What is ATHX?
The ATHX Games is the fastest-growing hybrid fitness competition, blending CrossFit-style strength with HYROX-style endurance. Learn about the 2026 season, workouts, athletes and how to compete.
The ATHX Games is the fastest-growing hybrid fitness competition, blending CrossFit-style strength with HYROX-style endurance. Learn about the 2026 season, workouts, athletes and how to compete.
As the line between CrossFit, functional fitness and hybrid sports becomes increasingly unclear, The ATHX Games, which started in the UK in 2023, gained serious momentum in 2025 as another option for a proving ground to test fitness and performance.
What it is: The ATHX Games is a hybrid fitness competition that combines strength, endurance, speed and functional fitness across three events that are completed in a 2.5-hour window.
2025 was the first year the ATHX Games expanded to other countries in Europe, and it was the first year it led to a championship.
Nearly 6,000 athletes took part in ATHX’s six competitions that made up the 2025 season, which ran from January until the finals in December.
Backed by Adidas, the 2025 ATHX season drew elite CrossFit Games athletes, including Chandler Smith, Lucy McGonigle, James Sprague, Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson, Ella Wilkinson, Jennifer Muir and Ty Jenkins, as well as Elite 15 HYROX athletes, such as Graham Halliday and Jana Lebenstedt.
The momentum the ATHX Games gained in 2025 has only carried into 2026, as more Games athletes— including Emily Rolfe, Sydney Wells and Nick Mathew—competed at the first US-based event in March, 2026 in Miami Beach, Florida.
Worth Noting: While ATHX does draw plenty of elite athletes, it’s designed for athletes of all levels, as there are multiple divisions—pro, individual, pairs and age-group—all of which include challenges from barbell lifting, to cardio machines, various functional movements, as well as tactical workouts designed to test both power and endurance.
The 2026 season includes 14 events in Europe and four in the US. As mentioned, the first US-based event took place in Miami in March, and three more locations and dates are yet to be revealed.
The World Finals are set to be held in Lisbon, Portugal in November.
What sets ATHX apart from any other functional fitness competition or hybrid race is that the three workouts remain consistent throughout the season, and all three tests are completed in a two-and-a-half hour window. That being said, workouts change from year-to-year to embrace the varied hybrid fitness style of training.
The flow of an ATHX event is as follows:
Warm-Up Zone (30 mins): Prior to the competition, athletes go through a structured warm-up to elevate their heart rates and prepare their muscles and joints for the three tests.
Strength Zone (20 minutes): Athletes go through the first test of the competition, a strength test, which changes from year-to-year, but remains the same for the entire season.
Refuel Zone (10 mins): Athletes have 10 minutes to reset, hydrate, stretch and recover.
Endurance Zone (30 minutes): Athletes take on the second test of the event, an endurance-focused event that rewards engine, pacing and mental toughness.
Recovery Zone (30 minutes): Again, athletes have the chance to regroup and recover and mentally prepare for the final test.
Metcon X Zone (30 minutes): Athletes undertake the final test of the competition, a high-intensity functional fitness workout that combines strength and conditioning.
Athletes have six minutes to establish a one-rep max stick press, followed by six minutes to establish a 3-rep max back squat, and eight minutes to establish a 5-rep max deadlift.
The score is the total weight lifted by the individual.
View the pairs version of the workout here.
Athletes have 22 minutes to accumulate max distance of running and rowing, switching between movements every 750 meters for individuals, and every kilometer for pros.
View the pairs version of the workout here.
Athletes have 25 minutes to complete:
The weights:
Ground to overhead: 20/12.5 kg for individuals, 22.5/15 kg for pros
Sandbag carry: 50/30 kg for individuals, 70/40kg for pros
Box Jump overs: 24/20 inches for individuals, 30/24 inches for pros
View the pairs version of the workout here.
For exact movement standards and demo videos, check out the ATHX Games website.
ATHX is designed for anyone who trains hard, enjoys a challenge, and values performance, the goal being to bridge the gap between CrossFit and HYROX to discover the best true hybrid athletes.
Inexperienced beginners can team up for an easier option, everyday lifestyle gym goers will feel comfortable with the movements and equipment, and high level HYROX and CrossFit athletes can use it to showcase the elite fitness they have built.
Ultimately, ATHX is an inclusive fitness experience that offers something valuable to people of all fitness levels, and adds to the growing fitness competition and racing options available today.
Emily Beers is a fitness writer and journalist with more than 15 years of experience in the industry, including six years as a senior writer for the Morning Chalk Up, a position she still holds. Emily also spent a decade-and-a-half coaching CrossFit, and competed at the CrossFit Games twice with a team and once as an individual.
