Are weightlifting gloves allowed in Hyrox?

Standard weightlifting gloves with leather or synthetic palms are allowed. Gloves with built-in wrist wraps are also fine. What's not allowed is anything sticky enough to act as a grip aid (e.g. tacky-coated palms designed to adhere to handles).

Should I wear gloves for the sled pull?

Most experienced athletes don't. Gloves reduce rope feel and slow your hand-over-hand rhythm. If your bare hands burn or blister easily, light cycling-style gloves with thin padding are a good compromise. Avoid bulky or thick gloves.

Will gloves affect my Hyrox finish time?

Marginal at best. Time lost to putting on or removing gloves between stations adds 20-40 seconds across a race. Most athletes either go without or wear lightweight gloves the entire race.

Are Gloves Allowed in Hyrox? The Complete 2026 Rules

Q: Are gloves allowed in Hyrox?

Yes. Hyrox permits gloves at every station, including the sled pull, farmers carry, and wall balls. The only restriction is that gloves must not give a mechanical advantage, straps, hooks, or tacky surfaces that bond to the rope or kettlebell handle are not allowed.

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#rules #equipment #gloves #grip #first-timers

Yes, gloves are allowed in Hyrox. You can wear them on every station, sled pull, farmers carry, wall balls, even rowing if you want. The only restriction is that gloves must not provide a mechanical advantage, sticky tacky-coated palms, integrated hooks, or strap systems that bind your hand to the equipment are not legal.

Even so, most experienced Hyrox athletes don’t wear gloves, and there’s a good reason. Below: what’s allowed, what’s banned, and what actually works on race day.

The official rule

Hyrox’s rulebook (Section 7.3 in the 2026 athlete handbook) states:

Athletes may wear gloves of their choice provided they do not provide an unfair mechanical advantage. This explicitly excludes any grip aid that adheres or locks the hand to the equipment surface.

In practice, judges only enforce this when something is obvious, stick-on tacky palms, ratcheting hooks for the sled pull rope, or fingerless gloves with reinforced wrap-around bands. Standard gym gloves, weightlifting gloves, and cycling-style gloves are all fine.

What’s allowed

Standard weightlifting gloves (leather or synthetic, padded palm)
Cycling gloves (lightweight, half-finger or full-finger)
Gym gloves with built-in wrist support
Thin tactical-style gloves (think construction gloves with a rubberised palm)
Open Hyrox grip gloves sold by various Hyrox-affiliated brands

What’s not allowed

Tacky-coated palms (designed to bond to handles)
Hooks or strap systems that lock your hand around a rope or bar
Gloves with built-in lifting straps
Anything that could be classified as an “exoskeleton” grip device

If a judge sees something they think gives you mechanical assistance, they can ask you to remove it. They rarely do unless it’s blatant.

Should you actually wear gloves?

Most fast Hyrox finishers race without gloves for three reasons:

Rope feel on the sled pull. Bare hands give you better feedback for a clean hand-over-hand rhythm. Gloves dull that.
Time loss between stations. If you take gloves on and off (e.g. only for sled pull), you’re losing 30-60 seconds total across the race.
Sweat and slippage. Gloves get wet quickly. Wet gloves grip worse than dry hands with chalk.

When gloves do make sense:

First-timers who haven’t built up palm calluses
Athletes with sensitive skin (rope burns from the sled pull are real)
Cold-weather races where venue temperature is below 16°C and bare hands stiffen up
People who train with gloves: race day isn’t the time to change habits

What top athletes wear

Browse the leaderboards at any Hyrox Major and roughly 15-20% of Top 100 finishers wear thin gloves, mostly on the sled pull only or for the entire race. The rest go bare-handed.

The single biggest determinant isn’t whether gloves are “fast”, it’s whether you’ve trained with them. If your training pulls 5x/week wear gloves, race in gloves. If you’ve trained bare-handed, race bare-handed.

For first-time Hyrox racers:

Try a thin-palmed pair in training for 3-4 weeks before race day.
If your hands are taped or chalked, skip the gloves entirely.
If you choose to race in gloves, leave them on for the whole race, don’t try to swap.

For repeat racers:

Race the way you train.
If grip is your weak link, a grip-strength block does more than gloves ever will.

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Is Chalk Allowed in Hyrox? Liquid, Block, and Dry Chalk Rules

Chalk is allowed in Hyrox in all forms (block, dry, liquid), but only at the station you're racing. Here's exactly when you can apply it and which type works best.

October 22, 2025rulesequipmentchalk

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