Complete beginners training at home
16-Week HYROX Training Plan for Complete Beginners at Home
The 16-week couch plan with every station swapped for dumbbell, band and backpack work. Your first hybrid race, start to finish line: steady runs, station technique, strength, then a full race simulation.
Download on theApp Store16 weeks · 4 days a week · Home
- Length
- 16 weeks, 64 sessions
- Days a week
- 4
- Session length
- 40–75 min
- Level
- Couch
- Equipment
- Dumbbells or kettlebells, a resistance band, a backpack you can load to 10–25 kg
- Race standard
- HYROX 2026/27 rulebook, Open division loads
What's in it
- Run/walk intervals build to a continuous 6.5 km long run
- Full race simulation two weeks before race day
- A lighter deload week every 4th week so you recover
- Every station swapped for dumbbell, band and backpack work
Week 1, in full
Every session of the first week, exactly as it appears in the app.
Mon
Run / Walk
- Run / WalkRun 1 min, walk 1 min, repeat for 20 min · Zone 2 · 60–70% max HR · conversational paceKeep every run segment conversational. Walking is part of the plan, not a failure.
Tue
Strength · Lower
- Warm-up8 min easy jog, bike or row, then leg swings, hip openers and 2 × 10 air squats
- Dumbbell Goblet Squat3 × 12 reps · Light · RPE 6 · 3–4 reps in reserve
- Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift3 × 12 reps · Light · RPE 6 · 3–4 reps in reserve
- Rest90 sec
- Backpack Walking Lunges (each leg)3 × 12 reps · Light · RPE 6 · 3–4 reps in reserve
- Bulgarian Split Squat (each leg)3 × 10 reps · Light · RPE 6 · 3–4 reps in reserve
- Plank3 × 20 s
Thu
Benchmark Test
- Warm-up12 min easy jog, bike or row, then leg swings, hip openers and 2 × 10 air squats
- 1 km Time Trial1 km · Hard but controlled, about 8/10, not a sprint. Record the time · Zone 4 · 80–90% max HR · threshold, comfortably hardWalk for a few seconds if you need to; it's a starting point, not a race.
- Rest5 min
- Dumbbell Thrusters (wall ball sub)50 reps · Light dumbbells, 4–8 kgFor time. Record it and your set breaks.
- Rest5 min
- 1 km Run1 km · Target pace 7:00–7:30 /km · Zone 4 · 80–90% max HR · threshold, comfortably hardCompare this km with the first, the gap is your compromised-running cost.
- Cool-down5–10 min easy walk or jog, then stretch calves, hips and upper back
Sat
Long Run / Walk
- Long Run / WalkRun 1 min, walk 1 min for 25 min · Zone 2 · 60–70% max HR · conversational paceSlower than you think. Time on feet is the goal, not pace.
The whole plan, by the numbers
64 sessions over 16 weeks, building to race day. Every session after week 1, with distances, sets, reps, loads and heart-rate zones, is in the Cheetah app.
- 29
- runs
- 15
- strength sessions
- 8
- station sessions
- 5
- compromised runs
- 4
- race simulations
- 2
- benchmark tests
- 3
- lighter recovery weeks
Why 16 weeks
Pick 16 weeks if you are newer to training or want a gentler build. The extra month means more easy running, more technique work before loads go up, and more recovery weeks.
What stands in for each station
This version is built for dumbbells or kettlebells, a resistance band, a backpack you can load to 10–25 kg. Here is what it uses in place of each HYROX station.
| Station | Swap: home (dumbbells, a band, a backpack) |
|---|---|
| 1. SkiErg | Band pull-downs. Band anchored high, hinge at the hips, about 1 rep for every 12 m. |
| 2. Sled Push | Loaded push. Push a loaded box or bag across a hard floor, or walk a hill with a 10 to 25 kg backpack. |
| 3. Sled Pull | Band rows. Heaviest band, fast and continuous, about 6 reps for every 5 m. |
| 4. Burpee Broad Jumps | Burpee broad jumps. No swap needed. Short on space? Burpees plus broad jumps in place. |
| 5. Rowing | Kettlebell swings. 12 to 24 kg, about 1 swing for every 16 m of rowing. |
| 6. Farmers Carry | Farmers carry with dumbbells or water jugs. Heaviest pair you own. Short on space? Carry for 60 s per 50 m. |
| 7. Sandbag Lunges | Backpack walking lunges. Backpack loaded to 10 to 20 kg. No space? Alternate in place, 1 rep per metre. |
| 8. Wall Balls | Dumbbell thrusters. Light dumbbells, 4 to 8 kg, same rep count. |
Races you can still make with 16 weeks
Start on the Monday shown and week 16 lands on race week. Later than that, pick a shorter plan.
| Race | Dates | Start this plan by |
|---|---|---|
| HYROX Chicago 2027 | Feb 11–15, 2027 | Mon, Oct 26, 2026 |
| HYROX Phoenix 2027 | Feb 25–28, 2027 | Mon, Nov 9, 2026 |
| HYROX Glasgow 2027 | Mar 10–14, 2027 | Mon, Nov 23, 2026 |
| HYROX Las Vegas 2027 | Mar 12–14, 2027 | Mon, Nov 23, 2026 |
| HYROX Miami Beach 2027 | Mar 26–28, 2027 | Mon, Dec 7, 2026 |
| HYROX Houston 2027 | Apr 1–4, 2027 | Mon, Dec 14, 2026 |
| HYROX Ottawa 2027 | Apr 21–25, 2027 | Mon, Jan 4, 2027 |
| HYROX Atlanta 2027 | Apr 23–25, 2027 | Mon, Jan 4, 2027 |
Follow the 16-week plan in Cheetah
Every session written out, logged at race weights, with Apple Watch and heart-rate zones.
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