complete matrix across every station and division, use our weight standards tool.
How mixed teams are loaded across HYROX divisions
This is the single most-repeated error on the topic, and the answer is not the same for both team formats. Mixed doubles does not give each athlete their own gender's loads: it runs the men's load class throughout, for both partners, at every station. A mixed relay works the other way round, and each member races their own gender's Open loads on the stations they take, so the women on the team use the women's column and the men use the men's. That split comes from the hyrox.com race-format listing (the Relay rulebook load table does not print a Mixed column).
That has a consequence people feel on race day. A woman entering mixed doubles is pushing a heavier sled than she would push in a women's Open solo race, and a mixed pair should plan the station split around that rather than around who is faster. Some pairs deliberately choose a same-gender format for exactly this reason. Neither choice is wrong, but going in without knowing is what ruins race day.
HYROX age groups, and why relay age groups are different
According to the official Season 26/27 rulebook, individual racers are ranked in age bands: Under 24 [16-24], then five-year bands from 25-29 up to 85-89. Your band is set by the racer's age on the day of their race, and the minimum race age is 16. Age groups are ranking buckets. They change who you are compared against, never the weight you lift or the distance you cover.
Relay teams use a completely separate scheme. There are two bands, Under 40 and 40+, and the team is classified on the AVERAGE age of the four members at the time of the event. These two systems are not the same thing and do not map onto each other: an individual is placed on their own age in a five-year band, a relay team is placed on the average age of the four of them across two broad bands. A forty-something on a young team lands in the younger relay band while still racing their own five-year band as an individual.
There is one catch older racers should know about before entering Pro: athletes may race the Pro divisions up to and including the 80+ age groups (the 80-84 and 85-89 bands) at regular HYROX races, with age-group rankings, podiums and flags applying as normal. For the World Championships, though, athletes aged 60 and above qualify for the World Championships through the Open division only, and race Open weights, reps and distances at Worlds. Put plainly: Athletes aged 60+ may race Pro at regular HYROX events but qualify for the World Championship through the Open division only, using Open weights at Worlds.
The HYROX divisions above Pro that most racers never enter
Pro is not the top of the pyramid. The Singles rulebook also describes the Elite Racing Series, the Elite 15 and the Challenger Division, which are named competitive tiers sitting above Pro for the sport's professional field. They run on invitation and ranking rather than open entry, and the qualification detail changes by season, so treat the current rulebook as the only authority on how a racer reaches them. For everyone else, the Open and Pro tiers described above are the whole ladder.
What never changes across all HYROX divisions
Whichever cell of the grid you land in, the race is the same shape: eight rounds, each a 1 km run followed by one functional workout station. That means 8 runs of 1000 m for 8 km of running, and 8 stations, always in the fixed order SkiErg, Sled Push, Sled Pull, Burpee Broad Jump, Rowing, Farmers Carry, Sandbag Lunges, Wall Balls. Nobody gets a shorter course.
The distances hold too. The sled push is 50 m, run as 4 x 12.5 m, in every division. Burpee broad jumps cover 80 m and the farmers carry covers 200 m whatever weight is on the bells. Between every run and station you pass through the ROXZONE, the central transition zone athletes run through between every run and station. Our HYROX rules guide covers the standards and penalties that apply identically across the grid.
Which HYROX division should you enter?
Match your own situation to a row below rather than starting from the division names. The format follows from what you are actually walking in with.
| If this is you | Enter this division | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Your first race, and you want the full solo experience | Open Singles | It is the format the whole sport is built around, and the loads are set so a reasonably fit person can finish without a training block built around one station. |
| You have a training partner and want to share the work | Doubles, Open tier | Both of you run every leg together, then split the station work so only one partner works at a time. Confirm the mixed-load rule above before you enter as a mixed pair. |
| Your goal is racing as part of a gym team of four | Team Relay | The relay format is built for exactly 4 athletes, and each member completes 2 of the 8 stations, and the team chooses which. Each member's share is the smallest real bite of the race that still counts as racing HYROX. |
| You are 60 or older and want to race the Pro loads | Pro Singles, with one check first | athletes may race the Pro divisions up to and including the 80+ age groups (the 80-84 and 85-89 bands) at regular HYROX races, with age-group rankings, podiums and flags applying as normal. If the World Championship path matters to you, note that athletes aged 60 and above qualify for the World Championships through the Open division only, and race Open weights, reps and distances at Worlds. This age-group ruling is sourced to the Singles rulebook; we could not find a published Doubles equivalent. |
| Your goal is the heavier, harder-loaded standard | Pro, solo or as a Doubles pair | PRO divisions use heavier loads than Open, and unlike the relay, both Singles and Doubles carry a Pro tier to race it in. |
| You want a finish time you can compare against a past race or a training partner's | Stay in the division and tier you already raced | Open and Pro times are not run on the same loads, so moving tiers between races breaks the comparison. Keep the variable you are trying to measure constant and change only the training in between. |
Open singles and the relay are the two soft entries. Both let you finish your first race without a training block built around a specific station. Ignore the qualifying times that circulate on forums as entry requirements for Pro. The rulebook sets no such threshold for a regular event.
Frequently asked questions
How many HYROX divisions are there?
HYROX runs Singles, Doubles, Team Relay (4 athletes), and Adaptive. Within singles the split is HYROX (Open) and HYROX PRO, producing Women, Women Pro, Men, and Men Pro. Doubles adds its own Open and Pro tiers, and relay runs Women, Men, and Mixed. So the honest answer is a grid of format by category, not one flat count.
What is the difference between HYROX Open and Pro?
PRO divisions use heavier loads than Open. The race shape is identical: eight rounds, each a 1 km run followed by one functional workout station, same station order, same distances. Only the loads move, and reps stay at 100 wall balls in every division.
Is there a Pro division in the HYROX relay?
No. The relay rulebook lists Women, Men, and Mixed and there is no Pro tier at all, so every relay team races Open loads. This is the most common mistake made about HYROX divisions. Doubles is different: doubles does carry a Pro tier alongside its Open one.
Do mixed doubles use men's or women's weights?
Men's. Mixed doubles runs the men's load class throughout instead of giving each athlete their own gender's loads, so the sled push in mixed doubles is 335 lb (152 kg) for both partners. Mixed relay does not follow that rule: each member races their own gender's Open loads on the stations they take, so the women on the team use the women's column and the men use the men's.
What HYROX division should a beginner enter?
Open singles if you want the full solo experience, or a relay if you would rather share the work. In a relay each member covers 2 runs and 2 stations.
What are the HYROX age groups?
Under 24 [16-24], then five-year bands from 25-29 up to 85-89. Your band is set by the racer's age on the day of their race, and the minimum race age is 16. Age groups change who you are ranked against, not the weights you lift or the distances you cover.
How is a HYROX relay team's age group decided?
Differently from individuals. Relay uses Under 40 and 40+, and the team is classified on the AVERAGE age of the four members at the time of the event. A team of mixed ages can therefore land in the younger band on the average alone. Do not confuse this with the individual five-year bands, which are a separate scheme entirely.
Can older athletes race HYROX Pro?
Yes, with one qualification caveat: athletes may race the Pro divisions up to and including the 80+ age groups (the 80-84 and 85-89 bands) at regular HYROX races, with age-group rankings, podiums and flags applying as normal. For the World Championships though, athletes aged 60 and above qualify for the World Championships through the Open division only, and race Open weights, reps and distances at Worlds. Put simply, Athletes aged 60+ may race Pro at regular HYROX events but qualify for the World Championship through the Open division only, using Open weights at Worlds.
Does the running change between HYROX divisions?
No. Every division covers 8 runs of 1000 m for 8 km in total. In doubles both partners run every leg together. In a relay the running is split, with each member covering 2 legs.
What is HYROX Adaptive?
Adaptive is one of the formats HYROX offers, the full set being Singles, Doubles, Team Relay (4 athletes), and Adaptive. Entry requirements and event availability vary, and HYROX sets the current detail out in a dedicated Adaptive rulebook, so check with HYROX or your event organiser rather than relying on a third-party summary.
Do relay teammates have to swap in a fixed order?
No: each member completes 2 of the 8 stations, and the team chooses which, and a member may run and work back to back, or hand over in the Transition Zone after each leg. Handovers happen in the Transition Zone [TZ]. One hard limit applies: starting with fewer than four racers present is not permitted.
Can you race more than one HYROX division at the same event?
The rulebook allows racers who qualify for more than one division to enter both where start times do not conflict, at their own risk and cost. In practice, back-to-back divisions in one day is an advanced move rather than a first-race plan. Check your event's start-wave schedule before you commit.
References
- Official HYROX Singles Rulebook, Season 26/27. The authority for the singles divisions, the individual age bands, and the World Championship and elite pathways.
- Official HYROX Doubles Rulebook, Season 26/27. The authority for the doubles divisions, including the Pro tier and the mixed load column.
- Official HYROX Team Relay Rulebook, Season 26/27. The authority for the relay divisions, the absence of a Pro relay, and the team-average age-group rule.
- HYROX, The Fitness Race. Official overview of the race format and the formats on offer.
- PUMA, HYROX Weights, Repetitions and Distance by Division. The official HYROX title partner on loads and distances by division.
RoxTribe is an independent community resource and is not affiliated with HYROX. Division structures and loads can change by season, so confirm against the current rulebook for your event before you enter.