What changes between Open and Pro
Five stations get heavier and nothing else moves: the eight runs of about 1 km, the SkiErg, the burpee broad jumps and the row are identical.
| Station | Women: Open to Pro | Men: Open to Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Sled push, including the sled | 102 kg to 152 kg | 152 kg to 202 kg |
| Sled pull, including the sled | 78 kg to 103 kg | 103 kg to 153 kg |
| Farmers carry, two kettlebells | 2 x 16 kg to 2 x 24 kg | 2 x 24 kg to 2 x 32 kg |
| Sandbag lunges | 10 kg to 20 kg | 20 kg to 30 kg |
| Wall ball | 4 kg to 6 kg | 6 kg to 9 kg |
| Wall-ball reps and target | 100 reps to 2.70 m in both | 100 reps to 3.00 m in both |
| Runs, SkiErg, row, burpee broad jumps | No change | No change |
Women Pro races the Men Open loads, item for item: a 152 kg sled push, a 103 kg sled pull, 24 kg in each hand, a 20 kg sandbag and a 6 kg ball. Men Pro has a band of its own: 50 kg more on each sled, 8 kg more in each hand, 10 kg more on the shoulders and a 9 kg ball.
The target never changes: 2.70 m for every woman and 3.00 m for every man, so a Women Pro racer throws a heavier ball to the same line she aimed at in Open.
Doubles has two Pro divisions too, on the same loads with the work shared. The format is on what HYROX is, and every division on the divisions page.
Do you need to qualify for Pro?
No. Section 2 of the Singles rulebook says HYROX is open to everyone and that qualifications are not required. Anyone 16 or over on race day can enter Pro at a regular race, and there is no Pro qualifying time.
HYROX UK's FAQ calls Pro the option for experienced athletes, which is advice, not an entry rule. Age is no barrier either: Pro is open up to and including the 80 plus age groups at regular races, with rankings, podiums and flags as normal (the regional FAQs still say there are no 60 plus Pro age groups, so confirm with HYROX before you buy; see divisions).
The HYROX UK FAQ says division transfers are not available. Check the FAQ for your region and choose Open or Pro as if you will race exactly what you bought.
Signs you are ready to move up
No single number settles it. Three checks do: your engine, your last race and the Pro loads themselves.
Your PFT lands in the Pro band
HYROX UK suggests Pro for a PFT of 15 to 25 minutes and Open for 25 to 35. But the test has no sled, no carry and no sandbag, and it uses the Open ball: a 1,000 m run, 50 burpee broad jumps, 100 lunges, a 1,000 m row, 30 hand-release push-ups and 100 wall balls at 6 kg for men or 4 kg for women. A fast PFT proves the engine, not the strength. More on reading your PFT.
Your last Open race did not stall at the stations
Find your last result on results.hyrox.com and read the splits within that one race. Splits from different venues do not compare, because floors and run courses differ.
- The sled push and sled pull were steady efforts, with no long stops mid-lane.
- Run 3 and run 4, the two straight after the sleds, stayed close to run 2.
- The farmers carry went without long set-downs, the lunges without long pauses (the sandbag may not be put down; each time costs 15 seconds), and the wall balls went in steady sets.
If the Open sleds were already where your race stalled, Pro adds 25 to 50 kg to each and the weak spot grows. If the stations were steady and the runs set your time, test the heavier loads.
You can move the Pro loads after a run
This check matters most, because it is the only one at Pro weight. After a hard 1 km run, do one Pro station, and cover all five over a couple of weeks. No published standard exists for this. As a rule of thumb, a fair pass looks like this:
- Sleds: 50 m of each in 12.5 m lanes, moving the whole time, with any breaks at the turns rather than mid-lane.
- Farmers carry: 200 m with 2 x 24 kg (women) or 2 x 32 kg (men), putting the bells down once at most.
- Sandbag lunges: 100 m with 20 kg or 30 kg on your shoulders, in long unbroken stretches, never setting the bag down.
- Wall balls: the 6 kg or 9 kg ball to your usual target in sets of 10 or more, every rep hitting the target.
Load a training sled to the race total, sled included, and treat your gym floor as a guide: race sleds move differently at every venue. See the sled guide.
A fast PFT with a stalling sled means Open for now and a strength block before you move up. Steady Pro loads with a slow PFT means the running sets your time in either division, so train that first.
Where the extra time goes
Only five stations change, so every extra second in Pro comes from them, or from the runs after them when your legs and grip are spent. Two published studies show the pattern from either side.
In Pro fields, slower racers lose the most at the loaded stations
Rappelt and colleagues, a German university team, analysed 39,696 Pro and Elite race results, 11,842 from women and 27,854 from men, across the first seven seasons, 2018/19 to 2024/25. Among the top 100 each season, running stayed at about half of total race time.
- Across the top 100 Pro men's results in 2024/25, the five loaded stations took 14:20 of an average 56:56, about a quarter of the race. Across the top 100 women's results it was 15:54 of 63:11.
- In 2024/25, a racer's sled push rank tracked their finishing rank less closely than any other part of the race, and running tracked it most closely: the running sets the order, and the sled push is where places swap.
- Further down the field, time at every station weighed more heavily on the finish, and at the strength-based stations most of all. The authors concluded that racers need enough strength to avoid excessive time loss there.
At Open loads, grip strength did not predict finish time
The first lab study of the race put 11 recreational racers, three of them women, through a simulated race to Individual Open standards. Hand-grip strength and muscle mass did not correlate with finish time. A higher VO2max and more endurance training did. The heaviest stations were the quickest: a median of 128 seconds for the sled push and 155 for the pull.
Eleven people is a small sample, the only strength test was hand grip, the loads were Open, and nobody has published the same athletes racing both divisions. Even so, the two point one way: at Open loads, grip strength did not separate recreational racers; at Pro loads, running still sets the order at the front, and the loaded stations are where slower racers lose the most time.
Training for Pro: build the strength first
The gap between Open and Pro is strength, and strength takes months, not weeks.
How strength is built
The American College of Sports Medicine's position stand on resistance training sets out the general principles. Beginners lift loads they can manage for 8 to 12 reps, two or three days a week. Intermediate lifters, with about six months of consistent training, work across 1 to 12 reps and move towards heavy sets of 1 to 6 with three to five minutes of rest. When you can do one or two reps more than the target, add 2 to 10 percent.
That is general guidance, not a HYROX plan, but it sets the timeline: strength climbs a few kilograms at a time, so the margin between Open and Pro is built over a season.
Station by station
- Sled push: squats, split squats and short, heavy sled pushes at and above race load.
- Sled pull: deadlifts, heavy rows and hand-over-hand rope pulls.
- Farmers carry: carries and long holds with the Pro kettlebells. By then your grip has worked through the sled pull and the row. See the farmers carry.
- Sandbag lunges: loaded walking lunges and split squats, working up from the Open bag. See sandbag lunges.
- Wall balls: front squats and thrusters, then sets with the Pro ball. See wall balls.
Which lifts carry over to which station is on strength for HYROX.
Keep the running
Running is still about half of a Pro race at the front of the field, and the same authors add that once strength is sufficient, more of it is unlikely to pay back in proportion. Add strength without cutting the runs, and once the Pro loads feel steady, do station work straight after running, as the race does.
When to start
If you already lift and your Open stations are steady, start on Pro loads months before your race. The final weeks are for sharpening and the taper, not for meeting a 202 kg sled for the first time. If you have never trained strength consistently, race Open while you build it.
Pro and the World Championships
For a Singles racer under 60, Pro is the route to the Worlds. The World Championships page on hyrox.com says every Pro and Doubles Mixed division at every event offers at least one spot per age group, with the 60 plus spots going to Open.
- Spots go to the top placings in your age group and division at that race, not to a time standard.
- If you qualify through Pro aged under 60, you race the Pro loads at the Worlds.
- From 60, you qualify through Open only, even if you raced Pro all season, and every 60 plus age group races Open weights at the Worlds.
- The Elite 15, the separate wave racing for the overall title and prize money, has its own route: racers holding a HYROX Athlete Licence earn points from their five best Singles results over a rolling 365 days, the top of that ranking races the elite events, and each elite race awards three World Championship slots.
How spots are offered, accepted and rolled down is on the World Championships page.
Setting up a Pro race in Smash Coach
Once you have decided, tell your plan. Two settings do it: the division on your race and a goal for the strength.
When you add your race (the plus on Home or Agenda, then Add event), you choose your division and format along with the date, your experience and whether you are chasing a time or aiming to finish. You can edit all of it later. With Pro or during your trial (the Smash Coach plan, not the race division), switching the DIVISION on an upcoming race from Open to Pro rebuilds your plan around the change. See races and events.
Under your race you get up to three goals, ranked in the order you care about them. On Home, tap MANAGE next to YOUR GOALS and add a common goal or type your own, such as getting stronger. With Pro or during your trial, the higher a goal sits, the more of your training goes to it, and one rebuild runs when you leave the Goals page. See set and rank your goals.