@eliteperformanceNI · free guide

HYROX race-day
warm-up

The first kilometre is not your warm-up. A 60 minute countdown to the start tunnel, built on how your oxygen system switches on, with the fuel and caffeine timings to match.

Why it matters

You are racing near your ceiling from the gun

The SkiErg arrives after only 1 km. Every minute your oxygen system spends catching up early is paid for with extra lactate and a heavier race. The only lab study of a full HYROX simulation shows the demand.

Finish time86.5minMedian finish: 51 minutes running, 33 minutes on stations.
Intensity~80%Of the race spent in the very hard heart rate zone.
Peak lactate8.5mmol/LAfter stations. Wall balls produced the biggest spike of the day.

Brandt et al., 2025, Frontiers in Physiology. 11 recreational athletes, simulated race.

Inside the guide

A 60 minute countdown to the start tunnel

Each block has a job, an effort level and a time. Here is the shape of it.

60 min to goFuel and switch onCaffeine at your practised dose, then easy aerobic work and dynamic mobility.
38 min to goPrimeA short, hard but controlled block that speeds up your oxygen response for the race.
25 min to goRehearseLow-rep SkiErg, sled and wall ball work at race load. Running first, stations last.
12 min to goStay warmLayers on, fast carbs in, and keep moving in the start pen until the gun.

What you get

Ten pages you can take into race day

  • The full minute-by-minute warm-up, with effort levels for every block
  • How hard to prime, and why the timing matters as much as the effort
  • Carbs, fluids and caffeine, with doses and timings by body weight
  • Bicarbonate, including the newer gel and hydrogel formats
  • What to do when the warm-up area is packed or your wave is delayed
  • Seven common mistakes and a race-day checklist

Who wrote it

Prof Stephen Patterson

Professor of Applied Exercise Physiology and Performance, with over 100 published research papers and consultancy across the Premier League, NBA and NFL. Through Elite Performance NI he tests HYROX athletes, runners and field sport players in Northern Ireland.

The next step

The guide gets you close.
Testing gets you the number.

The priming and run paces in the guide are best estimates. A lactate and VO2max test in the lab replaces them with your own thresholds, heart rates and training zones.

See testing optionsAsk a question

Northern Ireland · Prof. Stephen Patterson