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Business Times
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Business Times
At Hyrox, a stern test of strength, endurance and determination
THIS weekend, the National Stadium at the Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang will be where thousands of athletes – many of them shirtless, sweaty and pumping with adrenaline – will put their strength, endurance and overall fitness to the ultimate test. To conquer Hyrox – as this popular competition is known as – one has to do everything from burpee broad jumps and sled pulls to rowing and sandbag lunges, to name just a few of the high-intensity workouts involved. There is also a fair bit of running involved – eight rounds of 1 km each. Those who sign up can choose to either go it alone, team up with a partner in the doubles, or enter the relay. The format is consistent across all events, allowing for global leaderboards and a world championship. Founded by German entrepreneur Christian Toetzke and two-time field hockey Olympic gold medallist Moritz Furste, Hyrox has come a long way from its first event in Hamburg back in 2018 where there were just 650 participants. The 2025 season features more than 90 races with over 550,000 athletes and 350,000 spectators, with stops in Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Denmark and the United States, among others. Singapore staged its first Hyrox event in 2023, followed by two more last year. The latest edition – set to take place on Saturday (Jun 28) and Sunday – has AIA on board as the official title partner, with the event known as the AIA Hyrox Open Asian Championships 2025. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up Besides the usual singles, doubles and relay races, this weekend will see athletes from across Asia compete against one another in a mixed relay championship. There will also be a corporate relay category for the first time where teams of employees will engage in friendly competition. Hyrox participants have to complete eight rounds of one functional workout station and a 1 km run. PHOTO: HYROX APAC As part of its sponsorship and in a first for the Hyrox championships, AIA Singapore is providing both participants and sponsors with complimentary personal accident coverage when they purchase their tickets, with the coverage lasting the entire month of June. AIA Singapore is fielding a team in the corporate relay too, led by chief executive officer Wong Sze Keed. One of the other three members is general counsel and company secretary Penny Koo, who led a team to victory at the Hyrox Hong Kong women's corporate relay last year. Koo, who is in her 40s and has been with the company since 2012, will be taking part in her fourth Hyrox event. Her last Hyrox outing was in Seoul last month, where she competed in the women's doubles with a friend from her gym. BT Weekend recently met the affable lawyer at the Bugis Junction branch of Fitness First, an official Hyrox training club and an AIA Vitality partner. During the lively 30-minute chat, Koo opened up about her passion for Hyrox and how she balances the demands of work and her love for exercise and fitness. This transcript has been edited slightly for brevity. You have been general counsel for the company for eight years now. What does the job entail? I am responsible for all legal and corporate secretarial matters. I lead a team of 14 people, and we shape the legal strategies for the organisation, and provide advisory, transactional and governance support. With so much on your plate, do you have to work over the weekends very often? As an executive in today's world, almost everyone has a work phone, so the job never really stops. You have to set your own boundaries, and I am very privileged that our management team and colleagues respect personal boundaries. For the most part, with the ongoing focus on mental wellness, we really do encourage our folks to take care of themselves. Yes, the work will need to be done, but it is important to have that balance with enough rest, training and exercise. Have you always been this physically fit and active? I was born premature, about two months early when my mum fell down the stairs, so I would say I did not have the strongest start in life. I was diagnosed with severe childhood asthma, not long after I underwent surgery at three years old to remove a neck tumour. I remember spending a lot of time at the hospital when I was a kid, and that also meant that when I went to kindergarten and primary school, I was the student with a doctor's letter to exempt me from PE (physical education) classes. I thought to myself, hey, life is so unfair. So I tossed out the doctor's note, as I refused to be wrapped in cotton wool all my life. I was quite a stubborn kid. I did get some asthma attacks after I did some running or exercise, but it was not that bad, and I had my inhaler with me. By the time I was in secondary school, I somehow stopped having these asthma attacks, and things just got better over time. I went on to represent my school in swimming and netball. Penny Koo training on the SkiErg, a cardio machine that simulates cross-country skiing and involves a pulling motion with handles. This is one of the eight stations at a Hyrox event. PHOTO: AIA SINGAPORE What is your fitness or exercise routine like these days? I train every day. I make time for my exercise, and on Sundays I make sure I block out time throughout the week for my training. If it is in the calendar, there is a greater chance that it will happen. I am up at about 5.30 am, and I will do strength training from about 6.30 am for about two hours, before heading to work. I may go for a run on some evenings. I also enjoy swimming and going for yoga. How did AIA make the decision to be the title partner of Hyrox in Singapore? There is clearly a lot of synergy between what we want to achieve together. Our mission and purpose is to help people live healthier, longer and better lives. Hyrox has been trending for some years now as a very popular event that has mass market appeal, with a global reach and various categories for people of all ages and capabilities. There are also adaptive divisions, so we saw it made a lot of sense (for Hyrox and AIA) to come together. Other than this weekend's competition at the National Stadium, we are also launching an AIA Ultimate Fitness Fest in August and September, with support from Hyrox. It is a variation of the official Hyrox races with a university edition and an open edition to cater to participants across all fitness levels. What is it about Hyrox that you enjoy? It is about being together with like-minded people at a well-run event with a great atmosphere. I have competed at Hryox in three places – Singapore, Hong Kong and, just last month, South Korea. No matter the venue, there is so much energy and everyone is cheering for you, even if they do not know your name or where you are from. I also think that for people who are starved of time, these types of high-intensity exercises are something that anyone can do in a short amount of time. And when you are doing these high-intensity workouts, I do not think your brain can think about anything else other than what you are doing at that moment. It is almost like you force yourself to take a break, whether it is from work or your phone or something else. All you can focus on in, that moment, is yourself, and the workout you have committed to attempt and complete.
Wales Online
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
The best pictures as thousands take part in huge three-day fitness event in Cardiff
The Principality Stadium has been filled with fitness enthusiasts this weekend - May 30 to June 1 - as the Hyrox event comes to Wales for the first time. Thousands of people took part in the competition that sold out within minutes as Hyrox has become the latest fitness trend sweeping the internet. The event combines running and functional exercises and sees racers run 1km followed by a workout station repeated eight times, 8km in total, aiming to be the fastest. The workout stations include a 1000m SkiErg, a 50m sled push, a 50m sled pull, 80m burpee broad jumps, 1,000m row, 200m farmers carry and 100m sandbag lunges. Since it was first created in 2017 by Christian Toetzke and Olympian Moritz Fürste, the sport has as many as 200,000 competitors taking part worldwide. Events take place all throughout the year in Europe and the UK, but this weekend Wales had it's first ever Hyrox event. Welsh athlete, Afan Humphries was there and wakes up at 4am for training, we caught up with him, here. Also, our reporter, Taite Johnson had a go at Hyrox to tell us just what it's all about - read her account of the trending training regime, here. See the best pictures from this weekends event below.
Wales Online
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
I tried the fitness trend everyone's going mad for and it was 40 minutes of hell
I tried the fitness trend everyone's going mad for and it was 40 minutes of hell Whilst it was one of the most difficult training sessions I have endured, it also felt rewarding Hyrox has become a popular sport around the world with thousands of people heading to Cardiff to compete in it this weekend and tickets selling out in minutes. It seems that everyone and their nan (literally) has jumped on the latest fitness trend so I thought I'd see what all the fuss it about and try out a Hyrox training session myself. Since it was first created in 2017 by Christian Toetzke and Olympian Moritz Fürste, the sport has as many as 200,000 competitors taking part worldwide. The event combines running and functional exercises and sees participants run 1km followed by a workout station repeated eight times, 8km in total. The workout stations include a 1000m SkiErg, a 50m sled push, a 50m sled pull, 80m burpee broad jumps, 1,000m row, 200m farmers carry and 100m sandbag lunges. In preparation for the competition happening at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff from May 30 to June 1, gyms across Cardiff have increased the number of Hyrox training classes on offer. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here Videos of racers training and competing in Hyrox have been plastered all over my social media with many celebrities also joining the hype. While the sport looks difficult, I have heard so many people rave about it and the benefits it has had on their health and fitness so I thought I'd try it out myself to find out what it is actually like. I headed down to B42 gym in Cardiff Bay who have Hyrox training sessions perfectly designed to prepare you for the race as well as to build your strength and stamina. Lynda Harrington runs the Hyrox training sessions at B42 - as a competitor herself preparing for this weekend, she is an expert in the sport and her knowledge helps up to 20 people per session. I visited the gym on a bank holiday so the class was much smaller with only myself and three others, which I was grateful for as a beginner so not so many people had to watch me struggle. Usually in the gym I strength train but I tend to work out at my own pace so classes with a trainer are completely different from the way I train alone. I was nervous to join the session but I was excited to put myself through my paces and hopefully learn some new exercises. I knew that the class was going to be difficult but I did not expect it to be as hard as it was - I did have to tap out at one point. Lynda, the trainer, went through all of the exercises that we were going to do during the session (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) Each workout at B42 is 42 minutes long as the team behind the gym believe it is the "perfect slice of time to deliver a challenging, effective session without taking over your day." We started the session with a quick warm up before getting stuck in with the Hyrox training. Each class has a six-week training period where the level of intensity increases every week - joining at week 4 meant that it was one of the toughest classes of the series (which made me feel better that I found it so hard.) With four of us in the class we paired up to complete the exercises in duos and did three sets of exercises all being 10 minutes in duration. While one person was doing an exercise the other would be completing a different exercise, then we'd switch - so no time to rest when the clock started. I had to row for as long as partner took to complete the wall balls (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) For the first set I had to use the rowing machine to complete as much distance as possible whilst my partner completed 20-40 wall balls with a weighted medicine ball, then we had to switch. As a beginner I chose to do 20 wall balls for my set with a 4kg medicine ball which is the same weight used by females when they compete at an event. I do use a medicine ball during my normal workouts so I thought this exercise may be one of the easier ones for me. How wrong I was. Wall balls are an exercise designed to target the whole body and you can definitely feel it throughout your entire body. I felt as though my form was good and kept my squats relatively low to start but after completing numerous sets it was hard to keep a fast pace whilst accurately completing the exercise. It was very tempting to not complete all 20 and just move on, but I would only be cheating myself and reminded myself that if I was in a competition a judge would make sure I completed all of them. The second exercise of the set was the rowing machine, on which we had to row as many metres as possible whilst our partner completed their wall balls. The rowing machine was one of the easier stations of the training session and I was quite happy to be able to be sat down, honestly. It didn't even take the whole ten minutes for me to be sweaty, red-faced and needing water. After ten long minutes we got a quick 90 second break before moving onto the next set of exercises. Lynda was great in explaining each exercise, giving a demonstration and making sure I was doing it right. Her constant encouragement really helped me push on and every 'you're doing great' motivated me even more. Now the next set of exercises were where it got gruelling for me, and if you know anything about fitness then you'll know why by just one word - burpees. The second set had me doing 200m on the SkiErg straight into 15 box jump burpees. I had never used a SkiErg before and was unsure how to use it until Lynda showed me. I did 800m on the SkiErg and just over 30 box jump burpees (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) The SkiErg was a fun machine to use and I was happy to be learning how to use new machines during the training session. It has really helped me feel more confident in using it on my own in my regular gym. I have seen many people do burpees and it has always been an exercise that is labelled as difficult to complete so I was not looking forward to doing not only my first one but also completing at least 30 of them in ten minutes. The box jump burpees were extremely difficult for me and I'm still not sure I was even doing them correctly but I don't plan on attempting them again anytime soon anyway. On the third rep of the second set, I had to stop. I jumped back up from my 31st burpee and couldn't continue. I needed a breather. After splashing my face with water and taking a couple minutes to breathe, I returned to my station and completed a final 200m on the SkiErg before starting the third and final set of exercises. I found some relief in the fact that I could tell that everyone in the class was finding it difficult and sweat poured from not only my face but everybody else's. If you thought maybe the last set would be easier than the rest, you'd be wrong. Instead of completing two exercises we had to complete three - 30 weighted goblet squats, 20 sandbag lunges and 10 jump squats. My legs felt like jelly during the last set of exercises (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) I started with the weighted goblet squats which I chose to use a 6kg kettlebell for, followed by 15kg sandbag lunges and bodyweight squat jumps. With the goblet squats, they began to feel difficult halfway through and I felt like I could feel my legs turning to jelly as I continued. I had never used the sandbags for walking lunges before so it was hard adjusting to the equipment and I did find these hard to complete. I completed the squat jumps with my partner which was helpful so I could match their pace and complete them together. By the end of the 42 minutes I was relieved that it was finally over, on the other hand I had a overwhelming sense of pride in myself for completing it - even if I did have to tap out at one point, and take long drink breaks. I knew it was difficult and I always questioned the people who do it consistently but now a part of me sees why they do. It was a real test of my strength and agility, showing me the things I need to improve on (burpees, wall balls and sandbag lunges) and the few that I was actually good at (SkiErg and rowing). Article continues below I always took my hat off to people who take part in Hyrox but now I have a newfound respect for them after putting myself through a training session, but I still could not imagine doing it once or multiple times a week.
CNBC
29-05-2025
- Sport
- CNBC
Hyrox co-founder Moritz Furste on growth outlook: We will be a global sport
Hyrox co-founders Christian Toetzke and Moritz Furste join 'Squawk Box' to discuss the idea behind the fitness race, participant growth outlook, the economics of fitness, and more.
Mint
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Mint
Pain, persistence and teamwork: What I learnt from my first Hyrox race
My quadriceps are still tender and forearms sore enough to make typing this story out quite an effort. But that — and a black rectangular patch — is what I get for completing (without much training) the Hyrox race that finally made its India debut in Mumbai last Saturday. Hyrox, the fastest growing fitness trend in the post-pandemic world, combines the two foundational pillars of exercise — cardio and strength training — and makes a rather compelling participative sport that is as much a race as it is a test of your strength, endurance and capacity for suffering. Hyrox was conceptualised by three-time Olympic medal-winning German hockey player Moritz Furste and co-founder and race organiser Christian Toetzke, in Germany in 2017. Today there are hundreds of Hyrox races held across the globe, including one that took place this April inside Paris' historic Grand Palais on the banks of River Seine. For the uninitiated, Hyrox, which describes itself as the World Series of Fitness Racing, involves eight 1km runs and eight workouts and people of all ages and abilities compete to finish it in the quickest time possible; people can participate as individuals, in teams of two, including mixed doubles, and in relay as a 4-member team. The race format remains consistent across the globe. Every individual and team does the same exercises, performs the same number of reps and covers the same distance. You start with a 1km run. Then cover 1,000m on the ergonomic ski machine. Run again and then 50m sled push. Run again and then 50m sled pull. The fourth kilometre is followed by 80m of burpee broad jumps. The next run ends with rowing 1,000m. After another kilometre of running, do 200m of farmer's carry. 100m sandbag lunges after another kilometre. The eighth and final kilometre of the race leads to 100 wall ball shots. Just like Crossfit Games, the weight one has to carry depends on one's gender and is in no way determined by the athlete's own body weight as it happens in most Olympic sports. Also, like Crossfit Hyrox already has a whole range of apparel and special shoes designed for the race by their global partner Puma. Additionally, they are also creating a fair bit of content with a new series, called Beyond the Rox, being developed by Red Bull. Unlike running events, Hyrox didn't unleash an all-encompassing marketing campaign, choosing instead to focus only on those highly invested in fitness, especially the ones who choose strenuous and high intensity activities. So, all boot camp-style gyms, functional fitness centres, calisthenics groups, runners who go beyond mere running, Crossfit boxes, fitness influencers and celebrity trainers across India were tapped resulting in a turnout of 1,650 participants for the event in Mumbai. While a decent number of Hyrox's international pro athletes traveled to Mumbai for the race, the more impressive statistic was the number of people who traveled from all parts of India for the race. I ran into trainers and exercise buddies from New Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru whom I have worked out with on numerous occasions. The race venue – Nescoe Centre in Goregaon – was buzzing with loud music and extremely fit men and women, who started in waves 10am onwards — about an hour late from the scheduled start time — all the way till the last relay participants finished around 7.30 pm. Among them were some Bengaluru FC footballers, including their goalie Gurpreet Singh, who participated in the men's relay. Running a kilometre followed by an exercise sounds rather simple and doable. But in reality, the race is unforgiving. My friends had participated in the individual and doubles categories while I, given my lack of training, chose the relay. From the stands and sidelines I could see how hard all of them, surrounded by very fit men and women, were working and the pain was plainly apparent on their faces. In the doubles event, both teammates have to run together while they can split the exercise load at each station as they like. Both have to cross the finish line together for the clock to stop. In the relay, which is what I did, each of the four people in the team has to run 2 km and perform two exercises in whatever order the team chooses. Only one person works at a time and they need to tag in the next team member in the changeover zone after finishing their run and exercise. I started for my team and managed to finish the run bit in good time but fatigue started setting in on the ski machine after about 600 metres. Luckily, my teammates saved the day and made good time in the other six rounds before tagging me in to go for the last lap and finish with 100 wall ball shots. As with the first station, I started well but as I tired I could just about throw the 6kg ball high enough to hit the target. When I thought I had finished the 100 and dashed off towards the finish line, a judge hollered at me informing me that I was one short. My teammate handed me the ball, I squatted, and threw the ball with as much force as I could gather on my way up, saw it hit the target and together we dashed off towards the finish line. While obstacle races such as Devil's Circuit and running events have grown in popularity in India in the last decade, the country lacked a world-class fitness event before Hyrox came calling. Crossfit, the once popular workout regimen now on the wane, has never once had a proper Crossfit Games event in India. This, perhaps, explains minor slip-ups when it comes to counting repetitions, which volunteers and judges do physically. There was also a small issue with the timing chip as the board showed one finish time for my team and the final time on the website was different. However, overall, it was a slickly organised race with plenty of equipment and treadmills in a dedicated warm-up zone for participants, a proper stand for family, friends and audience members to see all the action from up close. The registration fee of about ₹ 5,600 per head is slightly on the higher side for India, making this a firmly premium event. However, buoyed by the interest the debut Hyrox race had generated across the country, the organisers are going to have two more Hyrox races in New Delhi and Bengaluru later in the year. One thing that is likely to benefit first-time participants in India is a short briefing session about what the participants need to do both as individuals and as a team and how the time penalties work. For this event all we found was a long reel on the race's official Instagram handle. The wall ball shots alone broke me and I am still in pain. I can't even imagine what state of disintegration my friends who finished the individual and doubles events are in today. However, now that I have tasted blood, I know I will sign up for another Hyrox, train properly, and then tame the wall ball shots and the rest of the circuit without suffering. Shrenik Avlani is a writer and editor and the co-author of The Shivfit Way, a book on functional fitness.
