Use This Carry and Ski Workout To Boost Your Hyrox Endurance (No Running)
It’s not a stretch to say that Hyrox is primarily a running race. Sure, there are eight workout stations to tackle, and it’s important that you master each, but you’re going to spend the vast majority of the event running, so prioritising running in your training plan – including compromised running, tempo work and longer, low heart rate efforts – is a no-brainer.
That being said, there’s only so much time you can spend pounding the pavement before you’re getting no return on your investment, or worse still, increasing your risk of overuse injuries. This ski and carry workout will provide you with a similar cardiovascular, aerobic base-building stimulus, but it’s low impact nature will mitigate some of the wear and tear on your joints.
It will also give you the opportunity to hone your ski-erg technique, as well as building your grip strength and carry speed, making it a triple-threat workout for boosting your Hyrox performance.
The format is simple: you’ll perform a 500m ski, followed by 500m of farmers carries (at your competition weight), then 400m of each, then 300m, 200m and finally, 100m of both.
Work your way through the two-move ladder as quickly as possilbe, but bear in mind you’ll be accumulating 3km of skiing and carrying, so pace accordingly.
Note your finishing time and attempt to shave minutes off each time you perform this protocol.
The Workout
1. 500m ski
2. 500m farmer’s carry
3. 400m ski
4. 400m farmer’s carry
5. 300m ski
6. 300m farmer’s carry
7. 200m ski
8. 200m farmer’s carry
9. 100m ski
10. 100m farmer’s carry
Form check
Ski-erg
With your feet shoulder-width apart reach up and grip the handles with an overhand grip. Drive the handles downward by engaging your core abdominal muscles and bending your knees. Maintain a slight bend in your arms to keep the handles fairly close to your face as you use your bodyweight to help you to pull the handles down towards your pockets. Finish the drive with a slight extension of the arms, before reversing the movement back up to the top and repeating. Focus on your breathing throughout, keeping your breaths intentional and measured to avoid gassing out too early.
Farmer’s Carry
Hinge down and grab your kettlebells (or dumbbells), deadlift them up and start moving at a fast pace. The faster you go, the less time you’ll have the weights in your hands. Move efficiently and purposefully, don’t shuffle. Stand tall, and keep your shoulders relaxed, but engaged, avoiding shrugging. Don’t over grip your kettlebells, think of your arms as hooks, and hold on just tight enough to stop the bells shifting around too much.
If you have to drop them, stand tall, shake off your arms and take a few deep breaths, focussing on a long exhale to help lower your heart rate. Get moving again as quickly as possible.
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