What started as an idea, Hyrox has today become the fastest growing fitness sport in the world. Hardly any new fitness sport has become popular as fast as Hyrox has become in the last few years. Its craze is being seen among the people in India also. However, after some recent incidents, there was controversy regarding this.
After the first incident, the Hyrox event in Bengaluru, a debate broke out on social media about this fitness sport. About 9,000 people took part in it. It is being claimed that this resulted in a potential earning of around Rs. 8.1 crores, the debate regarding this intensified. Another incident came to light from an event in Beijing, when an Australian athlete, Joanna Wietrzyk, fell ill during a race and unknowingly defecated in her clothes.
Let us tell you that the Hyrox format was started by German event organizer Christian Toetske, communication expert Michael Trautmann and former hockey player Moritz Fuerste. Let us tell you that Feuerste has been a part of the German hockey team that won gold medals in the Olympics in 2008 and 2012.
The idea of the trio was very simple, they had to create a game that was both a race and a gym strength test. Let us tell you that there are eight stages in this Hyrox, during which one has to run one kilometer each from one station to the other eight times. In each round, first one has to run 1 km, then exercises related to strength and stamina have to be done at a station.
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What did Moritz Fuerste tell?
In an exclusive interview with DW, Moritz Fuerste said, 'People either like to challenge themselves or compete with others, they like to take part in a game that also involves fighting their inner demons.' He said that humans have been doing this for centuries, Hyrox has simply molded it into a competition.
Those who started Hyrox believe that there are pre-defined games for different sports in the world but there was no big and fixed format for gym and fitness people in which they could try themselves. In simple language, sports like football, tennis and hockey have their own rules and competitions. For the people who work hard in the gym, there was no such global game in which they could get a chance to test their fitness in the form of competition.
Hyrox fills this gap. Its purpose is not only to look good or stay fit, but in this people can also see how fast they can run, how much weight they can lift and how long they can work continuously.
What is Hyrox in?
A total of 8 kilometers have to be run in Hyrox but the entire race is not done simultaneously. In this, first one has to run 1 kilometer and then do a fitness exercise. After this, one has to run again for 1 kilometer and then do another exercise. While doing this, one has to run 1 kilometer each and complete 8 different fitness exercises a total of 8 times.
For this, it is not enough to just run fast, but it is important to have both strength and stamina in the body. Moritz Fuerste says that people like to challenge themselves and compete with others. Hyrox puts this idea into a game.
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Trying to get a place in the Olympics
According to reports, the founders of Hyrox are now eyeing the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. Moritz Fuerste himself has won the Olympic gold medal twice. Now he wishes that Hyrox should also get a place on the Olympic stage where he had won the gold medal as a player.
Hyrox has now reached many countries of the world and there is a craze for it among the people. More than 10 lakh people are expected to participate in Hyrox events in the current season. This is no longer just a way of exercising in the gym. It is now taking the form of a big international fitness event.