HYROX, ‘the World Series of Fitness Racing’, has issued a new rulebook for the upcoming 2025-26 season, which includes updates to movement standards and penalties.
With HYROX reporting over 600,000 athletes racing last season, marking over 100% growth compared to the previous season, the indoor fitness series is aiming to continue its growth trajectory.
The 2025-26 season currently has 95 races in the calendar with HYROX reporting over 1 million athletes expected to race.
HYROX added… ‘The updates to the rulebook have been developed by the HYROX Sport Team to ensure the sport continues to uphold a high standard and offer an unrivalled, consistent racing experience for all athletes globally.’
Mintra Tilly, Director of Sport at HYROX, said “We’ve been constantly evaluating the existing movement standards and penalty system throughout the season and as a result, these were the changes that we deemed necessary.
“Our aim is to make sure that as HYROX continues to grow as a sport, we remain consistent in the quality of racing and fair when it comes to the penalties given and guidelines for disqualification.”
Movement standards:
- Ski / Row – Erg dampers will now be set to six for all divisions but can be changed
- Sled Pull – Athletes must not step on the solid white line at the front of the athletes’ box
- Burpee Broad Jumps – rule clarification, athletes are permitted to use their knees to step up to standing
Penalties & Disqualification:
- Wave Start Time – Starting in any wave other than the official assigned wave start time will result in disqualification
- Doubles Teams – If a doubles team gets more than three infringements for being too far apart this will result in disqualification
- Sleds, Burpee Broad Jumps & Sandbag Lunges – There will be no more distance-based penalties, instead there will be one warning followed by a time-based penalty of 15 seconds per infringement after the warning
- Farmer’s Carry – Depending on the venue, Farmers Carry may involve multiple laps. Each missing lap will result in a 3-minute penalty
- Farmer’s Carry & Sandbag Lunges – Athletes must redo this station if the wrong weight is used, and failure to redo it with the correct weight will result in disqualification
- Spitting / Clearing nose – If athletes spit or clear their nose on the floor or carpet, this will result in a 2-minute penalty per infringement
Additional:
- Transgender Rankings – In line with previous Olympic guidelines, official rankings will be based on a participant’s biological gender at birth. However, individuals who wish to participate for recreational purposes only, without being included in the official ranking may register under their gender identity
- Pro Divisions – Pro division age groups will now include 60–64 and 65–69, meaning these categories will receive an official ranking, flag, and World Championship slots. This excludes the 70+ divisions. This also applies to the Doubles divisions, with the exception of Doubles Mixed
- Additional Doubles Age Groups – Doubles age groups have been updated to align with the Singles divisions and are now structured in 5-year increments
- Shoes – Shoes must be worn at all times during the race except for the Wall Ball station, where if an athlete decides to remove them, they must be placed under the rig and carried to the finisher stage
- Respiratory Devices – Asthma inhalers or prescribed respiratory devices are permitted to be carried during the race
- Medical Device – If a medical device requires proximity to a racer’s phone is necessary during the race, prior approval must be obtained from the Race Director
