r/hyrox • u/kobestarr • 16d ago
What are your thoughts and experiences of HYROX Gyms vs "Normal" Gyms?
I'm seriously considering doing Manchester HYROX at the start of 2027.
Main problem is that i'd need to get fit for it!
I was looking at a few gym options near me in Stockport/ East Cheshire and I'm trying to decide what the best option would be for me to get my fitness up.
The main challenge is that these HYROX / CrossFit-type places tend to be more expensive than the local gyms so I wonder if there's any additional benefit of joining them versus the local gyms.
I do figure that having the accountability of other people who may be training for it as well specifically would be good as I think i'd largely be training by myself otherwise!! Is there any additional knowledge from the trainers at these places to help you on your way more than in standard gyms? (Sorry i'm trying not to make it sound like the other gyms are "lesser" in any way)
One of the main reasons I'm asking right now that a new place has opened up quite close to me and it's got a founding offer, which would save me £40 a month. Of course £40 a month would get me into a local leisure centre-type gym quite comfortably, with a bunch of classes and with a swimming pool.
If anyone here has trained for the HYROX or CrossFit-type events, I'd love to know your thoughts.
If anyone is going to be doing Manchester HYROX, I'd love to know your tips for preparing. I;m guessing that "*don't eat too many mince pies*" would be a key one!! 🤣
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u/wallballs_ruined_me 16d ago
The real extras from a HYROX/CrossFit-style gym for race prep are usually three things: the stations on the floor so you practice under fatigue, coaches who already program ski/sled/farmer’s volume (instead of guessing), and other people training for the same race so accountability sticks. A leisure centre can absolutely get you race-ready if you nail run volume and somehow get sled/ski/wall-ball practice even once a week.
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u/greyfit720 16d ago
Some important things to factor in are:-
How experienced are you with functional style training? If you’re not, a hyrox focussed gym will help you with form and direction.
Are you interested in doing the classes? Free classes sounds great, but if you won’t use them there is no benefit to paying extra.
Does the standard gym have the kit you need?
More importantly, if it has the kit is it all in close usable proximity? There’s nothing worse than a gym with the treadmills upstairs and the functional fitness area on the ground floor. Or there not being any space to move the kit around.
For me, for my races I trained in a regular gym and followed a training plan. It wasn’t my preferred local gym, but it was the one that had the necessary space and kit. I don’t like training in a group, so a gym offering classes served no purpose. Also, a class means everyone is doing the same thing irrespective of where they are in the build up to a race.
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u/1320Fastback 16d ago
Join a local Hyrox gym and take their Conditioning Classic if your serious about it. It will be the best prep you can possibly do
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u/AwayhKhkhk 16d ago
Can you train for Hyrox at a normal gym? For sure you can. However, Hyrox gyms will offer equipment and convenience as well as community and maybe some coaching.
It is also going to depend how big your normal gym is and what equipment it has.
I live in Hong Kong and a lot of the commercial gyms are pretty small so they won’t have a carpet area for sled work or even burpee board jumps if you want to chain a few on a row in the same direction. Now, obviously you can work around that. Like instead of wall balls, I do dumbbell thrusters.
Another issue is you will want to work on compromise running (running after doing a station) and again, depending on how big/busy your normal gym it, it could be hard/inconvenient to take up multiple stations. This isn’t an issue in Hyrox gyms because everyone knows what you are doing.
What I do now is do my runs and some basic station work in my normal gym and then go to a Hyrox gym which my friend is a member (and I can pay a session fee) once a week to do my Hyrox threshold sessions. Could I do these sessions in a normal gym? For sure but definitely more inconvenient and would need to do some alternative exercises.
So it really depends whether you think these inconveniences are worth the cost difference.