HYROX vs XENOM: Which Fitness Competition Reigns Supreme?

Your members’ training goals might be changing. A new era of organized fitness competitions has arrived, and along with it, an unprecedented opportunity for you to grow your business. But if you’re like a lot of gym owners, you might be wondering, what’s the difference between HYROX vs XENOM? And where should you focus your efforts?

As members begin discovering these two new fitness competitions, you’ll probably start getting requests for training variations. Additionally, people who used to show up for class and go home are now doing accessory working, tracking their splits, and checking their calendars for the date of the next competition.

Your athletes are likely motivated by the emergence of these structured, globally recognized events where performance is measurable, and progress is trackable year over year. And as a gym owner, knowing the differences between HYROX and XENOM helps you meet demand.

HYROX has already proven the model. XENOM is building the next chapter for the CrossFit community and anyone serious about competitive fitness. This guide breaks down both, covering the format, rules, and training. Plus, the opportunities each one brings for you and your members.

Intro to HYROX: The World Series of Fitness Racing

HYROX is a standardized, mass participation fitness race focused on cardiovascular endurance. Events are held in major arenas worldwide and each race lasts approximately one to two hours.

The race format is consistent at every event, following this order:

• 1-kilometer run
• 1-kilometer SkiErg
• ​1-kilometer run
• 50-meter sled push
• ​1-kilometer run
• 50-meter sled pull
• ​1-kilometer run
• 80-meter burpee broad jumps
• ​1-kilometer run
• 1-kilometer row
• ​1-kilometer run
• 200-meter farmers carry
• ​1-kilometer run
• 100-meter sandbag lunges
• ​1-kilometer run
• 100x wall balls

Scoring is based on total time, with divisions to accommodate every fitness level. Divisions include Open, Pro, Doubles, Relay, and Age Group.

HYROX is expecting 1.5 million participants globally in 2026, based on recent interviews and industry estimates for the 2025/26 season, with sources putting 2025 at 650,000 athletes. The “World Series of Racing” has brought together a large, global community with extensive affiliate support and sponsorship from major brands such as Red Bull.

For gym owners considering HYROX vs XENOM, that energy translates directly to a growth opportunity. In fact, Two-Brain Business founder Chris Cooper called HYROX “the biggest opportunity for coaching gym owners that we’ve seen in a long time.” And the numbers back it up. Gyms in the Two-Brain community have generated $12,500 a month in HYROX revenue, and one owner added $100,000 in annual revenue by adding two HYROX sessions to her weekly schedule.

New to HYROX? Check out our HYROX guide for beginners.

Thinking about adding HYROX to your gym? See our HYROX guide for gym owners.

Intro to XENOM: The Decathlon of Fitness

If HYROX brought structure to fitness racing, XENOM is doing the same for competitive fitness, specifically for the CrossFit community, which has always trained for both strength and endurance, and “the unknown and the unknowable.”

XENOM is the Decathlon of Fitness, a global competition measuring 10 fixed athletic events across two full days. XENOM holds a CrossFit Partner Event Series License with CrossFit, LLC, making it an officially licensed event.

The Story Behind XENOM

Keith Barlow, a CrossFit Level 2-certified coach, is the founder of XENOM. Barlow spent about a decade in the fitness industry, including co-owning Fittest PR. During that time, he watched many competitions come and go. He watched HYROX scale from small venues to stadiums, crossing one million participants in a single season and climbing past 15,000 affiliated gyms.

Standing inside those HYROX events, Barlow had a lightbulb moment. HYROX only tests narrow elements of fitness, covering endurance and low-skill functional work. But it’s not suited for athletes who’ve spent years building strength, gymnastics, and conditioning. And with that HYROX vs XENOM thought process, he launched XENOM in February 2026 with $15 million in seed funding.

Barlow framed the distinction plainly in his appearance on the CoffeePods and Wods Podcast: “If HYROX is the marathon of fitness, this is the Ironman.”

How XENOM Events Work

Instead of a single continuous race against the clock like HYROX, XENOM athletes compete in ten individual events over two days. Athletes can register as individuals or Same-Sex Pairs, with scheduled rest between events.

​XENOM competitions host 2,000 athletes across three divisions:

• Elite invite-only, representing world-class performance at the highest standards
• RX for experienced athletes comfortable with ring muscle-ups, kipping handstand push-ups, and heavier barbell loads
• Compete division scaled movements and lighter loads, open to all

​The scoring system is the Elite Performance Index (EPI), inspired by the track-and-field decathlon scoring system and built on the same mathematical framework used to score the Olympic decathlon since 1984.

Each event is scored against a 1,000-point elite benchmark per division. Athletes earn points based on how close they come to that benchmark, and it is possible to score above 1,000 on any event if they surpass the standard. Scores across all 10 events combine to form the EPI, which places each athlete on a global leaderboard, filterable by division, age, gender, and region.

Because of this, athletes can compare scores across events, cities, and seasons.

The 10 XENOM Events

1. 1RM Snatch (Event 001): Each athlete has nine minutes to establish a one-rep max snatch, with four attempts at 90-second intervals.
2. Ascending Ladder: Wall Walks + Rope Climbs AMRAP (Event 002): Athletes work through an ascending ladder of wall walks and rope climbs for max reps within an eight-minute time cap.
3. 60-Second Max Cal Echo Bike (Event 003): Athletes push for maximum calories on the Echo Bike in 60 seconds.
4. Barbell Cycling (Event 004): Athletes complete a barbell cycling workout combining speed, technique, and conditioning under load. Specific loading and movement standards vary by division.
5. 2K Echo Ski + 3K Run (Event 005): Athletes complete 2,000 kilometers on the Echo SkiErg followed immediately by a 3,000-kilometer run, with no time cap.
6. T2B, DB Hang Snatch, Muscle-Ups (Event 006): Athletes work through a gymnastics-heavy sprint combining toes to bar, dumbbell hang snatches, and muscle-ups.
7. 5RM Rhino Pull (Event 007): Athletes establish a 5-rep max on the Rhino Pull, a competition-grade machine purpose-built for XENOM by Rogue Fitness.
8. AMREP: Burpees, Echo Ski, Echo Bike (Event 008): Athletes rotate through two rounds of burpees, the Echo Ski, and the Echo Bike, followed by as many reps of max lateral burpees over line as possible in the 12-minute window.
9. Heavy Clean Ladder (Event 009): Athletes work through a progressively heavier barbell clean ladder.
10. HSPU, Chest-to-Bar Pull-Ups, DB Lunge (Event 010): Handstand push-ups, chest-to-bar pull-ups, and dumbbell lunges with a 12-minute time cap.

HYROX vs XENOM: Key Differences in Competitive Fitness

Programming for HYROX vs XENOM

​When it comes to gym programming, HYROX demands continuous endurance work and transition efficiency. XENOM requires athletes to repeatedly peak under very different physical demands over two full days. Both require deliberate, structured preparation. Members who are training for either event will push your programming in ways that benefit your whole gym.

HYROX athletes spend roughly half the race running. Strong aerobic capacity and muscular endurance drive performance. Therefore, programming should reflect that with long runs, high-volume functional movements, and sustained pacing as the foundation.

XENOM needs a broader training stimulus. The event list spans maximal strength (1RM Snatch, 5RM Rhino Pull, Heavy Clean Ladder), gymnastics (wall walks, rope climbs, muscle-ups, handstand push-ups, toes to bar, chest-to-bar), and aerobic conditioning (Echo Ski, Echo Bike, 3K run). The good news is that the CrossFit community already has the training base for this.

How HYROX vs XENOM Could Benefit Your Gym

John Singleton, founder of The Progrm and HYROX’s official programming partner, has observed the broader shift firsthand. “To survive and indeed grow their businesses, many gym owners in Europe are now building hybrid brands where they can use their own premises, their existing equipment, their coaching experience, and tap into the new fitness competitions,” he said. XENOM fits squarely into that evolution for the CrossFit side of the market.

Many facilities run HYROX simulation events to pressure-test their training. The same approach could work for XENOM preparation.

​If you run a CrossFit affiliate or bootcamp gym, most of what you already do will likely carry over to both HYROX and XENOM. The equipment and coaching knowledge is already there, and your community is probably hungry for a structured competitive outlet.

When members have an upcoming event to train for, they tend to show up more consistently and stay in your gym longer. Exploring growth opportunities through official partnerships and structured programming helps you serve both types of competitors well.

Wodify Is Here to Help

Gym owners use Wodify to manage specialized training tracks and scale gym operations without adding administrative overhead. Coaches can deliver targeted programming directly to athletes through the platform.

Members use the Wodify Branded App to book classes and view workouts. Gym owners can access the Wodify Workout Marketplace for programming, including our HYROX365 partnership, which offers official HYROX preparation workouts.

Centralized scheduling and tracking, paired with best-in-class group fitness software, keep athletes focused on the work rather than the admin. Dedicated HYROX gym software can centralize performance insights alongside training data.

Thinking about adding HYROX vs XENOM to your gym? Meet with a product expert who can tailor the right Wodify plan for your facility.

FAQs

Is HYROX just CrossFit rebranded?

No. HYROX and CrossFit differ significantly in format and purpose.

HYROX is a mass-participation fitness race featuring eight 1-kilometer runs, alternating with functional stations that use standardized, lower-skill movements such as SkiErg and burpee broad jumps. Scoring is time-based, making it accessible to a wide range of fitness levels, including those new to CrossFit.

CrossFit, by contrast, is a training methodology with constantly varied, high-intensity functional movements, including technical gymnastics and heavy Olympic lifts. Its competitions, like the CrossFit Games, change workouts annually and emphasize unpredictability. HYROX focuses on consistency and repeatability, while CrossFit competitions highlight the unknown and adaptability.

Is there an alternative to HYROX?

Yes, XENOM is a great alternative to HYROX for competitive athletes seeking a broader test of fitness. HYROX focuses on cardiovascular endurance through a standardized, time-based race featuring lower-skill movements. XENOM offers a two-day, 10-event decathlon designed to measure maximal strength, gymnastics, and aerobic capacity. Its Elite Performance Index (EPI) scoring system provides a repeatable global benchmark, allowing athletes to track progress across seasons.

What Is XENOM Competition?

XENOM is the Decathlon of Fitness, a global stadium-scale competition where 2,000 athletes compete in 10 fixed events over two days. XENOM officially launched in February 2026 by Keith Barlow and is licensed by CrossFit, LLC. It tests maximal strength, gymnastics skills, and aerobic conditioning through standardized events like 1RM Snatch, muscle-ups, and Echo Bike sprints.

Athletes compete in three divisions—Elite (invite-only), RX (advanced), and Compete (scaled)—as individuals or Same Sex Pairs. Scoring uses the Elite Performance Index (EPI). Points are awarded based on performance relative to a 1,000-point elite benchmark. This allowes consistent global ranking and year-over-year progress tracking.

Is XENOM part of CrossFit?

XENOM is not a CrossFit product, but it is built for CrossFit athletes. It operates under a CrossFit Partner Event Series License from CrossFit, LLC. XENOM’s 10 events are designed to test what CrossFit training develops: maximal strength across barbell movements (snatch, clean, barbell cycling), gymnastics proficiency (muscle-ups, wall walks, rope climbs, handstand push-ups), and metabolic conditioning (Echo Bike, Echo Ski, running). It is a standardized global competition for the competitive CrossFit community. XENOM gives athletes a fixed format, consistent scoring system, and repeatable global benchmark in elite venues.

What equipment and space does HYROX vs. XENOM require?

XENOM requires a large stadium venue equipped with specialized gear from Rogue Fitness. Examples include barbells, pull-up rigs, Echo Bikes, Echo Ski machines, rope climbs, wall-walk surfaces, and the Rhino Pull machine. The two-day competition features dedicated event floors, athlete camps, and recovery zones.

In contrast, HYROX uses simpler equipment like Concept2 SkiErgs and RowErgs, sleds, wall balls, sandbags, and pull-up bars.

What Are the Costs for Competing in HYROX vs XENOM?

​HYROX entry fees vary by city and division, but typically range from $80 to $200 per athlete. Many standard Singles entries land in the $100–$160 range, while premium markets like New York reach $185+.

Early bird individual tickets for XENOM Dallas 2026 are $500. Same-sex Pairs tickets are $450 per person. Spectator tickets are $25. Tickets went on sale on March 16, 2026, following a ballot period in which 250 free competition spots were made available to early applicants. Pricing for London 2026 (August 29-30, at Olympia London) and subsequent Season 001 events has not yet been announced.