When most athletes build a HYROX training program, the major pieces are fairly obvious. You need to run. You need to practice the sled push and sled pull. You need experience with burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmer's carries, sandbag lunges, wall balls, and the SkiErg. Strength training should also include foundational movements such as squats, hinges, presses, pulls, and unilateral leg work. But there is another category of training that can quietly make all of those things better: accessory work.
Accessory movements are exercises that support the primary movements in your training program. They may not appear anywhere on the HYROX race floor, and they probably should not dominate your workouts, but they can address weaknesses that your primary exercises sometimes miss. Good accessory work can improve joint stability, muscular balance, grip strength, posture, lower-leg durability, trunk control, and movement efficiency. In a sport that combines high running volume with repeated loaded movements, those qualities can become extremely important.
The key is choosing accessory exercises because they solve a problem, not simply because you saw someone doing them on social media. A HYROX athlete does not need twenty different accessory movements every week. A handful of intelligently selected exercises performed consistently can provide far more benefit.
Calf and Soleus Raises:
If there is one accessory category that deserves more attention from HYROX athletes, it may be lower-leg strengthening. Every running stride places substantial demand on the calf complex, and that demand continues through sled pushes, burpee broad jumps, and lunges.
Both straight-leg and bent-knee calf raises deserve a place in training. Straight-leg raises place greater emphasis on the gastrocnemius, while performing calf raises with a bent knee increases the contribution of the soleus. Because the soleus plays such an important role during running, it should not be overlooked.
These movements can be progressed just like any other strength exercise. Instead of performing endless unweighted repetitions, gradually increase resistance while maintaining a controlled range of motion. Single-leg variations can also help expose and address differences between sides.
Tibialis Raises:
The muscles on the front of the lower leg receive considerably less attention than the calves, but they also contribute to running mechanics and ankle control. Tibialis raises are a simple accessory exercise that can complement calf strengthening and provide a more balanced approach to lower-leg development.
They can be performed against a wall, with specialized equipment, or using resistance bands. They require very little recovery time and can easily be incorporated at the end of a strength session or into a mobility and durability routine.
Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts:
Traditional Romanian deadlifts are an excellent primary strength movement, but the single-leg version adds stability, balance, and unilateral control. A single-leg RDL challenges the hamstrings and glutes while requiring the foot, ankle, hip, and trunk to work together to maintain position.
That combination makes it particularly useful for runners. HYROX athletes spend a tremendous amount of time on one leg during running, and developing strength and stability in that position can complement traditional bilateral strength work.
The objective is not to use enormous loads. Control the movement, keep the hips relatively square, and make the working leg stabilize the body throughout the repetition.
Lateral Lunges and Cossack Squats:
HYROX is overwhelmingly forward-moving. Running, sleds, lunges, burpees, rowing, and wall balls primarily occur in the sagittal plane. That makes lateral accessory work particularly valuable.
Lateral lunges and Cossack squats develop the adductors, glutes, and surrounding hip musculature while exposing the body to a movement plane that may otherwise receive very little attention. They also combine strength with mobility, making them especially useful for athletes who feel restricted through the hips.
You do not need enormous amounts of lateral training. A few controlled sets each week can provide a useful counterbalance to the repetitive forward movement of HYROX preparation.
Lateral Step-Downs:
Lateral step-downs may not look particularly impressive, but they can be extremely useful for developing single-leg control. Standing on a box or step and slowly lowering the opposite heel toward the ground challenges the quads, glutes, hip stabilizers, and control of the knee.
The emphasis should be on quality rather than load. Control the descent, maintain good alignment through the hip, knee, and foot, and avoid simply dropping toward the floor. This makes the movement an excellent accessory for athletes accumulating significant running and lunging volume.
Hamstring Curls:
Deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts develop the hamstrings primarily through hip extension, but the hamstrings also flex the knee. Adding some form of hamstring curl can therefore complement a HYROX athlete's primary hinge work.
Machine curls, stability-ball curls, slider curls, and Nordic hamstring variations can all be useful depending on strength level and equipment availability. Nordics are particularly demanding and should be progressed cautiously rather than suddenly adding large amounts of volume.
A little direct hamstring work can go a long way, particularly when combined with running and posterior-chain strength training.
Hip Thrusts and Glute Bridges:
Squats, deadlifts, lunges, and sleds already train the glutes extensively, but some athletes can still benefit from direct hip-extension work. Hip thrusts and glute bridges provide an opportunity to strengthen the glutes without creating the same overall fatigue as another heavy squat or deadlift session.
This can be particularly useful during periods of high running volume when an athlete wants additional posterior-chain work without adding excessive loading to the legs and lower back.
Copenhagen Planks:
The Copenhagen plank is one of my favorite accessory movements for athletes who run frequently. It challenges the adductors while simultaneously requiring significant trunk and hip stability.
The movement can be scaled by supporting the knee rather than the foot on the bench. From there, athletes can gradually progress toward longer-lever variations. Like many accessory exercises, Copenhagen planks do not require huge amounts of volume. Several quality sets can provide a significant stimulus.
Pallof Presses:
Core training for HYROX should not simply mean performing more sit-ups. During running, sled work, carries, and lunges, the trunk frequently needs to resist unwanted movement while transferring force between the upper and lower body.
The Pallof press is a simple anti-rotation exercise that teaches the athlete to maintain trunk position while resistance attempts to rotate the body. It can be performed standing, half-kneeling, or in a split stance and works well as part of a warm-up, strength session, or accessory circuit.
Dead Bugs and Bird Dogs:
Dead bugs and bird dogs are not flashy, but they are excellent exercises for teaching trunk control while the arms and legs move independently. That basic skill has considerable relevance to running and virtually every HYROX station.
The challenge is performing them correctly. Slow the movement down, control the pelvis and rib cage, and resist the temptation to chase repetitions. When performed with intention, relatively simple movements can become surprisingly challenging.
Face Pulls and Band Pull-Aparts:
HYROX includes significant pulling volume through rowing, SkiErg work, and the sled pull. Running and wall balls can also leave athletes spending considerable time in forward-oriented positions. Face pulls and band pull-aparts provide simple accessory work for the upper back and posterior shoulder.
These exercises can help develop the muscular endurance needed to maintain upper-body posture throughout training and racing. They are also easy to incorporate because they create relatively little systemic fatigue.
Chest-Supported and Single-Arm Rows:
Rows can certainly function as primary strength exercises, but lighter variations also work extremely well as accessories. Chest-supported rows allow athletes to train the upper back without placing additional stress on the lower back, which can be valuable when running and lower-body training volume are already high.
Single-arm rows add a trunk-stability component and can help address differences between sides. Developing the lats, rhomboids, traps, and posterior shoulders can support sled pulling, carrying, rowing, SkiErg performance, and overall posture.
Suitcase Carries:
Farmer's carries appear directly in HYROX, but suitcase carries provide a slightly different challenge. Carrying weight on only one side forces the trunk to resist lateral flexion while maintaining normal walking mechanics.
This makes the suitcase carry an excellent accessory for developing grip and trunk stability simultaneously. Heavy carries over shorter distances can emphasize strength, while moderate loads over longer distances can challenge muscular endurance and posture.
Dead Hangs and Grip Work:
Grip fatigue can become a limiting factor during the farmer's carry and sled pull, and it can also accumulate from rowing and strength work. Dead hangs are one of the simplest ways to build grip endurance while also exposing the shoulders to an overhead position.
Additional options include plate pinches, towel hangs, heavy holds, and different carrying variations. Grip training does not need to become an entire workout. A few minutes added to the end of selected sessions can be enough to create meaningful progress.
Scapular and Rotator Cuff Work:
The shoulders perform a significant amount of work during HYROX. Wall balls, SkiErg repetitions, rowing, sled pulling, strength training, and even the arm swing during running create repeated demands on the shoulder complex.
Band external rotations, controlled scapular retractions, wall slides, and similar low-load movements can strengthen some of the smaller muscles responsible for shoulder control. These exercises are best viewed as maintenance work rather than movements that need to be trained to exhaustion.
Backward Sled Drags:
The sled is obviously not an accessory in HYROX, but backward sled dragging can be. Unlike the race-specific sled push and pull, backward dragging provides a different stimulus that heavily challenges the quadriceps while allowing the athlete to accumulate work with relatively little eccentric loading.
Backward drags can fit nicely into warm-ups, lower-body accessory work, or conditioning sessions. They can also provide additional leg training without requiring another high-impact running workout.
Accessory Work Should Fill Gaps, Not Create More Fatigue:
This may be the most important principle of accessory training for a HYROX athlete. Your accessory exercises should support your primary training, not compete with it.
If you complete a hard running session, heavy squats, sled pushes, and lunges and then add another 45 minutes of accessory work, you may simply be creating fatigue without producing meaningful additional adaptation. More exercises do not automatically create a better program.
For most athletes, accessory work can be extremely effective when performed for two to four sets near the end of a strength session. You might select one lower-leg movement, one unilateral or lateral movement, one trunk exercise, and one upper-body stability or grip movement. That can be more than enough.
Accessory selection should also reflect the individual athlete. A runner who continually struggles with calf fatigue may benefit from additional soleus and calf work. An athlete whose knees collapse during lunges may need more unilateral hip and leg control. Someone who loses posture during farmer's carries may benefit from suitcase carries, rows, and trunk work. An athlete whose grip repeatedly fails during the sled pull may need direct grip training.
This is where accessory work becomes particularly valuable: it allows you to target the weak link without rebuilding the entire training program.
Accessory exercises should also change as training progresses. During a general preparation phase, you may perform a wider variety of movements to build overall durability and correct weaknesses. As race day approaches, accessory volume can gradually decrease while training becomes increasingly specific to running and the eight HYROX stations.
Ultimately, the best accessory movements are not necessarily the most complicated exercises. Calf raises, tibialis raises, lateral lunges, single-leg RDLs, Copenhagen planks, Pallof presses, rows, suitcase carries, grip work, and basic shoulder stability exercises may not generate much excitement, but they help build the athlete underneath the race movements.
The major exercises build the foundation. Race-specific training teaches you how to apply it. Accessory work fills the cracks between the two.
You do not need to perform every accessory movement available. Identify what your primary training is missing, choose a few movements that address those needs, and perform them consistently enough to create adaptation without compromising your running, strength work, or recovery.
In HYROX, the little things rarely replace the big things, but when the big things are already in place, the little things can make a very big difference.
No matter where you are starting from, there is a place for you on the start line and HyForge Fitness is here to help you succeed!