The Complete Hyrox Race Week Guide: Training, Taper and Recovery

Race week. It's the culmination of weeks or months of preparation — and also, paradoxically, the week when most athletes make their biggest mistakes. Undertaper, overtaper, last-minute workouts that leave them heavy on race day, or no recovery strategy at all for the 48 hours after the finish line.

Having worked with multiple Hyrox athletes in Swansea, here's the race week protocol I recommend to get the best possible result from the training you've already done.

Race Minus 7 Days: Your Last Hard Session

Your fitness is already banked. Any hard training you do this week is more likely to take away from your performance than add to it. Your final high-intensity session should happen 7 days out from race day — no later.

After this session, your job is to maintain sharpness without accumulating fatigue. Short, easy runs. Light mobility work. Technical rehearsal of movements (a few wall balls, a light sled push) to keep neuromuscular patterns sharp — but nothing that creates significant DOMS.

Race Minus 5 Days: Pre-Race Sports Massage

This is the ideal window for your pre-race sports massage at Muscle Relief Therapy. Five days out is far enough from race day that any post-treatment tenderness will have fully resolved, while close enough to carry the benefits — improved circulation, reduced accumulated tightness from your training block, and muscles that feel responsive rather than stale.

A Full Body Sports Massage (£70) at this stage focuses on releasing specific tightness accumulated through your training taper (taper tension is real — many athletes feel stiffer when they reduce load), improving overall tissue quality, and leaving you feeling ready.

Race Minus 2–3 Days: Rest and Prep

Nothing new. No new foods, no new exercises, no new anything. Short easy movement is fine — a 20-minute jog or walk to keep blood flowing and reduce the psychological anxiety of doing nothing.

Focus on:

• Sleep — aim for 8+ hours for 3 nights before race day
• Hydration — start increasing fluid intake 2 days out
• Carbohydrate loading (if that's your approach) — start the evening before
• Kit check — lay everything out, charge your watch, pack your bag

Race Day

The most common mistake Hyrox athletes make is going out too hard on the first 1km run. The sled will find you regardless — you cannot bank time on the running section to compensate for a slow sled. Start controlled, find your rhythm, and negative split if possible.

Station strategy matters. Know your target times for each station and stick to them even when your heart rate is screaming at you to go harder.

Race Plus 24–48 Hours: Post-Race Recovery

This is the most neglected part of the Hyrox calendar — and the part that determines how quickly you can return to quality training.

The Recovery Session (£55) at Muscle Relief Therapy combines 30 minutes of Pulsio compression boots (to flush metabolic waste and reduce swelling) with 30 minutes of targeted sports massage (to address the specific muscles that took the most punishment — typically quads, calves, traps and grip for most athletes).

Booked 24–48 hours post-race, this session consistently cuts 2–4 days off athletes' recovery timelines. That means getting back to quality training sooner — which matters significantly if you're racing again within the season.

The Week After

Resist the urge to celebrate with full training days. A structured return-to-training phase — easy movement for 3–4 days, then gradually reintroducing intensity — gives your body the chance to fully rebuild before the next block begins.

If you're planning multiple Hyrox events this season, consider the Bundle Deal (£165) — which gives you a personalised Functional & Strengthening Programme alongside three sports massage sessions, supporting your full season rather than just a single race.

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