Average Heart Rate During Hyrox, What's Normal by Pace and Age
Average heart rate during a Hyrox is 85-90% of max for most Open athletes. Here's the full breakdown by finish-time tier, age, and division, plus what your race-day HR tells you.
Across thousands of public Hyrox HR uploads (Garmin Connect, Strava, Apple Health), the typical averages are:
| Finish time tier | Avg HR (% HRmax) | Time at Z4+ |
|---|---|---|
| Elite (sub-60) | 88-92% | 90% of race |
| Sub-70 | 85-90% | 80% of race |
| Sub-80 | 82-87% | 70% of race |
| Sub-90 (median) | 80-85% | 60% of race |
| Sub-100 | 75-82% | 50% of race |
For a 35-year-old with HRmax ~185, the median Open Men’s race average is roughly 155-165 bpm.
Why slower finishers have lower averages
Counter-intuitive, but consistent in the data: athletes who finish in 1:35+ usually average lower HR than those who finish in 1:10. Three reasons:
- They walk more. Walks between stations drop HR fast.
- They pause more. Mid-station rests during sled push, sled pull, and wall balls each drop HR by 10-15 bpm.
- They never reach threshold. Some recreational athletes simply don’t have the training to push HR sustainably above 80% for an hour.
If you average 75% HRmax and finish in 1:40, your race wasn’t capped by your aerobic system, it was capped by your station-specific endurance and pacing.
What your race-day average tells you
| Race avg HR | What it means |
|---|---|
| <75% HRmax | Lots of walking / pausing. Aerobic engine wasn’t tested. Easy time gains available. |
| 75-82% | Solid aerobic effort. Likely held back by station endurance, not running. |
| 82-88% | Race-pace effort across the board. Train more threshold work. |
| 88-92% | Near-elite intensity. You raced. |
| >92% | Either a measurement error (chest strap issue) or you blew up. Check pacing. |
Heart rate by station
Within the 70-90 minute race, HR varies meaningfully station by station:
| Station | Typical HR (% HRmax) |
|---|---|
| Run 1 | 78-85% (often too high) |
| SkiErg | 85-90% |
| Run 2 | 82-88% |
| Sled push | 92-97% (peak) |
| Sled pull | 87-92% |
| Burpee broad jumps | 90-95% |
| Row | 85-92% |
| Farmers carry | 88-93% |
| Sandbag lunges | 88-94% |
| Wall balls | 88-95% (final spike) |
Sled push is consistently the highest single peak. Burpee broad jumps are the longest sustained Z5 effort.
Age-adjusted HR averages
| Age | Estimated HRmax | Median Hyrox avg HR |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 195 | 165 |
| 35 | 185 | 158 |
| 45 | 175 | 150 |
| 55 | 165 | 142 |
| 65 | 155 | 132 |
These use the (220 - age) formula adjusted by ~85% for race average. Your true numbers are likely 5-10 bpm higher.
How to use HR data after a race
After your Hyrox, look at your HR graph for three things:
1. Run 1 spike
If your HR jumped above 88% in the first 800 m, you went out too hard. Calibrate next time by opening below your goal pace for run 1.
2. Mid-race plateau or drop
A plateau is good, it means you found a sustainable effort. A drop usually means you started walking. A drop plus time loss = you under-paced and could’ve gone faster.
3. Final 10 minutes
If your HR climbed steadily through wall balls, you finished strong. If it dropped, you lost focus. Practice the mental commitment for the final station.
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