Done your first Hyrox and caught the bug?

Wanna beat your time for your next Hyrox race?

With Hyrox being over 50% running, having a specific programme to work on your running is the key to getting faster!

Before I get into the programming this is aimed at those who can already run 8-10k without stopping (doesn’t matter your pace), who are looking to get faster.

It’s aimed at intermediates who have maybe done a Hyrox already and want to improve their time.

The buzz word and popular method for improving your running at the moment is “ZONE 2“ training.

Zone 2 training is slow and steady keeping your heart rate between 60-70% of your max heart rate.

The problem with zone 2 training is that it doesn’t help you get any faster mentally, yes it helps to build a good aerobic base but if all your training is zone 2 you are never getting the chance to feel uncomfortable at race pace.

Part of running faster is getting used to being uncomfortable, out of breath and working on the mental side of not slowing down or stopping when it’s uncomfortable.

Zone 2 has a place within your training for sure, it’s what I recommend for most people new to running to help them build up the miles, boost confidence and improve their aerobic base.

For someone who’s just looking to complete a Hyrox race it’s a brilliant place to start – 2-3 runs per week at an easy conversational pace.

The further into your Hyrox and fitness journey you go the more you want to improve and get faster, what you did to be able to complete a race is different from what’s needed to compete and consistently improve your times!

If you wanna get faster you have to know your numbers, just like getting stronger in the gym you can’t just show up and lift random weights.

To get strong we track our load, sets, reps and sessions each week and we use progressive overload to improve.

For running it’s exactly the same – you can’t rely on how you feel or just sessions per week!

Key numbers for running are:

Intensity – Pace / Heart Rate

Distance – KM – (Hyrox uses KM’s so this is better for pacing)

Time – Total session / Intervals / Rest

Frequency – Sessions/ Rest per week

Volume – KM’s per week

We use these numbers to programme and create progressive overload with our running, if you don’t know these numbers then nows a good time to start learning and tracking!

You can use a watch or your phone with an app like strava / workoutdoors / mapmyrun to track your numbers.

I am going to base your programme on x3 running sessions a week, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking more running sessions per week is better but remember as Hyrox athletes we aren’t runners and we shouldn’t be dropping gym sessions to do 4-5 runs per week.

If you struggle to fit x3 runs in then you can still make progress with x2 runs a week at the right intensity!

One of the keys to improving at Hyrox is getting stronger, you should be doing x3-4 sessions in the gym each week – getting stronger will improve your running!

Here’s my recommendations of a typical week before I go into the specific running programme for you:

x3 Strength Sessions including – Squat / Deadlift / Single Leg Work / Push / Pull / Press

x1-2 Hyrox Higher Intensity Sessions

x2-3 Running Sessions

Your week might look something like this:

Mon – Squat & Push

Tue – Hyrox & Run 1

Wed – Deadlift & Pull Ups

Thu – Single Leg & Press

Fri – Run 2

Sat – Optional Hyrox & Walk or REST!

Sun – Optional Run 3 or REST!

If you have more time and want to train more then add in an extra gym session, walking and mobility!

Running Specific Programming for 12 Weeks:

x3 sessions a week with at least 1 day in-between each session, ideally with the higher intensity run sessions you don’t want to train the same day or keep to an upper body training session. Think about quality over quantity – we want to make sure that we are hitting the right intensity for each run.

Week	Run 1 – Zone 2	Run 2 – Long Run	Run 3 – Hard Run
1	40mins	5km @80-85% MHR	5km race pace >90% MHR
2	45mins	6km @80-85% MHR	**Tempo: 10 / 20 / 10
3	50mins	7km @80-85% MHR	5km easy Zone 2
4	55mins	8km @80-85% MHR	6km race pace >90% MHR
5	60mins	9km @80-85% MHR	**Tempo: 10 / 25 / 10
6	40mins – increase pace*	10km @80-85% MHR	5km easy Zone 2
7	45mins	5km @85-90% MHR	7km race pace >90% MHR
8	50mins	6km @85-90% MHR	**Tempo: 10 / 30 / 10
9	55mins	7km @85-90% MHR	5km easy Zone 2
10	60mins	8km @85-90% MHR	8km race pace >90% MHR
11	40mins – increase pace*	9km@85-90% MHR	**Tempo: 10 / 35 / 10
12	45mins	10@85-90% MHR	5km easy Zone 2

Run 1 – Easy Zone 2 recovery run – Run at a comfortable pace 60-70% MHR (blue in your myzone heart rate monitor) and slow enough that you can hold a conversation, should be the fun running day of the week! We will progress by 5 mins each week and I want you to track your average pace for zone 2 – e.g 7:30min/km when we get to week 6 then we start back at 40mins but increase the pace so you might go to 7:15-7:20min/km, week 11 again increase the pace!

Run 2 – Long Run – Not race pace but 30-60 secs slower and 80-90% MHR and we increase our distance each week! Keep an eye on your pace, it’s important to know your pace and not just rely on heart rate as many things can affect your heart rate on the day! We want to have a similar pace week 1-6 and then increase week 7-12 you might be 6:00min/km and increase to 5:45min/km.

Run 3 – Hard Run – A mixture of race pace runs, tempo and easy runs! Your race pace should be as fast as you can hold for the distance – try to hold a consistent pace no point in starting off at 4:30min/km and after 500m you have to walk or slow down to 6:30min/km. For most people 90-93%MHR is around your race pace – it might take you a few race pace runs to figure this out.

**Tempo runs are easy / fast / easy so start off slow 60-70% MHR / then race pace >90%MHR / then slow 60-70% MHR to recover

What about intervals?

Like Zone 2 training intervals are another buzz word and have a place I just dont think they are needed just yet and are better suited to advanced runners / Hyrox athletes. I think your time as an intermediate runner / Hyrox athlete with race paces above 4:30/km is better spent working on the above format.

I don’t know my paces or heart rate what should I do?

Use the first week to figure them out, if you want to improve your times and get quicker you need to know your numbers or your just standing still. Use your watch or phone if you don’t have a heart rate monitor and focus on your pace min/km. Your zone 2 pace is a pace that you can hold a conversation, race pace is the fastest you can go for the full distance – try to be consistent. Long run pace is 30-60secs slower/min. E.g if your race pace is 5:00min/km then long run pace is 5:30-6:00min/km.

I can only do 1-2 runs a week what should I do?

The best programme for you is the one you can do consistently, if you have a busy job / kids etc and already struggle to fit your gym sessions in just do whatever you can – it might mean combining a gym session and run e.g 30-40mins strength with 20-30mins easy run. If you can manage 3-4 sessions a week in total you can still make good progress – just focus on intensity and quality and don’t waste time – make you training time count and fit as much as you can into each session!

What do you do after 12 weeks?

Good question, and just like training it’s important to test so week 13 either sign up for a 10k race or run a 10k as fast as you can to see your numbers and new PB!!!

Then we start another training block based off our new race paces, and distances – for Hyrox it’s 8x1km rather than 8km so I think there’s far more benefit to keeping your distances around the 10km mark and focusing on intensity rather than longer distances.

Remember running is just like training in that in order to improve we need progressive overload, so after progressing for 12 weeks we taper down for recovery with a short deload before the next progressive training block – we also need to take into account upcoming races and events – I have Hyrox Berlin in April, our members have Hyrox Birmingham in October with a few other events like 10ks inbetween.

Reactive Training is a Hyrox partner gym and our programming is designed specifically to get your fitter, stronger and faster. Our sessions focus on strength and conditoning and we can help you improve at life and Hyrox no matter your goals or experience. Our coaches specialise in working with complete beginners who have never lifted a weight before and performance coaching for those who know their way around the gym. We have helped members complete their first Hyrox from scratch and at the same time coached members to podium and qualify for the Hyrox World Championships.