Trenton ·May 4, 2026 · 4 min read
If you want to get better at HYROX, you need to become a better runner.
Not just faster in a sprint.
Not just capable of surviving the runs.
You need to become more efficient, more aerobic, and more durable while running under fatigue.
That’s the difference.
One of the biggest mistakes athletes make in HYROX training is assuming that traditional running workouts automatically transfer to race performance. But HYROX running is different. You’re not running fresh. You’re running after sled pushes, lunges, wall balls, and burpees while your heart rate is pinned near threshold.
That means your running workouts need to reflect the demands of the sport.
On the RMR Training Podcast, Rich Ryan broke down his five favorite running workouts for HYROX athletes and explained how each one improves speed, aerobic fitness, efficiency, and race-day performance.
These workouts are designed to help athletes:
Here are the five best running workouts for HYROX training.
Hill sprints are one of the most underrated tools in HYROX training.
Most athletes think speed work means sprinting flat-out on a track. The problem is that traditional sprinting creates a lot of muscular and nervous system fatigue while teaching mechanics that don’t really transfer to HYROX racing.
Hill sprints solve that problem.
Running uphill naturally shortens stride length, reduces impact, and improves power output without the same recovery cost as flat sprinting. According to Rich Ryan, hill sprints improve running efficiency while helping athletes generate more force into the ground — which ultimately improves running economy and speed.
This is not a conditioning workout.
The goal is quality movement, power, and efficiency — not exhaustion.
Hill sprints are best added once per week on an aerobic day or before a harder quality session.
Efficiency reps are designed to improve “useful speed.”
Unlike sprint workouts, these intervals focus on maintaining proper distance-running form while moving at faster paces. Rich Ryan describes these as running at your “distance form as fast as possible.”
That means:
This type of training improves coordination and running economy without creating excessive fatigue.
The key here is restraint.
These should feel smooth and controlled — not like an all-out sprint session.
Efficiency reps work extremely well before threshold workouts because they help prepare the body for faster running mechanics without draining energy reserves.
One of the biggest concepts discussed in the podcast was LT1 training, also known as “Zone 3” or moderate aerobic work.
This is the pace between:
For HYROX athletes, this zone matters a lot because races are often performed close to this effort level.
LT1 training improves:
It also teaches athletes how sustainable race pace should feel.
Rich Ryan explained that spending time in LT1 helps athletes become more comfortable operating at moderate intensities for long periods, which directly transfers to HYROX racing.
This style of training is extremely effective because it builds aerobic fitness without the massive recovery demands of threshold work.
For most athletes, once per week is enough.
Threshold training is one of the most important components of HYROX performance.
The problem?
Traditional threshold workouts often require huge running volume and recovery capacity that many HYROX athletes simply don’t have.
Instead of doing massive standalone threshold sessions, Rich recommends combining threshold intervals with HYROX-specific station work.
This approach allows athletes to:
All without needing elite-level running mileage.
The HYROX circuit can include:
This style of training closely mimics race demands while teaching athletes how to recover and maintain pace under fatigue.
The number one running workout for HYROX is learning how to sustain threshold effort for extended periods while compromised.
HYROX is not simply a running race.
It’s not just functional fitness.
It’s the ability to repeatedly cross near your threshold, recover quickly, and continue producing output for nearly an hour.
That means race-specific threshold conditioning becomes the foundation of elite HYROX performance.
Rather than chasing pure speed, athletes need:
Rich Ryan emphasized that HYROX athletes should focus on accumulating threshold work within the context of the sport itself rather than copying traditional distance-running programs that may not transfer well to HYROX demands.
This is one of the biggest mistakes many athletes make:
training like runners instead of training like HYROX athletes.
The best HYROX runners are not always the fastest pure runners.
They’re the athletes who:
That requires a completely different training approach than traditional endurance sports.
These five workouts help build:
And when combined properly with strength training and HYROX stations, they create a much more complete athlete.
If you want to improve your HYROX performance, your running needs to become more specific.
Not just more mileage.
Not just harder intervals.
More intentional.
Hill sprints improve power.
Efficiency reps improve mechanics.
LT1 work improves aerobic conditioning.
Threshold intervals improve sustainable speed.
And race-specific workouts teach you how to perform under fatigue.
That combination is what creates faster HYROX athletes.
The RMR Training App gives athletes structured HYROX programming designed to improve:
Inside the app you’ll get:
Whether you’re training for your first HYROX or chasing elite-level performance, smarter programming always wins.
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