Hyrox Warm-Up Protocol: The 20-Minute Pre-Race Routine (Race Day Masterclass, Part 3)

Why skipping the warm-up costs you the first run

A Hyrox race starts at race pace. Run 1 is not a warm-up — it is a 1km effort at 80–85% of maximum heart rate. If you walk to the start pen from bag drop and stand around for 20 minutes, your body is operating at resting state when the gun goes.

The physiological cost: your cardiovascular system takes 3–5 minutes to fully deliver oxygen to working muscles. Without a warm-up, the first 400m of Run 1 is powered by anaerobic pathways — fast, inefficient, and expensive. You feel that as the burning legs and “this is too hard” sensation in the first few minutes. Most athletes interpret this as a pacing problem. Often it is a warm-up problem.

A 15–20 minute warm-up reduces this by pre-elevating your heart rate, increasing core temperature, activating the neural pathways used in the race, and giving your joints a chance to move through their full range before loading.

The full 6-part Race Day Masterclass

New parts drop every 2nd day. Bookmark the Race Day Masterclass hub to follow along.

1. Part 1 — Race Day Morning: What to Eat, When to Arrive, and How to Warm Up
2. Part 2 — Transitions: Where Most Runners Lose 5–8 Minutes
3. Part 3 — Warm-Up Protocol: The 20-Minute Pre-Race Routine (you are here)
4. Part 4 — Hitting the Wall: What It Is and How to Push Through
5. Part 5 — The Complete Race-Day Bag: What to Bring, What to Leave Home
6. Part 6 — Doubles Strategy: How to Split Stations, Pick a Partner, and Win the Handover

The full 20-minute protocol

Start this 40–45 minutes before your gun time (to account for the 5-minute walk to the start pen afterward). If you only have 20 minutes, start immediately. If you have 30, add more time to the easy jog and activation phases.

Phase 1 — General warm-up (5 minutes, T-20 to T-15)

Easy jog: 5 minutes

Slow enough that you can speak in full sentences. This is not a run — it is a temperature raise. Target heart rate: 110–125 bpm. If you are wearing a watch, glance at it; if you are above 130 at this pace you are going too fast.

If running is not possible in the venue, 5 minutes of fast walking up and down stairs or a brisk walk outside achieves the same effect. The goal is just to not be cold.

Phase 2 — Dynamic mobility (4 minutes, T-15 to T-11)

Do not static stretch. Static stretching before a race reduces force output by 5–8% in the subsequent session. Everything in this phase is dynamic — moving through range, not holding end range.

Leg swings: 10 forward, 10 lateral, each leg Hold a wall for balance. Swing each leg through full range of motion at the hip. These open the hip flexors, glutes, and adductors that are about to do a lot of work.

Hip circles: 10 each direction Stand feet hip-width, hands on hips, draw large circles with your pelvis. This prepares the hip joint capsule for the multi-directional loading of running and lunges.

Thoracic rotations: 10 each side Stand tall, hands behind head, rotate your upper back left and right as far as you comfortably can. Thoracic mobility directly affects SkiErg efficiency and running posture.

Ankle circles: 10 each direction, each ankle Ankles stiffen with prolonged standing. 30 seconds here prevents that “stiff ankle” sensation in the first run km.

Phase 3 — Activation (3 minutes, T-11 to T-8)

This phase wakes up the muscles that will do the most work. The goal is not to fatigue them — it is to fire them.

Glute bridges: 15 reps Lie on your back, feet flat, drive hips to the ceiling and squeeze at the top. Glutes are the primary power generator in running and sled work. Arriving with cold, inhibited glutes is a performance leak.

Lateral lunges: 10 each side Step wide to one side, sink into the hip, keep the other leg straight. Activates glutes, adductors, and the hip stabilisers that take a beating in the running laps.

Bodyweight squats: 15 reps, full depth Slow down, below parallel, drive through the heels. These are not speed squats — they are range-of-motion work that also wakes up the quads for wall balls and lunges.

Phase 4 — Movement-specific priming (3 minutes, T-8 to T-5)

Now prime the specific movements you are about to perform.

Hip hinges: 10 reps Stand with feet hip-width, hinge forward at the hip keeping the spine neutral, return. This patterns the SkiErg drive and farmers carry setup.

Walking lunges: 10 reps each leg Slow, deliberate, full range. Same as the sandbag lunges but bodyweight only. If you are going to use chalk or grip, now is the time to apply it.

Overhead reach or wall ball throws: 5 reps If a wall ball or medicine ball is accessible, do 5 light throws at the target. If not, 5 bodyweight overhead squats — stand, reach overhead, sink into a squat, return. This opens the overhead position and prepares the shoulders.

SkiErg pull-downs: 5 reps (if machine is accessible) If there is a SkiErg in the warm-up area, use it for 5 easy strokes. If not, mimic the movement with a resistance band or simply drive both arms down from overhead position 5 times with resistance. Shoulders and lats need priming.

Phase 5 — Running strides (2 minutes, T-5 to T-3)

2 × 30-second strides at race pace

Find a straight stretch of at least 30m. Run at your target Run 1 pace — not sprint, not jog. This is the pace you are about to hold for 8 runs. Two repetitions of 30 seconds tells your nervous system what the demand is and activates the correct motor units.

After the strides, walk 60 seconds and let your heart rate settle back to 115–125 bpm.

The 10-minute emergency protocol

If you only have 10 minutes — you arrived later than planned, the warm-up area was inaccessible, whatever — here is the minimum viable version:

1. 3-minute easy jog
2. 10 leg swings each leg
3. 10 bodyweight squats
4. 10 walking lunges
5. 1 × 30-second stride at race pace

This takes exactly 9–10 minutes and addresses the most critical deficiencies: temperature, hip range of motion, quad/glute activation, and nervous system priming.

Do not skip this even if you feel warm or stretched. “I feel fine” at rest and “I feel fine at race pace 30 seconds in” are different things.

Doing this in a busy venue

Hyrox venues are crowded. Finding space is genuinely difficult. Strategies that work:

• Arrive early enough that you reach the warm-up area before the crowd builds. Warm-up areas fill up in the 30 minutes before large waves.
• Use corridors and outside areas. Most venues have hallways or outdoor space adjacent to the main hall. A 5-minute jog in a hallway is as effective as on a track.
• Adapt the activation work. Glute bridges need floor space — if the floor is unavailable, substitute standing glute kickbacks (hold a wall, kick one leg back, squeeze glute at the top, 15 reps each side).
• Do mobility while waiting. If you are standing in a queue for bag drop or bib collection, you can do ankle circles, hip circles, and thoracic rotations while standing. It is not ideal but it is better than nothing.

What not to do

Do not do heavy lifting. Some athletes try to “activate” by doing a few heavy sets. This creates acute fatigue that you will feel in stations 1–3.

Do not run hard. The warm-up should not feel like an effort. If you are breathing hard or sweating heavily, you are going too fast.

Do not static stretch. Save this for post-race recovery.

Do not eat during the warm-up. Your pre-race top-up (half a banana or chew) should happen before the warm-up starts, not during it.

What’s next

Part 4 covers hitting the wall — what it is, why it happens around station 5 or 6, and how to push through it when your brain is telling you to stop.

→ Part 4: Hitting the Wall — What It Is and How to Push Through