Using CrossFit to Train for a Hyrox or Spartan Event

Using CrossFit to Train for a Hyrox or Spartan Event
Written by Fritz Nugent

In both Hyrox and Spartan races, the main task is running, so a majority of your training should be running various lengths and paces. However, there are tasks within both Spartan and Hyrox that running alone won’t prepare you for. Here’s where CrossFit comes in…

Building Volume and Intensity Under Fatigue

I think CrossFit can be used to train for Hyrox/Spartan by building volume and intensity under fatigue with the general tasks of both events. In Hyrox, you have row, ski, burpee broad jumps, farmer carry, bag lunges, two heavy sled events, and wall ball shots. Those are not endurance tasks, per se. They are relatively short (1:00-5:00) spurts of intensity within the 60-90 minute bout of running + other tasks. So to improve with each of those tasks, “CrossFitting” them may help. 

To me, the best approach here is intervals of different lengths and speeds for the monostructural tasks (row, ski), building volume with the light wall ball shots, get strong AF with the sled work, practice your loaded lunges, farmer carries, and burpee broad jumps, and every few weeks, test out your capacity of some of these tasks under high aerobic fatigue intermixed with running.

Customizing Your Spartan Training

Spartan races range from 5k to much longer, so I would suggest a training composition of mostly running with a focus on grip strength gained through carries and different types of climbing-based work (climbing, pull-ups, etc.). 

Can you be good at both Spartan and Hyrox?

If you want to be mildly competitive at both, then running a lot and working some specific conditioning for each general stimulus that you plan to encounter is a good way to go. If you want to be nationally competitive, then pick one and get specific on training for that. In my opinion, there are only a few people in the world who can be competitive at both Hyrox and long Spartan events.

How can I best utilize CrossFit to endure long distances and become stronger at the same time? 

This truly depends on YOUR definition and application of CrossFit. When you say CrossFit, I assume that you are referring to short and intense metcons. However, keep in mind that CrossFit can literally be anything. 10k run. 3-mile swim. Max deadlift. Fran. 5×5 deadlift. 400m lunges. Olympic lifting and gymnastics. You know the drill here! So I’ll circle back to what I wrote above. Using the tasks that you will encounter in Hyrox and Spartan in an interval fashion can help you train for each task while keeping your HR high enough to maintain or improve aerobic capacity.

Should I stick with running and strength training to prepare for a Hyrox or Spartan event? 

Your application of CrossFit could be how you apply your strength training. Could you be competitive at Hyrox or Spartan with just long runs and traditional strength training? Sure. Would you be more competitive if you intervaled your strength training? Yes, I think so.

I hope this helps! Let me know what further questions you have. Also, I write online programming for both of these events. If you are interested in joining my athlete team, send me an email!