ZHEJIANG, East China \u2014 Wang Hui, a 68-year-old from Beijing, used to avoid intense exercise whenever possible. The retiree\u2019s fitness regime mostly consisted of the odd brisk walk, and maybe a few leg raises at home.<\/p>\n
But that suddenly changed a few months ago, when her daughter informed her she\u2019d signed Wang up for a Hyrox race.<\/p>\n
The fitness craze, which originated in Germany a few years ago, is not for the faint of heart: participants must complete eight 1-kilometer runs, each followed by a set of strength exercises ranging from lunges to pushing a heavy sled.<\/p>\n
Curious and keen to connect with her daughter \u2014 a long-time fitness enthusiast \u2014 Wang threw herself into training, building up from 1-kilometer jogs to 8-kilometer runs in just two months.<\/p>\n
Then, one day in July, Wang found herself walking alongside her daughter into a cavernous expo center in the eastern city of Hangzhou packed with more than 6,000 competitors and 7,000 cheering spectators.<\/p>\n
As she stood under the pulsing strobe lights, ears throbbing from the pumping bass, Wang could not have felt more out of her comfort zone. But she suspects that was her daughter\u2019s intention all along.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter keeps surprising me,\u201d she told Sixth Tone after completing the event in July. \u201cShe shows me, \u2018I can still do this,\u2019 \u2018I can still do that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Wang is far from alone. As Hyrox explodes in popularity across China, the races have unexpectedly begun to attract an ever greater number of retirees \u2014 many of them competing in their first event well after turning 70.<\/p>\n
For some, the races represent a fresh challenge or an excuse to get fit. For others, like Wang, they offer a chance to reconnect with adult children for whom Hyrox has become a new obsession.<\/p>\n
Even by global standards, Hyrox has taken off in China at astonishing speed. The first official Chinese Hyrox race took place as recently as 2024, with 1,700 fitness enthusiasts competing in a hall in Beijing.<\/p>\n
Now, events are held all over the country, with early-bird registration often selling out within minutes despite costing up to 800 yuan ($125) for an individual entry fee \u2014 more than three times the entry fee for a typical marathon in China. At a recent race in Shanghai, over 10,000 people took part.<\/p>\n
As elsewhere, Hyrox fans in China tend to be young, middle-class, and super-fit. Local races are filled with ripped 20- and 30-somethings working in competitive industries such as finance and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
On Chinese social media, Hyrox\u2019s appeal to such high-fliers has become a running joke. Users often quip that the sport taps into a deep Chinese love for hard work and standardized tests. Some even liken Hyrox training to preparing for the gaokao, China\u2019s grueling college entrance exams.<\/p>\n
But the sport also has a more inclusive side. At some events, participants can sign up in teams of two or more \u2014 allowing them to divide the workload \u2014 and the lack of cut-off time means slower competitors can complete the race.<\/p>\n
That has opened the door to a growing number of elderly contenders. Online, there has been a wave of social media posts in recent months from Chinese millennials sharing their experiences of entering Hyrox races alongside their aging parents, many of them attracting thousands of likes.<\/p>\n
Wang\u2019s daughter, Xie Shanshan, is part of that trend. Now in her 40s, she took up running years ago while living and working in Beijing \u2014 competing in several half-marathons \u2014 before pivoting to Hyrox as the sport began to gain traction.<\/p>\n
For Xie, the hope was that competing in the team event with her mother would give them a shared experience. But she also aimed to give Wang \u2014 who has been retired for years \u2014 a healthy jolt.<\/p>\n
And she appears to have succeeded. After the initial shock wore off, Wang fully committed to the training and finished the Hangzhou race, with Xie reminding her to pace herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t go at 100% effort,\u201d Wang said. \u201cMy daughter kept saying, \u2018Steady, steady, it\u2019s about the taking part, not speed.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked whether it\u2019s a good idea for seniors to participate in such high-intensity sports, Wang said it was easy to fall into a rut after retirement, spending all day scrolling social media or watching TV.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if you can step out and join social activities with younger people, your thinking and values get reenergized,\u201d she said. \u201cThe real appeal lies in connecting with the younger generation, adding vitality to life, and broadening horizons.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other child-parent teams competing in Hangzhou shared similar experiences. Yu Lian, a 45-year-old CrossFit enthusiast, had been training for nearly a decade and had already run solo in two Hyrox races.<\/p>\n
But after seeing online that some of her favorite fitness influencers had brought their parents along to Hyrox events, she decided to ask her 74-year-old father to join her at her next race.<\/p>\n
According to Yu, he immediately replied: \u201cJust tell me what to do, and I\u2019ll do it. I walk so much every day. I\u2019m already the number one in our neighborhood!\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Yu had emphasized \u201csafety first,\u201d her father took the training unexpectedly seriously. For nearly two months, he took brisk walks outside several times a week, and ended up losing 5 kilograms.<\/p>\n
On race day, it was a similar story. Yu\u2019s plan was to do all the strength exercises herself, while her father walked alongside her. But he ended up getting far more involved than she had expected.<\/p>\n
After each kilometer run, she found him already waiting for her at the work station, arm outstretched, ready to pull her forward. In the final event \u2014 the \u201cwall ball,\u201d where competitors have to throw a heavy medicine ball against a wall \u2014 her father, fueled by the crowd\u2019s energy, grabbed a ball and nailed the target on the second attempt.<\/p>\n
For Yu, the race came to feel like an important bonding experience. Growing up, her relationship with her father had always been reserved \u2014 love was expressed through deeds, not words, she recalled.<\/p>\n
The term \u201cparent-child bonding\u201d usually conjures up images of young families with small children, but Yu said she felt that older generations \u2014 those in their 40s and 70s \u2014 needed it just as much.<\/p>\n
\u201cInteractions between adult children and aging parents are often limited,\u201d Yu said. \u201cParticipation in the race is a meaningful way to foster various types of connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet, for all its emotional benefits, Hyrox can be a dangerous activity \u2014 especially for a beginner in their 60s or 70s. Li Cong, a functional training, pilates, and sports rehabilitation instructor in Shanghai, warned the sport presented a high injury risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter running, the small stabilizing muscles around our joints fatigue,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen we then do weighted sled pushes or kettlebell exercises, the lower back and knees are forced to compensate and bear all the weight. When your form breaks down under fatigue, the injury rate is much higher than if you trained running and strength separately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sun Yang, a senior rehabilitation therapist in the sports medicine department at Shanghai\u2019s Huashan Hospital, echoed those concerns. A Hyrox devotee herself, she approaches training with caution.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stop and rest for a few days if I feel any discomfort,\u201d Sun said. \u201cI don\u2019t allow myself to continue exercising while overtired or in pain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wang Zheng \u2014 no relation to Wang Hui \u2014 thought long and hard before inviting his mother to form a Hyrox team with him.<\/p>\n
As a 32-year-old fitness professional, Wang Zheng had already competed in 22 Hyrox events, and he was keen to bring his mother, Ma Jing, into his world. But he also knew that the traditional, hardcore format wasn\u2019t a fit for everyone.<\/p>\n
Luckily, the mixed-doubles category offered a solution. \u201cIn mixed doubles, I can take on 90% of the workload, and there is no cut-off time at the venue. That meant I could finally bring my mom along to play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ma, a 65-year-old retiree living in eastern China\u2019s Shandong province, was initially apprehensive when her son suggested entering a race together. \u201cI was actually a bit scared, afraid of embarrassing him,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n
But her fear soon gave way to a deeper motivation. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be a burden to my son as I get older, and the first step is to stay healthy,\u201d Ma said. \u201cSo I thought, let me challenge myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The training ended up having a profound impact on Ma. She moved in with her son in the southern city of Shenzhen months before the race so that they could prepare together, and watching his tough routine gave her a new understanding of his commitment.<\/p>\n
His dedication also inspired Ma to take her own training seriously. In November, the pair completed the race in Shanghai in 100 minutes, with Ma\u2019s performance surpassing her son\u2019s expectations. The atmosphere even motivated her to take on several exercises that she had never tried before.<\/p>\n
Now, flush with her triumph, she has decided to push on with her training. She runs 5 to 10 kilometers a day, hits the gym for strength training 20 days a month, and is lining up her next races.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I\u2019ve decided to compete, I have to show up in my best form,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
More importantly, Ma said Hyrox had helped shatter her self-doubt. \u201cI used to think I wasn\u2019t ready, but actually, we don\u2019t need to prepare for everything. Just participating is a reward in itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additional reporting: Xie Anran.<\/p>\n
(Header image: Elderly participants in Hyrox races. Xie Anran\/Sixth Tone)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ZHEJIANG, East China \u2014 Wang Hui, a 68-year-old from Beijing, used to avoid intense exercise whenever possible. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":836137,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[64,63,538,137],"class_list":["post-836136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fitness","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/836137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}