The Importance of Strength Training for HYROX

In this article I discuss why the strongest athletes dominate in Hyrox. “Strength is the mother of all physical qualities.” – Prof. Dietmar Schmidtbleicher

This is a concept close to my heart as I think it was the defining reason I was able to win the Hyrox world champs 45-49 in Chicago. As it turned out the race in my cat was won and lost on the sleds and fortunately for me my strength background got me through where’s others who were faster on paper used up too much energy here and couldn’t hold pace.

HYROX may look like an endurance race — eight 1 km runs broken up by eight functional stations — but the podium is decided long before race day, in the gym. The athletes who finish fastest, feel strongest in the final stations, and come back season after season uninjured are almost always the strongest. Success leaves clues: 3 x world champion Hunter McIntyre can deadlift over 500 lb (227 kg) for a reason.

Strength is the foundation of physical health and performance. It improves long-term health and longevity, drives great body composition, builds resilience against injury, unlocks hypertrophy when desired, and — most critically for HYROX — dramatically elevates performance. The higher your peak force potential, the higher your sustainable power output.

More than half the race is running, an activity governed by power-to-weight ratio. You can improve that ratio by losing weight (there’s a limit before performance and health suffer) or by getting significantly stronger without gaining unnecessary size. The second path is the winning strategy for almost every elite HYROX athlete. Through neural adaptations — low-rep, high-intensity lifting with long rest periods — you can increase maximal strength by up to 30 % with virtually zero extra muscle mass. The result? The same 200 kg sled glides, the erg watts climb, and your 1 km splits drop without any additional cardiovascular demand.

Essentially it’s about using what you have efficiently, two practical examples at either end of the spectrum:

Lance Armstrong at his peak ( I know he was chemically enhanced but so was everybody else he was racing ) was able to sustainably hold 6.5 watts per kg body weight which equated to holding 500 watts of power for 30mins at a body weight of 75kg. Next time you’re on the concept 2 bike see what generating 500 watts feels like and you’ll appreciate just how powerful he was at just 75kg.

Another awesome example of great ‘strength to weight’ is the legendary power lifter Ed cohen who was able to deadlift 409kg at a body weight of 99kg. This shows just how strong it is possible to be at a relatively light body weight.

It is that absolute strength that dictates how easily those sleds move, how many watts you can repeatedly pull on the SkiErg and RowErg, how light 100 wall balls feel at the end, and how well your running mechanics hold together when you’re deep into oxygen debt.

Strength also buys durability. The repeated eccentric stress, impact loading, and awkward positions of burpee broad jumps, sandbag lunges, and sled work punish weak tendons and unstable joints. A robust strength base increases tendon stiffness, joint stability, and overall work capacity, allowing you to train harder, more consistently, and stay injury-free as the years add up.

Eventually every athlete reaches a metabolic conditioning ceiling. Once you can get through the race without your form breaking down, the only reliable way to keep shaving minutes off your time is to get stronger so those absolute loads feel easier relative to your new maximum.

How Strong Is “Strong Enough” for Competitive HYROX?

Realistic yet ambitious 1RM targets for serious athletes:

• Back Squat → 2.0 × bodyweight
• Deadlift → 2.5 × bodyweight
• Bench Press → 1.5 × bodyweight
• Weighted Chin-Up → bodyweight + 0.5 × BW (total 1.5 × BW)

Before chasing these absolute numbers, optimise structural balance using the classic Poliquin ratios (Back Squat and Close-Grip Bench as the reference lifts). The most common weaknesses are a lagging Front Squat (should be ≥85 % of Back Squat) and Overhead Press (≥72 % of Bench). Fix those two and almost every other lift — and every HYROX station — improves dramatically.

Practical Training Guidelines

• 2–4 dedicated strength sessions per week (ideally separate from high-volume HYROX days)
• Primary focus: neural/relative strength → 3–6 reps at 85–95 % 1RM, full recovery (3–5 min)
• Progressive overload every session (aim for +2.5 % load or +1 rep)
• 12-week cycles with 4 distinct loading phases work extremely well
• Popular wave patterns: 7-5-3 repeated, 6-5-4-3-2, or 5-4-3-2-1 with back-off sets

Sample Weekly Split (Advanced)

• Monday: Lower-body strength + core
• Tuesday: Running intervals + functional HIIT
• Wednesday: Upper-body strength + heavy sled work
• Thursday: Recovery / mobility
• Friday: Full-body strength + short erg intervals
• Saturday: HYROX-specific simulation or race-pace stations
• Sunday: Complete rest or easy steady-state

The Bottom Line

Cardiovascular fitness will carry you to the finish line. Strength determines how fast you get there, how good you feel doing it, and whether your body is still ready for the next race.

If you want a new PB, hit the podium, or simply finish strong instead of broken, stop treating strength training as optional. Build the biggest, most neurologically efficient engine possible. The sleds, the wall, the ergs, and the clock will all reward you.

Get strong. Stay strong. Race fast.

About the author

Matt De’Ath
Gym owner and strength coach for 20 years+
Studied under Charles Poliquin, Andre Benoit, Eoin Lacey, Wolfgang Unsoeld and Tom Hibbert.
Hyrox 45-49 World Champion

Strength PBs

• Deadlift – 250kg
• Back Squat – 200kg
• Bench Press – 160kg