How to plan a Hyrox training block your members will book

A Hyrox training block is the easiest thing in the studio to sell and the easiest to get wrong. Time it for the wrong race, pitch it at the wrong level, or put it on a weekday when your athletes race on weekends, and a great programme runs half empty. This is how to plan one that fills, from picking the race to running the sim.

Start with the race, not the programme

Your athletes are not training for Hyrox in general. They are training for a specific event on a specific date. Before you write a single session:

List the races within travelling distance in the next four to five months.
Ask which ones your athletes have entered or are considering. A quick vote does this in a day.
Build the block to finish one to two weeks before the race that gets the most votes.

A block that ends the week before the race half your members entered fills itself. A block that ends a month before or a week after does not.

The 8-week structure that works

Most studios settle on two coached sessions a week plus one prescribed solo session. A common shape:

Weeks 1 to 2: baseline and technique. Test a half sim in week one so everyone has a number. Spend the technique time on the two stations that cost the most time for most people: sled push and pull, and wall balls.

Weeks 3 to 5: build. Compromised running (run, station, run) becomes the core of every coached session. Add a strength session focused on the carries and lunges.

Week 6: full simulation. A Saturday, the whole race, timed, with pacing plans written down beforehand. This is the session people will remember and post about.

Weeks 7 to 8: sharpen and taper. Shorter intervals at race pace, a pacing talk, a light final week.

Pair this with a doubles option. Doubles racers train differently (shared stations, longer run legs) and matching partners is itself a reason for a social night.

Running a simulation people want to attend

A sim is a small event, so treat it like one:

Announce the date at the start of the block, not the week before.
Cap the field by lane capacity and open sign-ups to block members first.
Publish the station order and equipment weights in advance so nobody argues on the day.
Have a volunteer or coach per two athletes for counting reps and calling splits.
Post a leaderboard afterwards. A monthly time-trial board keeps people coming between blocks.

Half sims on a weekday evening work as a bridge between blocks and as an intro for athletes not ready for a full one.

Level and time: the two things a vote settles

Level. Open and Pro divisions train at different weights, and beginners need a different programme again. Trying to serve all three in one block means nobody is served. Ask which division people are entering and run the block for the largest group first.

Time. Weekend crowds and weekday crowds are often different people. One studio floated an 8-week block on weekday evenings, and members suggested a weekend option the owner had not considered. It became the best-attended block of the season. You will not find that out from an announcement, only from a vote with a suggestion box.

Sessions worth adding between blocks

Sled and wall-ball technique clinic (one-off, always fills).
Running economy sessions for the athletes whose run legs are the problem.
Ski erg and row pacing clinic.
Team relay night: four athletes, a quarter race each, social and loud.
Hybrid strength for runners, as an entry point for people who are not sure Hyrox is for them.

The planning checklist

Shortlist two or three target races and let athletes vote.
Ask for division (Open, Pro, Doubles, first-timer) as a tag on the vote.
Offer weekday and weekend options and let the numbers choose.
Set a minimum: eight confirmed athletes makes a block viable at most studios.
Email the voters the day registration opens. They committed once already.

The free idea generator has a Hyrox filter with more session ideas. The break-even calculator tells you the block price that covers a dedicated coach. And to run the vote, see CrowdPleaser for Hyrox studios.