If you read an ATHX / Hyrox comparison written in 2026, half of it is out of date.
ATHX changed its three scored events for 2027. The rower left Endurance, the strict press left Strength, and Metcon X was rebuilt. Hyrox didn't touch its structure.
The result: the two formats look less alike than they used to, and choosing between them has become clearer.
What each format asks for in 2027
| — | HYROX | ATHX 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | ~1 h 30 | 2 h 30 |
| Structure | continuous, 8 runs + 8 stations | zonal, 6 zones, 3 scored |
| Score | one total time | sum of placings across 3 events |
| Rest | none | Refuel 10 min + Recovery 30 min |
| Maximal strength tested | no | yes — three timed lifts |
| Dominant machine | sled | SkiErg |
| Deciding quality | specific endurance | versatility |
The fundamental difference hasn't changed: Hyrox is a race, ATHX is a triathlon of physical qualities. But 2027 sharpened it.
What moved on the ATHX side
Three changes, all pushing the format toward more technical demand.
Strength moves to imposed windows. 1RM Shoulder to Overhead from 0 to 5 min, 2RM Back Squat from 5 to 10, 3RM Deadlift after that. You no longer manage your own time across the three bars: each lift has its slot, and a miss can't be recovered.
Endurance swaps the rower for the SkiErg, and changes its logic. It's no longer an alternation: it's a set run (3 km individual) followed by max-distance SkiErg on the remaining time, inside a 24-minute cap. The run scores nothing — it spends your skiing time.
Metcon X changes six movements out of seven. In come the dumbbell bench press, sandbag squats and burpees over a soft bench. Out go box jumps, dumbbell lunges and burpee broad jumps.
⇒ Shoulder to overhead and dumbbell bench press pull ATHX toward weightlifting and functional bodybuilding. It moves away from running.
What hasn't moved on the Hyrox side
Hyrox remains what it is: eight kilometres of running broken up by eight stations, no pause, one clock at the end.
Sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmers carry, sandbag lunges, wall balls. The format is stable, and that's its strength: an athlete can work the same skills for three seasons.
It's also its limit if you want variety — but that isn't a flaw, it's a position.
The two profiles, 2027 edition
ATHX 2027 rewards
- An enduring upper body. Heavy shoulder to overhead, then thirty dumbbell bench press at the end of the Metcon: that's new, and it separates people.
- The ability to manage a trade-off. The Endurance buy-in forces a choice between speed and freshness, with no universal right answer.
- Absolute strength on three bars, more than ever now that the windows are short.
- Recovery between blocks. Seventy minutes of unscored zones is time to exploit, not rest.
Hyrox rewards
- Long pacing. Holding a speed over 90 minutes without blowing up after the fourth station.
- Sled-specific endurance. Six to eight minutes of effort that only Hyrox really trains.
- Consistency on long sets. A hundred wall balls in a row isn't a strength problem.
- Tolerance of continuous effort, with no reset window.
Which one to pick
The question isn't which is harder. Both are, differently.
Pick ATHX if you come from the gym, have a real strength base, and the idea of a max over your head in front of a judge doesn't put you off. The 2027 format favours that profile more than ever.
Pick Hyrox if you come from running or triathlon, your aerobic engine is your asset, and you prefer a continuous effort to a fragmented competition.
⚠️ And don't prepare both in the same season if you're chasing performance. The dominant qualities compete: high aerobic volume caps your strength gains, and a heavy strength block eats into your aerobic base. For participation it's fine. For a podium, choose.
How to find out where you stand
There's a simple way to decide: measure yourself on both and look at the gap.
For ATHX, the three events are fixed and public for the whole season. You can test each block separately, get a clean number, and compare it to your category's target. No other hybrid format allows that — Hyrox being a timed race, you can't isolate a quality inside it.
That's what the ATmetrYX simulator does: you enter your numbers, it places you against your category's threshold.
And if you decide to prepare for an ATHX, the measuring doesn't stop at the initial test. The ATmetrYX Garmin app records each session pillar by pillar, and the cockpit stacks them: what you read after six weeks is no longer a number, it's a trajectory. A pillar that progresses gets maintained; the one that drags becomes the next block's priority.
In short
Hyrox didn't move. ATHX rebuilt its three events, and in a specific direction: more technique under the bar, more upper-body endurance, a new pacing trade-off on Endurance.
If you were hesitating because the two looked alike, 2027 just decided for you: they look less alike than they used to.