Hyrox Race Week Nutrition and Supplements: What to Take and What to Skip

For races expected to take 75 minutes or longer, increase carbohydrate intake by 20 to 30 percent on the two to three days before race day. Prioritise easy-to-digest sources: white rice, pasta, white bread, bananas, and sports drinks. Reduce fibre intake from Thursday onward to minimise GI risk on race day — cut back on vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.

Race morning: eat 2 to 3 hours before your wave. A practical race morning meal is 80g of oats with banana and honey, or 3 to 4 slices of white toast with peanut butter and jam. Both provide 4 to 6 hours of sustained energy and sit lightly. See also our Hyrox nutrition strategy guide for the full protocol.

Caffeine is one of the most evidence-backed performance supplements. For Hyrox: 3mg per kg bodyweight, 45 to 60 minutes before wave start. For a 75 kg athlete, that is approximately 225mg — roughly 2 espressos or a strong pre-workout dose.

Only use caffeine on race day if you use it consistently in training. Do not debut a high caffeine dose on race morning. GI sensitivity varies significantly between athletes and becomes more pronounced under race-intensity effort.

Creatine monohydrate increases phosphocreatine availability, which supports the high-intensity repeated efforts in Hyrox station work. The evidence for functional fitness performance is strong. 5g daily is the effective dose — no loading phase required at this level, though full saturation takes 3 to 4 weeks at 5g/day.

Thorne Creatine Monohydrate is NSF Certified for Sport — third-party tested for prohibited substances, which matters for competitive athletes. Continue creatine through race week; do not start it for the first time in race week.

Pre-race sodium loading is relevant for athletes who sweat heavily or are competing in hot venue conditions. Precision Hydration PH 1500 sachets (1500mg sodium per litre equivalent) are the standard product for athletes with high sodium loss. Mix in 500ml of water and drink 60 to 90 minutes before your wave.

For athletes competing in moderate conditions who do not sweat heavily, normal diet sodium is adequate for a 60 to 90-minute race. You do not need to supplement electrolytes beyond your normal intake for most standard Hyrox conditions.

Race week is not the time to increase protein intake — that work happens in the training block. Continue your normal protein intake (1.6 to 2g per kg bodyweight daily) through race week. Post-race recovery: get 30 to 40g of high-quality protein within 30 minutes of finishing. Momentous Whey and similar NSF-certified products are practical choices for post-race use in race venues where food quality is unpredictable.

Do not take any supplement on race day for the first time. Do not experiment with new pre-workouts, beet juice, or beta-alanine in race week. Avoid high-fat meals the night before — they slow gastric emptying. Avoid alcohol in race week, not just the night before. Avoid over-hydrating on race morning — drinking excessive water dilutes sodium levels.

The highest-return race week nutrition actions are: carb load for two to three days before the race, dose caffeine at 3mg/kg 45 minutes before your wave, and continue creatine if you are already using it. Everything else is marginal. Do not change your normal routine in race week — consistency is the most important variable.