Your Hyrox race day is here and you’re wondering how to warm up without totally toasting your legs before the race even begins. If that sounds like you, keep reading—I’m going to walk you through my efficient, effective, and “not overdoing it” Hyrox race prep warm-up.
The Problem: So many people do way too much and end up burning themselves out before they even get to the starting line. That’s the last thing you want. But you do want to get in, get warm, get moving, and get ready for the day ahead.
I find the warm-up area is really helpful for distancing yourself from the crowd and the chaos. Don’t feel like you can’t go in there early to help you zen in for the race.
Make sure you have enough time to warm up, get some water, use the restroom, and feel confident and prepared before that 10-minute wait in the starting tunnel begins.
Key Point: You don’t need a full 30 or 60-minute workout before you race. You still want to follow the key principles of any warm-up, just scaled appropriately for race day.
I’m going to give you a structure to follow, but recognize you can adjust this to your needs—underlying injuries, movements you want to feel confident about, or things you haven’t touched much in training.
With any warm-up, the first goal is getting your body warm. Elevate your core temperature, get blood flowing, and prepare for the activity ahead.
A great way to do this is hopping on the rower or SkiErg in the Hyrox warm-up area. Go through a few minutes of easy, light rowing to dial in your form—or get on the skier to practice that motion.
This is especially helpful if you don’t have these machines at your gym or haven’t trained with them regularly. Use this time to see how they feel before race day.
Aim for 3-5 minutes until you’re sweating, your breathing is slightly elevated, and your skin feels warmer. You just want that blood flowing before moving on.
Hyrox is a running race more than anything, so we want to make sure you’re ready for that demand.
Before hopping on the treadmill, I like doing a little lower body prep:
These simple movements get your lower body ready for the volume and intensity you’re about to put it through.
Next, hop on the treadmill (usually there are Air Runners in the warm-up center). This continues building on your aerobic warm-up and further elevates your core temperature.
Start with about 5 minutes of easy Zone 2 running—simple, conversational pace.
Then finish with some strides or pickups at your estimated 1K race pace. You don’t need a ton of these—maybe 30 seconds on, 30 seconds easy for 3-5 reps. This primes your body for running at that pace and effort, and helps you gauge how you’re feeling that day.
Important: This run should NOT exhaust you or take away from your ability to run once the race starts. Keep it short. Get a little easy aerobic work in, feel your pace, and move on.
This is where people get into trouble.
If you haven’t been using a sled in training, I do recommend practicing your push and pull technique to feel what the weight is like. The sleds are the heaviest stations and they come early in the race, so it’s smart to warm up those big muscle groups.
The Key: One to two laps max.
The warm-up area track is shorter than the race course anyway, so it won’t be as exhausting—but conserve your energy. The goal is to touch the sled, see how it’s moving, practice your form, and get a feel for the day.
From here, you can prepare for anything else you feel you need:
Between your aerobic warm-up on the rower/SkiErg, running prep, and touching the sleds, you’ve already warmed up most of your main muscle groups.
You do not need to do a mini Hyrox in the warm-up area. You don’t need a million sets and reps of everything. Just see what things feel like, go through some bodyweight movements, and get to the tunnel feeling confident and ready.
I really encourage you to sip on something like Gatorade, a carbohydrate beverage, or electrolytes during your warm-up to make sure your glycogen stores are topped off and your blood glucose is ready to go.
Timing Tip: Either keep fueling more than 30 minutes out from race start, or consume within the final 10 minutes before the gun goes off. Avoid that 20-10 minute window to prevent an insulin spike and blood glucose crash.
Just as much as the warm-up is physical, it’s about getting into the mental headspace you need to race.
Maybe you’re someone who needs to lock in and focus. Maybe you’re going for a PR or racing solo. Maybe you and a friend are looking to crush it together. Or maybe you’re out there to just have fun.
Get your headphones on, lock in, focus on what you need for the day. Cheer on a friend. Talk to someone else who’s new or excited just like you. Whatever gets you in the zone.
Once you get into the tunnel, be prepared for the day ahead. Know that your training did what it needed to do. You warmed up just enough to be ready—but not so much that you’re burned out before you hit that start line.
| Step | Activity | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Core Temperature | Rower or SkiErg – easy effort | 3-5 min |
| 2. Lower Body Prep | Calf raises, pogo hops, skipping | 2-3 min |
| 3. Running Warm-Up | Easy Zone 2 + race pace pickups (30 sec on/off x 3-5) | 5-8 min |
| 4. Sled Touch | Push and pull practice | 1-2 laps |
| 5. Optional Stations | Wall balls, air squats, lunges, farmers carry grip | 3-5 min |
If you’re training for your first Hyrox race, check out my free Hyrox Accelerator series—it breaks down station-by-station strategy, pacing across the entire race, and how to prepare for every part of Hyrox so you feel ready and confident on race day.
If you’re looking for a complete program, The Lyss Method has an amazing 12-week Hyrox prep program that includes running, compromised running, Hyrox-specific workouts and lifts, plus expert coaches right inside the app to help you along the way.
More than 12 weeks out and not sure where to start? Email us anytime at hello@thelyssmethod.com. Our coaches will help you figure out the right starting point based on your lifting, running, and training history—so you can address your fitness gaps and show up ready on race day.
I’m Exercise Physiologist, sports nutritionist, weight lifter, and ultra runner. I am here to bring science to your training in a no-nonsense way. I have helped thousands of women crush big lifting goals, cross race finish lines, and even do both. I’m here to help you do the same!
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