ATHX, the adidas-backed hybrid fitness competition, is rising fast and some already see it replacing HYROX. Format, numbers, philosophies: we compare the two and answer the real question.
Hybrid fitness has become the fastest-growing sport in the world. At the top of that wave, one name has taken over everywhere: HYROX. But for a few months now, a challenger has been making serious noise, backed by a heavyweight, adidas. Its name: ATHX. On social media, some are already calling it the "next HYROX". So, simple rival or future replacement? We compared the two, numbers in hand.
What exactly is ATHX?
ATHX (pronounced "ATH-X") is a hybrid fitness competition born in the United Kingdom in 2023, founded by Mark Hartnett Morgan. Where HYROX bets on pure endurance, ATHX aims to test a more complete athlete, blending CrossFit strength with an endurance engine.
Its format is its big original idea. Instead of a single continuous race, ATHX runs across six successive zones, over roughly 2 hours 30:
- Warm Up (30 min): structured warm-up
- Strength (20 min): a real strength test with a 1RM strict press, 3RM back squat and 5RM deadlift
- Refuel (10 min): hydration and recovery break
- Endurance (30 min): an alternating run and row block
- Recovery (30 min): active recovery
- MetCon X (30 min): an explosive finale (SkiErg, ground-to-overhead, sandbag carries, box jumps, lunges, burpees)
Three pillars, then: strength, endurance and metabolic conditioning. The competition is raced at three levels (Lite, standard, Pro) and solo or in pairs. Crucially, the tests stay identical all season, so athletes can compare their performances from one stop to the next.
ATHX vs HYROX: two philosophies of fitness
The fundamental difference comes down to one word: structure. HYROX is a continuous race that offers no respite. Eight kilometres of running, split into eight one-kilometre segments, each followed by a functional station, from the first to the last metre with no real break. It is a test of endurance, pacing and mental resilience.
ATHX, on the other hand, breaks performance into distinct phases, with built-in recovery time. You can empty the tank on the strength test, catch your breath, then go again on the endurance block. The profile it rewards is not the same.
| HYROX | ATHX | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Continuous race (8 runs + 8 stations) | 6 successive zones with recovery |
| Duration | 1h15 to 1h40 | Around 2h30 |
| Dominant quality | Endurance and pacing | Strength, endurance and conditioning |
| Favoured profile | Runners, big aerobic engine | Well-rounded, CrossFit-leaning |
| Launch | 2017, Germany | 2023, United Kingdom |
Miles Canning, of equipment maker BLK BOX, sums up the nuance well: HYROX is a brilliant test of endurance and mental resilience in a race environment, while ATHX offers a more complete test of physical condition. Two different exercises, two ways to measure what "being fit" really means.
The real question: can ATHX replace HYROX?
This is where the debate gets interesting, and where the numbers put things in perspective. Because the gap in scale between the two is, today, staggering.
HYROX is a juggernaut. In the 2025 season alone, the competition gathered more than 550,000 athletes across over 80 races, in more than 30 countries. Cumulatively, we are now talking about close to a million participants a year. From 650 racers in Hamburg in 2017, HYROX has become a global mass phenomenon in under a decade.
ATHX is still in its early days. The 2025 season brought together roughly 6,000 athletes across six competitions. Promising, but on a completely different scale from its elder. In other words, as things stand, ATHX is not "replacing" HYROX, it is playing in a different size category.
But underestimating it would be a mistake. The trajectory is steep: ATHX is targeting more than 40,000 competitors in 2026, Google searches in the UK jumped 219 % in a month, and above all, the brand has just set foot in the United States with a first event in Miami Beach (21-22 March 2026), pulling in CrossFit stars like Laura Horvath and Danielle Brandon. With adidas behind it and a hybrid fitness market in full boom (another player, Xenom, raised 15 million dollars), ATHX clearly has the means to match its ambitions.
HYROX's great asset, however, remains its original strength: repeatability. The format is identical everywhere in the world, which lets you compare your time with any athlete on the planet and feeds global rankings. That simplicity is what fuelled its explosion, and it will not disappear overnight.
Two formats, two audiences, and that is good news
Ultimately, the question "which one will replace the other" may be the wrong one. HYROX and ATHX do not quite speak to the same profiles. HYROX appeals to runners, to those who love consistency and pacing over the long haul. ATHX draws athletes from strength and CrossFit backgrounds, who want to prove their versatility.
Most analysts, in fact, talk not about replacement but complementarity. Nothing stops you from preparing for both in a single season by periodising your training. And the real winner of this rivalry is hybrid fitness itself, which gains visibility and pushes each format to reinvent itself.
HYROX or ATHX: which one to choose?
If you are starting out and hesitating, here is a simple compass:
- You love running, cardio and consistency over time? HYROX is for you, and it is available almost everywhere.
- You prefer lifting heavy, varied movements and a CrossFit atmosphere? ATHX will speak to you, if a stop comes near you.
The best advice is still to start with the format that matches your strengths so you enjoy it, then go and test the other. Both will make you a more complete athlete.
The bottom line
So, is ATHX going to replace HYROX? In the short term, no: the gap in size is simply too large. But ATHX is a serious, ambitious and well-funded challenger, sitting in a slightly different niche and growing fast. Rather than a fight to the death, it is above all a sign that hybrid fitness is becoming one of the great sporting disciplines of the decade.
At ROXWALL, we were born with HYROX. If you finish a race, your finisher patch deserves better than a drawer: we make personalised hexagonal frames in France with your name, your time and your colours. To go further, also read why HYROX has become the most spectacular fitness competition.
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