Best Strength Exercises for HYROX: Seven Lifts and Where They Pay Off

By Threshold·Published Oct 2026

The strength exercises that matter most for HYROX are the ones that match the stations: back squat and walking lunges for the sled push and sandbag lunges, trap-bar deadlift and rows for the sled pull, overhead press for wall balls, and heavy farmers carries for the carry. Train them on two fixed strength days a week, with mostly easy running in between.

Why lifting matters for HYROX

Every station charges you a percentage of your maximum, and the percentage, not the absolute load, decides what it costs. The stronger you are, the smaller the share of your capacity a sled or a sandbag takes, and the more you have left for the run after it. That effect compounds late in the race, when the sandbag lunges and wall balls arrive and reserves decide everything.

The full argument, including the strength standards worth chasing, is in our HYROX strength training guide. This page is the practical list: which lifts, why each one, and how they fit into a week.

The seven lifts and the stations they support

These are the lifts already used across Threshold's guides and the free plan. The table maps each one to the stations it supports, using the patterns the stations guide describes.

Back squat and walking lunges

Squat and lunge patterns carry the sled push and the sandbag lunges. The sled push is the biggest leg-strength bill in the race, and the lunges ask the same legs for a hundred more loaded steps late on. A stronger squat makes both cheaper. Our HYROX sled push technique guide shows how that strength is spent on the carpet.

Walking lunges bring the pattern closer to the station itself. They train the long step, the knee to the floor and the drive through the front heel, the same mechanics the sandbag lunges ask for under fatigue. Our HYROX sandbag lunges technique guide covers the race version.

Trap-bar deadlift and bent-over rows

Hinge pulls support the sled pull, which taxes the posterior chain and grip: hamstrings, glutes, the whole back, and the forearms. The trap-bar deadlift trains the hinge, and in the plan the grip work rides along with the sled pull and the deadlift pattern on strength days.

Bent-over rows appear on the site as the engine's substitutes for the sled pull when there is no sled, with dumbbell and barbell versions both ranked. They are useful accessories for the horizontal pulling the station needs. Grip itself has its own guide: our HYROX grip strength guide.

Overhead press and bench press

Overhead pressing endurance supports wall balls and the SkiErg. The wall balls are the last station, where shoulders and legs fail together, and a stronger press keeps each throw cheaper for longer. The bench press matters least of the seven: the strength guide puts 1.0× bodyweight as plenty, and anything beyond it is for you, not the race.

Farmers carry

The farmers carry is both a lift and a station. Training it heavy on a strength day builds the grip, traps and trunk stability the race version needs, and it is one of the strength standards on the site: half your bodyweight in each hand for 40 m unbroken. Our guide to farmers carry grip in HYROX covers how to carry the race bells without a set-down.

The two strength days

The plan uses two full-body strength sessions on fixed days that never get traded away. Five training days, two rest days: Day 1 strength A, Day 2 easy run, Day 3 rest, Day 4 strength B, Day 5 engine work, Day 6 stations or hybrid work, Day 7 rest.

1. Strength A: back squat 4×5, overhead press 4×6, farmers carry 4×40 m heavy, then 10-15 minutes of station accessories.
2. Strength B: trap-bar deadlift 4×4, bench press 4×6, walking lunges 3×20 steps, then the same accessory block.

Most running stays genuinely easy, so it costs recovery you can afford. The easy run sits the day after squats because low-intensity aerobic work aids recovery rather than competing with it. The full week, block by block, is in our free HYROX training plan, week by week.

How to progress the lifts

Loading is by effort, not percentages. RPE 7 means you had about three clean reps left; RPE 8 means about two. The first week runs at RPE 7, then the lifts move to RPE 8. Whenever every set was clean at the prescribed RPE, add 2.5 kg the next week; when in doubt, repeat the week rather than forcing a jump.

Do not peak strength during race prep. In the final block, strength volume comes down while the load is held, and the last week keeps only one light session. Threshold builds one adaptive plan from your race date, division, goal time, lifts and kit, and progresses the bar from what you actually logged rather than from a guess.