RACE-WEEK FUEL
HYROX nutrition: what to eat in training and race week
What should I eat for HYROX, in training and in race week?
Short answer: In training, match carbohydrate to the day's load (about 3–5 g per kg on light days, 5–7 on moderate days, 6–10 on hard days) and keep protein at 1.4–2.0 g per kg. Typical finishing times are roughly 75–105 minutes of intermittent work, so most people do not need a marathon-style two-day carb load: eat 7–12 g of carbohydrate per kg over the 24 hours before, 1–4 g per kg 1–4 hours before your heat, 30–60 g per hour during the race if you want it, and 20–40 g of protein with carbohydrate afterwards. These are ACSM and ISSN guideline ranges.
Your numbers
Enter your body weight and expected finishing time. Everything is computed in your browser from published guideline ranges; nothing is sent or saved.
Enter a body weight between 35 and 200 kg (77–440 lb) and a finishing time such as 4:15.
For 70 kg:
- 1Fuel-up, 24 h before the start: 490–840 g of carbohydrate a day (7–12 g/kg). Plait's default: about 490 g a day (7 g/kg) for 1 day(s), never more than 1.8 times your usual plan. That is roughly 10 portions of 50 g (table below).
- 2Race-morning meal: 70–280 g of carbohydrate, 1–4 h before the start. Plait's default for your start: about 140 g (2 g/kg), 3 h before (around 07:00). For example:
- 1 × plain bagel (53 g)
- 1 × tbsp jam (14 g)
- 1 × banana (27 g)
- 1 × 250 ml glass of orange juice (26 g)
- 1 × tbsp honey (17 g)
- 3During the race: 30–60 g of carbohydrate per hour, about 45–90 g over your finishing time, from gels, chews or sports drink you have practised with.
- 4After: 20–40 g of protein and a carbohydrate-rich meal. If you train again within 8 h: 70–84 g of carbohydrate per hour for the first 4 h. The day after: about 350–490 g of carbohydrate.
Day by day: race week
| Day | What to eat |
|---|---|
| 6 days before | Usual meals Eat your usual training meals. Daily carbohydrate follows training load: about 3–5 g per kg on light days, 5–7 g on moderate days and 6–10 g on hard days of 1–3 hours. |
| 5 days before | Usual meals Usual meals. Keep protein steady at about 1.4–2.0 g per kg a day, spread over 3–5 meals. |
| 4 days before | Usual meals Usual meals. Rehearse race morning in a session: the same breakfast at the same time before training. |
| 3 days before | Usual meals Usual meals. Training is lighter, so you do not need extra food. |
| 2 days before | Usual meals Usual meals. Shop for familiar, low-fibre carbohydrate for tomorrow and race morning. |
| 1 day before | Fuel-up Fuel-up day: about 7–12 g of carbohydrate per kg over the 24 hours before (Plait's default: 7 g per kg). Lower-fibre swaps, a familiar dinner, no marathon-style two-day load. |
| Race day | Race day Race morning: 1–4 g of carbohydrate per kg 1–4 hours before your heat. During: 30–60 g per hour is the guideline for efforts over an hour; a sports drink or gel you have practised with between stations is enough. After: 20–40 g of protein with carbohydrate. |
| Day after | Recovery Recovery day: usual meals, carbohydrate around 5–7 g per kg, protein at your usual level. |
Training: eat for the day’s load
HYROX training mixes running, strength and conditioning, and the food that supports it follows the training load rather than the event name. The ACSM joint position gives daily carbohydrate ranges by load: light, about 3–5 g per kg; moderate (about 1 hour a day), 5–7 g; high (1–3 hours a day of moderate to high intensity), 6–10 g. Protein for people who train: 1.4–2.0 g per kg a day (ISSN), spread across the day.
The practical problem is that load changes from day to day. A double-session day can burn hundreds of calories more than a rest day; a fixed meal plan eats the same on both. That gap is what Plait Pro adjusts: each morning it compares yesterday's measured burn with the burn your plan is built for and changes today's carbohydrate and fat portions by 60% of the difference (differences under 150 kcal are ignored, at most 800 kcal a day, protein kept). Free accounts keep the weekly plan and see what Pro would change on big days.
What 50 g of carbohydrate looks like
| Food | Serving | Carbohydrate per serving | For about 50 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| cooked white rice | 150 g | 42 g | 175 g |
| cooked pasta | 150 g | 46 g | 160 g |
| boiled potato, no skin | 200 g | 40 g | 250 g |
| plain bagel | 1 bagel | 53 g | 0.9 × bagel |
| white bread | 1 slice | 15 g | 3.3 × slice |
| crisp rice cereal | 1 30 g bowl | 26 g | 1.9 × 30 g bowl |
| banana | 1 banana | 27 g | 1.9 × banana |
| orange juice | 1 250 ml glass | 26 g | 1.9 × 250 ml glass |
| jam | 1 tbsp | 14 g | 3.6 × tbsp |
| honey | 1 tbsp | 17 g | 2.9 × tbsp |
| raisins | 1 small handful (30 g) | 24 g | 2.1 × small handful (30 g) |
| rice cake | 1 rice cake | 7 g | 7.1 × rice cake |
| sports drink | 1 500 ml bottle | 32 g | 1.6 × 500 ml bottle |
HYROX: notes that affect fuelling
- A HYROX race is 8 × 1 km of running, each followed by a workout station. HYROX does not publish an official average; third-party estimates put typical Open finishes at roughly 1 h 15 min to 1 h 45 min.
- It is intermittent running and strength work, so Plait's race week treats HYROX like a 60–90 minute event whatever finishing time you enter: one fuel-up day at about 7 g of carbohydrate per kg, not a two-day marathon-style load.
- Heats start throughout the day. Time breakfast from your own heat, and keep a small carbohydrate snack for a long wait.
How race week works in Plait
Plait sets your daily calories from what your watch measured (WHOOP and Garmin; Apple Watch in beta) and builds a week of meals with weighed portions.
Tell the coach chat about your race: the type, the date, your start time and your expected finishing time. Code, not the AI, turns that into a day-by-day plan: fuel-up days, a timed race-morning meal and a recovery day, from the guideline ranges above or the grams per kg you choose.
Each day stays tied to your own plan: carbohydrate and calories at most 1.8 times your usual day on the last fuel-up day, protein kept, lower-fibre swaps the day before and on race day, and at most one starch per meal. A weight-loss plan is not turned into a 4,000-calorie day.
Free: create the event, see the whole day-by-day proposal and the countdown. Pro: the meals themselves change on those days (carbohydrate and fat portions; protein stays). Nothing changes until you apply it.
Plait only knows the training and races you tell it about. Watch calorie figures are estimates.
Get your race-week plan from your watch
Connect WHOOP or Garmin (Apple Watch in beta). Plait builds your weekly meals from what your watch measured, then lays race week on top.
Get your race-week plan from your watchRacing once? The Race Fuel Pass
$19 one time, for one race: your meals follow your training until race day, then the carb load, race morning and the recovery week. No subscription.
Get the Race Fuel PassQuestions
Do I need to carb load for HYROX?
Usually not marathon-style. HYROX is intermittent running and station work, and typical finishing times are roughly 75–105 minutes. The ACSM guideline for events under 90 minutes is 7–12 g of carbohydrate per kg over the 24 hours before; for longer efforts it is 36–48 hours at 10–12 g per kg. Plait's race week uses one fuel-up day at 7 g per kg for HYROX, whatever finishing time you enter; if your race takes well over 90 minutes, a sports dietitian can help you choose.
What should I eat before a HYROX race?
1–4 g of carbohydrate per kg, 1–4 hours before your heat: a familiar, low-fibre, lower-fat meal such as a bagel with jam and a banana, or rice with a little chicken. With an early heat, eat less, closer to the start.
Should I take a gel during HYROX?
For efforts over about an hour, guidelines suggest 30–60 g of carbohydrate per hour. Many people use a sports drink or one gel between stations; practise it in training first.
How much protein for HYROX training?
About 1.4–2.0 g per kg of body weight a day for people who train (ISSN), spread over 3–5 meals. The higher end suits heavy strength blocks or eating in a calorie deficit.
Is there a nutrition app for HYROX?
Plait builds weekly meals with weighed portions from what your WHOOP or Garmin measured (Apple Watch in beta), and its race week adds a fuel-up day, a timed race-morning meal and a recovery day. With Pro, today's portions also follow yesterday's training. Plait is independent and not affiliated with HYROX.
Sources
- Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2016;48(3):543–568 (ACSM joint position, Table 2). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Burke LM, Hawley JA, Wong SH, Jeukendrup AE. Carbohydrates for training and competition. J Sports Sci 2011;29 Suppl 1:S17–S27 (IOC consensus conference on nutrition for sport). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Kerksick CM et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: nutrient timing. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2017;14:33 (8–12 g/kg/day to maximize glycogen stores). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Jäger R et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2017;14:20 (1.4–2.0 g/kg/day). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- HYROX: official site (race format) hyrox.com
- Rundida: HYROX time calculator (no official average; typical Open ranges) rundida.com
Check the gap between your watch and a calorie formula
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