Ambassador’s Corner: HYROX

Hello Austin Fit Fam! AFM influencer Nikki Zahka again and very aligned with the Endurance Issue, we are diving into HYROX today! If you don’t know what HYROX is, it is a worldwide fitness event open to all. Competitors from across the globe engage in identical challenges. Each race kicks off with a 1 km run, accompanied by one functional movement, repeated 8 times. Held in spacious indoor venues, it offers a distinctive experience, creating a unique stadium like atmosphere for all participants and testing your endurance and strength. 

Emerging from Hamburg, Germany in 2017, this fitness competition has rapidly gained traction worldwide, notably in the United States over the past couple of years. Its allure lies in its inclusivity, catering to both elite athletes and regular fitness enthusiasts striving to elevate their workouts. HYROX stands out as the pioneer in providing everyday gym attendees with a dedicated race to prepare for. By blending elements of traditional endurance events with functional fitness, it pioneers a race format accessible to all, regardless of fitness levels or backgrounds.

Before diving into more details and my personal experience trying out a mini HYROX, I am happy to dedicate this Ambassadors corner to I Live Here I Give here. Supporting 750+ local nonprofits organizations, I Live Here I Give Here has produced year-round programs and activities that actively engage and empower individuals, companies, nonprofits, and foundations to be more generous and contribute to a more equitable community for all.

Nikki’s chosen nonprofit: I live here I Give Here

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There are 45 HYROX global races each year where you have the chance to compete and possibly qualify for the World championships. HYROX states, “In order to qualify for the HYROX World Championships, you need to participate in any of our 45 races. Depending on your division and age group, a certain number of Qualifying slots are awarded at each race. If you are one of those great performers, you will receive an invitation and have up to 48 hours to claim your spot, otherwise it will be allocated to the next competitor.” This year’s World Championships is in Nice, France, June 7-9.

HYROX has four different racing categories to choose from, making it for everyone no matter the fitness level:

• Open – take on the standard HYROX for a challenging but achievable race for everyone.
• Pro – for the experienced racer, heavier weights make for a more challenging experience.
• Doubles – find a partner and take on the challenge as a pair, running together but splitting the workload of the exercises.
• Relay – come together with your friends or family and race the relay where each member of the team does 2 times 1 km and 2 workouts.

There are a number of gyms around Austin that are Hyrox affiliated and host hybrid workouts to help athletes prepare for these competitions including Squatch Frontier Fitness, Onnit Gym, Bat City Crossfit, Crossfit Central, and more! You can find the full list of gyms on the HYROX website under the train tab. 

I had the opportunity to participate in the “Squatch Rox” mini event at Squatch Frontier Fitness in February, and let me tell you, this competition is humbling (but so much fun at the same time!). It is essentially half of the true HYROX race, 1km run, 500M row, 1km run, 50M weighted walking lunges, 1km run, 50M burpee broad jump, 1km run, 100 wall balls. I will caveat this with, I am a fitness enthusiast and train very consistently, but I signed up for this extremely last minute and did not do the appropriate training leading up to the competition. It was HARD. Possibly because it’s only half the real event, I personally was going all out to truly test myself and my heart was redlining almost the full 37 minutes.

That time was a lot better than I anticipated and it is 90% because of the environment! You know what they say, if you want to go fast go alone, but if you want to go far go together. You are placed in heats of 5 people and each heat gets sent out every seven minutes.. The environment is HYPE. People cheering each heat on, the excitement of competition, the incredible emcee and live DJ they have pumping you up, it keeps you pushing harder than you thought you would. It’s the perfect test to see if you can and want to actually compete in a HYROX competition, testing your endurance, mindset, and identifying where you may need to put in a little more work.

Squatch has weekly training sessions for their athletes competing in HYROX, open to the public for a very small fee. Weekly run club on Wednesdays and a hybrid workout every Saturday morning to get to know other competitors and prepare for your competition.. Or maybe you just want to go train in a new way you haven’t before and meet some cool people. 

Although the Open HYROX competitions are done for the year, we have a few local Austin warriors heading to France! Gus Manke will be competing, he is a local HYROX ambassador and hosts his own hybrid training sessions around town, if you’re curious about the race, he is your guy. Also our very own Danielle Gertner emcee’s all the HYROX competitions, including Worlds, keeping the vibes high for everyone attending and getting you in the right mindset to go crush your heat. 

If you are wanting to shake things up and challenge yourself, these competitions and training sessions could be exactly what you are looking for!