HYROX Without the Kit: 8 Stations in a Regular Gym

The HYROX format repeats the same sequence eight times: a one-kilometre run, then a strength or endurance station. On paper it is simple. In practice, most gyms in Tunisia have no SkiErg, no sled and no wall-ball target. Do you need to wait for access to a specialised box before you start preparing? No. Every station targets specific qualities, and those qualities can be built with dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, a treadmill and sometimes a plain backpack.

Why equipment should not hold you back

A HYROX station is not a machine, it is a stimulus. If you reproduce the movement pattern, the duration and the intensity, you prepare the same qualities even if the movement is not identical down to the millimetre.

Three principles guide every substitution below:

• —Respect the movement pattern: pull if the station pulls, push if it pushes, carry if it carries.
• —Respect the duration: each station lasts several minutes, so you work in long sets, not sets of five heavy reps.
• —Respect the prior fatigue: in HYROX you arrive at the station after running. Recreate that at least once a week.

If you have a heart, joint or metabolic condition, consult a doctor before starting this kind of programme.

Station 1: the SkiErg

What it trains: lats, triceps, abdominals, posterior chain and the ability to hold a high breathing rhythm for 1000 metres of pulling.

Substitutions:

• —Band ski pulls: anchor a band high, grab both ends with arms extended overhead, pull down to the hips while hinging the torso. This is the most faithful copy of the movement.
• —Battle ropes in alternating or simultaneous waves, in intervals of 40 to 60 seconds.
• —Rower or lat pull-downs in long sets of 20 to 30 reps.

Technique cues: the drive comes from the hips and abs, not only the arms.

Programming: 4 to 6 blocks of 60 to 90 seconds, rest equal to work time, once a week.

Stations 2 and 3: the sled push and sled pull

What they train: the push targets quads, glutes, calves and core in a heavy, slow horizontal effort. The pull targets lats, biceps, forearms and hamstrings, hand over hand.

Substitutions for the push:

• —Plate push on turf if your gym has a strip of artificial grass, or a towel under the plate on a smooth floor to create friction.
• —Weighted walking lunges with dumbbells or kettlebells over 20 to 30 metres.
• —Leg press in long sets of 15 to 25 reps, constant tension, never fully locking the knees.

Substitutions for the pull:

• —Heavy rope pull: tie a thick rope to a load and pull it hand over hand for 10 to 15 metres.
• —Band rows anchored low or low cable rows, in sets of 30 to 50 reps.

Technique cues: to push, torso leaning at roughly 45 degrees, arms braced, short fast steps. To pull, knees bent, back neutral, elbow brushing the body.

Programming: 4 sets of 40 to 60 seconds of continuous pushing, then 5 to 8 pulls of 10 metres, with 60 to 90 seconds of rest.

Station 4: burpee broad jumps

Good news: this station needs no equipment. It is a burpee followed by a two-footed broad jump, repeated over 80 metres, and it trains explosiveness and the ability to get up off the floor under fatigue.

In a gym: find a 10 to 15 metre lane, or do it on the spot counting reps. If the floor is hard, protect your hands with gloves and your knees with a thin mat.

Technique cues: chest to the floor, feet back under the hips, land with bent knees. Chase the most regular rhythm, not the longest jump.

Programming: 3 to 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps, once a week, never the day after a heavy leg session.

Station 5: the rower

Many gyms in Tunisia have at least one rower. If yours does, train the station as it is: posterior chain, legs, back and aerobic endurance over 1000 metres.

If your gym has none:

• —Kettlebell swings in sets of 20 to 30 reps for the hip extension.
• —Band or cable rows followed by light jump squats.
• —Elliptical or air bike for the cardiac component.

Programming: 2 to 3 blocks of 1000 metres at a steady pace, or 8 times 250 metres with 30 seconds of rest.

Station 6: the farmers carry

What it trains: grip, traps, core and the ability to walk fast under load for 200 metres.

Substitutions: this is the easiest station to reproduce. Two dumbbells or two kettlebells are enough. With only one load, do the single-arm version (suitcase carry) and switch sides halfway.

Technique cues: shoulders down and pulled back, eyes far ahead, short fast steps. Do not let the weights bang against your thighs.

Programming: 4 to 6 laps of 40 to 50 metres with a load that becomes hard in the last few metres, once or twice a week.

Station 7: sandbag lunges

What it trains: quads, glutes, hip stability and posture under a load resting on the shoulders, over 100 metres.

Substitutions:

• —Loaded backpack filled with plates, books or water bottles, worn on the upper back or hugged to the chest.
• —Barbell on the shoulders in a back-squat position, walking lunges.

Technique cues: the back knee nearly touches the floor on every step, the torso stays upright, the front foot drives through the heel. Take steps long enough for the front knee to stay above the ankle.

Programming: 3 to 4 sets of 20 to 30 metres with a moderate load. Increase the distance before you increase the load.

Station 8: wall balls

What it trains: a deep squat followed by a throw to a high target, on the final station where fatigue peaks.

Substitutions:

• —Dumbbell or kettlebell thrusters: full squat, then overhead press in one movement.
• —Medicine ball thrown at a wall: pick a mark at roughly 2.7 to 3 metres (a tile line, a post) and aim for it.

Technique cues: drop below parallel on every rep, drive with the legs before throwing with the arms, and breathe on every rep.

Programming: 3 to 5 sets of 20 to 30 reps, always at the end of the session to simulate fatigue.

Compromised running: running between stations

The real challenge of HYROX is not the station, it is running a kilometre straight after it. Legs are heavy after the sled, arms shake after wall balls.

In a gym with a treadmill: set your substitute equipment next to the treadmill. Run 800 to 1000 metres, step off, do the station, step straight back on. Set a 1 percent incline to get closer to outdoor conditions.

Outdoors: find a 500 metre to 1 kilometre loop near a spot where you can leave your loaded backpack and dumbbells, on a beach, in a park or on a quiet street, early in the morning when the heat is manageable.

Sample session: three to four blocks of run plus station, once a week at first, twice as a goal approaches. Record your time per kilometre: the aim is to shrink the gap between the first and the last.

How an online coach adapts the plan to your equipment

A HYROX programme copied from the internet assumes you have every piece of kit. An online coach starts from the opposite end: they ask what your gym actually has and which days you can get there.

On Dextra it works in a few steps:

1. 1.You describe your equipment and availability in the initial assessment.
2. 2.Your coach builds a personalised programme where each station is replaced by the closest substitution to what you own.
3. 3.Every week you send your times and how you felt through the in-app messaging, in French, Arabic or English.
4. 4.The coach adjusts loads, distances and block order during the weekly check-in, and swaps an exercise if you change gym or a machine breaks down.

That back-and-forth, with certified coaches based in Tunisia, is what separates a generic plan from preparation that actually progresses.

If you want to prepare for a HYROX-style format with the equipment you already have, the Dextra app is free on iOS and Android, with a free plan and coached options at 49 or 299 dinars per month. Download it at dextra.tn and describe your gym to a coach.