Beginners with no equipment
12-Week HYROX Training Plan for Your First Race With No Equipment
Zero kit. Hill sprints, towel rows and bodyweight circuits build the engine. Your first hybrid race, start to finish line: steady runs, station technique, strength, then a full race simulation.
- Length
- 12 weeks, 48 sessions
- Days a week
- 4
- Session length
- 40–75 min
- Level
- Beginner
- Equipment
- Nothing but floor space, a towel and a sturdy door; a backpack helps
- Race standard
- HYROX 2026/27 rulebook, Open division loads
What's in it
- Two runs, one strength day and one station day each week
- Long run builds from 5 km to 8 km
- Full race simulation two weeks before race day
- Hill sprints, towel rows and bodyweight circuits replace all the kit
Week 1, in full
Every session of the first week, exactly as it appears in the app.
Easy Run
- Easy Run3 km · Relaxed and even · Zone 2 · 60–70% max HR · conversational paceIf you can't hold a conversation, slow down or walk briefly.
Strength · Lower
- Warm-up8 min easy jog, bike or row, then leg swings, hip openers and 2 × 10 air squats
- Tempo Air Squat (3 s down)3 × 18 reps · Bodyweight
- Single-Leg Hip Hinge (each leg)3 × 12 reps · Bodyweight
- Rest90 sec
- Reverse Lunges (each leg)3 × 12 reps · Bodyweight
- Glute Bridge3 × 18 reps · Bodyweight
- Plank3 × 20 s
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
- Squat to Overhead Reach (wall ball sub)50 reps, full depth, fastFor time. Record it and your set breaks.
- Rest5 min
- 1 km Run1 km · Target pace 6:15–7:00 /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
Long Run
- Long Run5 km · The week's aerobic backbone; finish feeling you could go on · Zone 2 · 60–70% max HR · conversational paceFuel and hydrate as you would on race day.
The whole plan, by the numbers
48 sessions over 12 weeks, building to race day. Every session after week 1, with distances, sets, reps, loads and heart-rate zones, is in the Cheetah app.
- 23
- runs
- 11
- strength sessions
- 5
- station sessions
- 4
- compromised runs
- 2
- race simulations
- 2
- benchmark tests
- 2
- lighter recovery weeks
Why 12 weeks
12 weeks is the standard length for a first race: enough time to build your running and learn every station at race weight without rushing, with room for a deload or two.
What stands in for each station
This version is built for nothing but floor space, a towel and a sturdy door; a backpack helps. Here is what it uses in place of each HYROX station.
| Station | Swap: nothing (no equipment at all) |
|---|---|
| 1. SkiErg | Squat thrusts and high knees. Alternate 20 s of each, about 1 minute for every 250 m. |
| 2. Sled Push | Hill or stair sprints. Hard uphill for the same time the sled would take, walk back down. |
| 3. Sled Pull | Towel door rows. Towel looped round a solid door handle, lean back and row. |
| 4. Burpee Broad Jumps | Burpee broad jumps. No swap needed. Short on space? Burpees plus broad jumps in place. |
| 5. Rowing | Jump squats. About 1 rep for every 30 m of rowing. |
| 6. Farmers Carry | Suitcase carry. Any two heavy bags. Short on space? Carry for 60 s per 50 m. |
| 7. Sandbag Lunges | Walking lunges. Bodyweight, or a backpack if you have one. Back knee touches every rep. |
| 8. Wall Balls | Squat to overhead reach. Full depth and fast, same rep count. |
Races you can still make with 12 weeks
Start on the Monday shown and week 12 lands on race week. Later than that, pick a shorter plan.
| Race | Dates | Start this plan by |
|---|---|---|
| HYROX Manchester 2027 | Jan 20–31, 2027 | Mon, Nov 2, 2026 |
| HYROX Chicago 2027 | Feb 11–15, 2027 | Mon, Nov 23, 2026 |
| HYROX Phoenix 2027 | Feb 25–28, 2027 | Mon, Dec 7, 2026 |
| HYROX Glasgow 2027 | Mar 10–14, 2027 | Mon, Dec 21, 2026 |
| HYROX Las Vegas 2027 | Mar 12–14, 2027 | Mon, Dec 21, 2026 |
| HYROX Miami Beach 2027 | Mar 26–28, 2027 | Mon, Jan 4, 2027 |
| HYROX Houston 2027 | Apr 1–4, 2027 | Mon, Jan 11, 2027 |
| HYROX Ottawa 2027 | Apr 21–25, 2027 | Mon, Feb 1, 2027 |
Follow the 12-week plan in Cheetah
Every session written out, logged at race weights, with Apple Watch and heart-rate zones.