HYROX Announces Changes to Rulebook for 2025/26 season

HYROX, the global leader in fitness racing, has released its updated rulebook for the 2025/26 season, introducing revised movement standards and penalty guidelines.

Following a record-breaking season with over 600,000 participants—more than double the previous year—HYROX is poised for even greater growth. The upcoming season features 95 scheduled races and is projected to attract over 1 million athletes worldwide.

These rulebook updates, crafted by the HYROX Sport Team, aim to maintain the sport’s integrity and deliver a consistent, high-quality racing experience for competitors across the globe.

 

Mintra Tilly, Director of Sport at HYROX says “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.”

KEY CHANGES

Movement standards:


  1. Ski / Row - Erg dampers will now be set to 6 for all divisions but can be changed 
  2. Sled Pull - Athletes must not step on the solid white line at the front of the athletes’ box
  3. Burpee Broad Jumps - Rule clarification: Athletes are permitted to use their knees to step up to standing

 

Penalties & Disqualification: 


  1. Wave Start Time - Starting in any wave other than your official assigned wave start time will result in disqualification
  2. Doubles Teams - If a doubles team gets more than 3 infringements for being too far apart this will result in disqualification
  3. 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
  4. Farmer’s Carry -Depending on the venue, Farmers Carry may involve multiple laps. Each missing lap will result in a 3-minute penalty 
  5. 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 
  6. 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:

 

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. Additional Doubles Age Groups - Doubles age groups have been updated to align with the Singles divisions and are now structured in 5-year increments
  4. 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
  5. Respiratory Devices - Asthma inhalers or prescribed respiratory devices are permitted to be carried during the race
  6. 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  

 

The new rulebooks are available now on HYROX.com and can be downloaded as PDF.