Nutrition for Hyrox – Pre-Event Tips for Top Performance

Are you ready to take your athletic performance to the next level? Hyrox, the premier fitness competition that challenges your strength, endurance, and mental fortitude, requires a well-rounded approach to nutrition.

Whether you’re a seasoned Hyrox competitor or a newcomer looking to conquer this ultimate test of fitness, your diet plays a crucial role in helping you achieve your personal best. In this blog post, we’ll explore the essential elements of nutrition for Hyrox, breaking down the key nutrients, meal planning strategies, and dietary tips to help you not only complete the course but excel with unparalleled vigour and vitality.

One Month Out From Hyrox

A month ahead of the event is a good time to start thinking about any refinements you can make to your nutrition, training, and lifestyle.

Nutrition

1. Are you eating enough overall, and enough of the ‘right’ things?

Tune in to how you’re feeling during workouts. If you’re experiencing any lightheadedness or feel completely exhausted, you’re likely under-fuelling. Therefore, you’re unlikely to be maximising your training. Aim to add a pre-workout snack in if you’re not already having one, and/or increase the carbs you’re having at each meal.

2. Are you consuming enough carbs and protein to fuel/recover from training?

Similarly, to the above, make sure you’re including enough carbs and protein in your diet. If possible, focus on complex carbs (3-12g/kg), as these are better utilised by the body, and lean protein sources (1.6-2g/kg).

If this is not already something you’re doing, start with small changes. Gradually reduce ‘white’ carbs while increasing brown carbs. For protein, add in an extra protein rich snack or shake to have around your sessions.

3. Are you timing your meals appropriately?

Make sure you’re eating enough throughout the day to fuel properly for your training sessions. If you’re eating enough through the day and are sure you’re consuming enough protein and carbs, but are still struggling through your workouts, or feeling particularly light-headed/dizzy, try adjusting what you eat around your workouts.

Play around with meal timings and see when you feel the most energised in training, and if any foods have a particularly good or bad impact on your performance.

Women – pay particular attention to your periods here, too.

Lifestyle

1. Are you getting enough sleep?

Sleep is imperative to recovering from your workouts and training – poor sleep (including quality and time), can severely impact your sessions. This can result in obvious factors like being more tired and reduced ability to concentrate, but it can also elevate your stress levels, and lead to poorer nutrition choices.

If this is something you struggle with, try to establish a bedtime routine to help improve your sleep. 

If it’s stress that’s having a greater impact on your sleep, try to assess what’s making you stressed. Is it something within your control? Can you do anything to change it? Try to ensure you’re giving yourself as much downtime as possible to help manage your stress levels, and check out our tips on reducing stress here.

2. Consider your alcohol intake.

Now is a good time to take a look at how much you’re drinking and how often. Of course, if you’re hungover, you’re likely not going to be training, maybe over-indulging in foods that don’t align with your goals, and slowing your digestion down, not to mention the impact it has on your sleep!

This is not to say that you should stop drinking permanently, but it’s wise to cut down or stop in the lead-up to the Hyrox event day itself to optimise your recovery between workouts and ensure you’re as prepared for your training as possible.

Try to avoid alcohol-based events, or drive to them if that’s an option! You can also switch your drink to something with a lower percentage, and make sure you’re drinking plenty of water in between drinks, and before you go to bed. You can even try using a hydration sachet before sleeping to help fight off the hangover.

We’ve put together some tips to help with mindful alcohol consumption here.

Training

1. Is your training focussed and structured?

Training without a specific aim won’t help you prepare for the day. Each training session needs to be centred around developing a particular aspect of attributes, whether that is your cardio, strength, or endurance. 

If you are not sure if your training is structured enough, now is a good time to speak to your coach and iron out any kinks to put you in good stead for competition day.

2. Do you have areas of weakness that might need focussing on?

Off the back of the above, if you identify any points of weakness, or anything about the event that’s filling you with dread and nerves, restructure your training to build up, prioritise, and gain confidence with these movements or areas so that they’re no longer a point of weakness!

3. Are you allowing yourself to recover/get enough rest?

Resting is as important as training! Making sure you get ample rest (not just sleep!), is important in aiding recovery between sessions. Aim to create time in your schedule to rest, recover, and give yourself some downtime. If you’re feeling frantic and like you’re cramming everything in, take a moment to reassess – your social life is important, but your loved ones will still be there after Hyrox!

Two Weeks Out From Hyrox

Now is the time to really, really focus on your nutrition, if you haven’t already been.

Carbohydrate Intake

2-3 days before the event, consider slightly upping your carbohydrate intake to help build up glycogen stores for the day – also known as ‘carb-loading’. While doing this, focus on carbohydrates coming from ‘complex’ sources. This can help maintain blood glucose, which can help reduce stress on the body and improve sleep.

This can be especially helpful for more cardio-based activity, which features rather heavily in this year’s Hyrox event! 

What is carb loading?

It’s a nutritional strategy that involves consuming a higher amount of carbs than normal, to increase the glycogen stores in the body above its normal amount, so that there is more energy available on the day of the event.

Is it necessary?

Ultimately, it’s up to you. There are studies to show that it can be beneficial, but it is worth experimenting beforehand to see if it works well for you.

What should you eat?

If deciding to carb-load, opt for complex carbohydrates. These are what will keep your blood sugar stable, and can be stored in the body. Simple carbs are utilised almost immediately, and so will not be of much help at this stage!

Current Weight

Not applicable to all, but consider if you want to increase or drop your weight slightly to help with any events. If you do, will this compromise your training at all? For example, you want to slightly drop your weight to help with a rope climb. Will being in a slight calorie deficit compromise your strength and/or derail your training? If yes, it’s best to accept the extra weight, and focus on making that climb as smooth as possible.

Tapering

Consider tapering your training, but consult a coach on this beforehand!

What is tapering?

Tapering is a strategically planned recovery period that occurs after a heavy training block. It may be employed prior to an athletic competition or start of a competitive season.

What’s the Aim?

To maintain all physical adaptations of the training process. It also aims to eliminate any negative effects like fatigue or muscle soreness.

What’s the Desired Outcome?

If done effectively, you can expect performance to increase by 2-3%, which may be the difference between first and second place!

The big day is inching ever-closer…fear not, we’re on hand to support you both on the day of and after your event. Head over to our blog here to find out more. Good luck!

If you’re looking to free up some time from your busy training schedule, book a call with one of our all-knowing nutritionists to discuss this further. Have all the information you need but just don’t want to cook? Give one of our plans a go with £60 off your first 5 days with code BLOG60 – Start your trial here.

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Meghan Foulsham
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Published by Meghan Foulsham

Meghan's fascination with metabolism and the effect of diet on the body covered in her BSc Biochemistry, paired with being a passionate mental health advocate, led her to a Master's degree in Eating Disorders and Clinical Nutrition. Using this, Meghan works with clients to help them reach their goals in the most sustainable way, without sacrificing or risking their mental health.

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