Will rucking be part of Hyrox fitness competitions?

June 17, 2024 3 min read

Have you heard of Hyrox? It’s become one of the fastest growing fitness sports events in the world with 40+ races in 11 countries around the world. You can race as an individual, pair, or relay, and people are attracted by the challenge of the Hyrox format: 8 x 1km runs with a different functional workout in between. The workouts include skierg, rowing, farmers carry, sandbag lunges, and burpee broad jumps.

Has there ever been rucking in Hyrox races?

As Hyrox competitions expand around the world, athletes have been presented with new ways to challenge themselves physically and mentally over the Hyrox format.

In October 2022, Hyrox offering a rucking division for the first time at the NYC Hyrox event. Athletes had the option of a mixed doubles category, with male athletes wearing a 20lb weighted vest and female athletes wearing a 14lb weighted vest. By 2024, there was a $10,000 total prize purse on offer for the rucking division of the Hyrox North American championship race.

Could rucking or weighted vests become part of Hyrox?

Yes, rucking with a weighted pack or vest is already part of the Hyrox fitness competition format in that athletes can opt to enter a separate rucking division (where they do the entire race wearing weighted apparel).

Is it possible that the standard Hyrox format will adapt to see athletes putting on a ruckpack or weighted vest for some elements? We doubt it. Hyrox is a race against a running clock, and it’s important that athletes can keep moving between the 1km runs and the fitness challenges. Stopping to add or remove a ruckpack would ruin the flow of the race.

Hyrox could potentially combine the standard and the rucking division in future, by changing some of the 1000m runs to 1000m rucks or adding rucking stations to the fitness challenges. But we think it’s more likely that Hyrox will keep the standard and the rucking versions separate.

What are the events in a Hyrox rucking division race?

If you enter a Hyrox event in the rucking division, you will do exactly the same events as the standard (non-rucking) athletes – just wearing a weighted vest. The format would look like this:

1000m run
1000m skierg
1000m run
50m sled push with 102kg for women, 152kg for men
1000m run
50m sled pull with 78kg for women, 103kg for men
1000m run
80m burpee broad jumps
1000m run
1000m row
1000m run
200m farmers carry with 10kg, 20kg, or 30kg
1000m run
100m sandbag lunges with 10kg for women, 20kg for men
1000m run
75 or 100 wall ball shots ranging from 3kg-15kg

For athletes in a rucking division Hyrox race, men would wear 20lbs, women would wear 14lbs.

Is it good to train for Hyrox in a weighted ruck pack?

Is it worth training for a Hyrox event by wearing a ruckpack – even if you’re not entering a rucking division of a Hyrox race? We think it’s a great idea. After all, one of the biggest challenges of Hyrox is performance under fatigue. The various fitness elements challenge your shoulders, chest, back, core, and quads…and you’ve got to keep pushing through even after running 8 sets of 1000m.

By wearing a weighted ruck pack or a weighted vest for some of your Hyrox training, you could build the muscular endurance and mental strength you’ll need to keep repping and running on the day.

50% of a Hyrox event is running, but it’s not the same as regular running. You will be tackling each 1000m effort after skiing, rowing, sled push or pull, burpee broad jumps, farmers carry, and sandbag lunges. If you use a ruck pack for your Hyrox running prep, you will train your body to run under extra fatigue.

Training for Hyrox with rucking equipment

Even if you’re not planning to do a rucking Hyrox event, adding rucking to your training has a lot of benefits.

Strength and endurance – wearing a ruckpack for your run training will build muscular endurance that will pay off under race conditions on the day

Simulate Hyrox conditions – use your ruck pack to mimic the interval-style design of a Hyrox event by alternating between running, rucking, and functional exercises

Better load management under fatigue - rucking is a great way to work your core and smaller stabilising muscles which will pay off on race day, especially with the sled work, farmers carry, and sandbag challenge

Weighted vests or ruck packs for Hyrox training

Check out our range of weighted vests, ruck packs, or rucking plate carriers – plenty of options for your endurance training, gym work, or wherever your fitness lifestyle takes you.